All we need is wind: Rethinking collaboration in European projects

The first part of my doctoral studies began with a simple, personal goal: to better understand the complexities of managing transnational partnership projects. In doing so, I could not help but picture these project consortia as the crews of 17th- and 18th-century sailing ships—ragtag groups from different nations, with clashing personalities and mixed motivations, yet all working toward a common goal. And much like those seafaring crews, what gets these projects moving is not just a good map (or work plan), but the wind—collaboration. This article explores how, without collaboration, even the most well-prepared journey can stall—and what it takes to get it back on track.

Plot twists at sea: How projects shift over time

Together with my colleagues, I conducted 34 semi-structured interviews with European project managers involved in six transnational projects. From these conversations, we identified three recurring types of turning points—moments that change the course of collaboration.

• Nudges are gentle, proactive moves—like informal chats, shared meals, or carving out space for reflection. These moments create cohesion, helping partners connect beyond the deliverables.
  Example: Team members going out for dinner after a long meeting and unexpectedly bonding over a cultural misunderstanding (or a shared dislike of the coffee).
• Pushes involve tensions or misunderstandings. These are decision points—do you speak up and risk conflict for the sake of clarity, or stay silent and hope it passes? The outcome depends on how safe the team feels to disagree, also known as psychological safety.
  Example: A partner raising concerns about unrealistic deadlines, leading to a difficult but necessary renegotiation of roles.
• Shoves are the dramatic ones—conflicts that require third-party mediation, major restructuring, or crisis management. At this stage, there’s often little choice but to react, reset, and rebuild.
  Example: Intervention from a funding body following a breakdown in communication between the partners.

Our research shows that the strongest collaborations started early with nudges and addressed pushes head-on. Teams that socialized and reflected together built trust, which made it easier to navigate disagreements. In contrast, projects that did not invest in early team-building struggled to manage tensions later on, often falling into silence or avoidance.

Enter the culture manager

Inspired by these findings, I explored a new approach. What if we did not leave collaboration to luck—or the charisma of the coordinator? What if we formally assigned someone to guide and maintain the project's relational health? That someone became our culture manager—a partner with a dedicated budget and clear responsibility to shape collaboration. In the project where we piloted this role, we tracked the team’s engagement with turning points over a two-year period. The results? No shoves. Just nudges and occasional pushes, all handled proactively. Social cohesion stayed consistently high—even with staff turnover. Speaking up was the norm. Reflective practices were not accidental; they were planned. Collaboration levels never dipped below high.

Now, I know not every project can afford a dedicated culture manager. In some cases, the coordinator may need to wear both hats. But that requires recognizing the difference between admin management and relational leadership—and allocating time and resources accordingly. Because here is the bottom line: collaboration is the wind in the sails. Steering alone will not get your project far if the team is not moving with you. If we want to keep moving forward, maybe it is time to stop leaving collaboration to chance—and start managing it with intention.

Tip: The culture manager’s role can be enhanced with the help of software tools like EMDESK, which streamline communication and coordination across the project team.

There is something for everyone to do

So, how do we move forward? In this final section, I want to leave you with a simple but powerful idea: many different actors—individuals, teams, and institutions—can and should take ownership of collaboration.

Micro-level: Individual actions

If you are involved in European projects—especially as a project manager—here is my message: do not leave collaboration to chance. It will not just “happen.” You must approach it with intention. Reading this article (or my book) is a good first step, but it is just the beginning. Practices like socializing, reflection, and speaking up should be woven into the daily rhythms of your project. Beyond this, I encourage you to get creative. The practices I have shared are not exhaustive. There is room—and a real need—for new tools, formats, and ideas that suit your team’s unique context. And once you have experimented, share your findings. Tell your colleagues. Pass it along in your organization’s onboarding process. Include collaboration insights in your project handovers.

Meso-Level: Team and coordinator actions

Project designers and coordinators have a unique opportunity to build collaboration into the DNA of their projects. At the design phase, ask:

• Who will be responsible for sustaining collaboration throughout the project?
• What tools and practices will support this work?
• How can we create room (and budget) for relationship-building?

If you are a project coordinator, consider whether you are the best person to take on the responsibility of a culture manager—or whether another project partner might be better suited. The skillset for managing admin tasks is not the same as the one needed to manage culture. One is not better than the other, but both matter. If you do take it on, make sure to budget for it—both in time and in human resources.

Macro-Level: Systemic Actions

Finally, institutions and funders also have a crucial role to play. Fund operators, evaluators, and policymakers can actively promote stronger collaboration within transnational partnerships by requiring project proposals to include explicit plans for managing collaboration from the outset. They can further support this by recognizing and rewarding investments in culture-building as legitimate and strategic project expenses. In addition, offering training opportunities or practical resources on how to build psychological safety and navigate conflict would equip project teams with the tools they need to foster healthier, more resilient collaborations.

We can also support more cross-project learning. Let us make space—formally or informally—for project managers to come together and share what is working and what is not. Communities of practice, peer exchanges, or even short reflective sessions at transnational meetings can go a long way. And perhaps it is time we rethink the way we evaluate collaboration. Instead of relying solely on deliverables and deadlines, we could begin to assess how well a team is working together, how tensions are handled, and how psychological safety is maintained.

Final thoughts

In the voyage of a project, collaboration is the wind. A skilled project coordinator can steer the ship, but without wind it will not go anywhere. That is why we need more than project deliverables and deadlines. We need people who tend to the sails, check the compass, and notice when the mood on deck is shifting. Sometimes, that means investing in a dedicated culture manager. Other times, it just means remembering to ask your teammate how their day is going. Either way, these small acts matter. Because without collaboration, our grandest ambitions stay stuck in port.

So next time you are about to design or start implementing a project, ask yourself: who is tending the wind?