Collaborative Cures Plan & Strategy

Our strategy is designed to bring people together to cure paralysis in our lifetime. To do it, our plan focuses on the following outcomes:

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Insights

We are co-creating research insights and learning modules with an interdisciplinary knowledge network of leadership experts, negotiation practitioners, performance psychologists and behavioural scientists to understand how to tackle systematic fragmentation.

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Inspiration

We are inspiring early to mid-career scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists to create the conditions for collaboration, facilitate healthy rivalries and build trust.

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Interconnection

We are systematically identifying, mapping and building relationships with leading scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists around the world to catalyse collaborations worth €1 billion.

4-Year Strategic Objectives

By 2024, Collaborative Cures will create impact and deliver outcomes to create insights, inspire, and integrate.

To do this, our 4-year strategy focuses on 5 key objectives: Insights; Inspiration; Integration; Fundraising; and Programme Management & Compliance.

Objective 1 Insights – Knowledge Network & Strategic Understanding.

1.1 Knowledge Network: Create an interdisciplinary knowledge network of leadership experts, negotiation practitioners, performance psychologists and behavioural scientists.

1.2 Strategic Understanding: Develop research insights and learning modules to help stakeholders to understand how to tackle systematic fragmentation.

Objective 2 Inspiration –Sharing Insights & Catalysing Conversations.

2.1 Sharing Insights: Inspire early to mid-career scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists and regulators at guest lectures and through learning modules.

2.2 Catalysing Conversations: Catalyse a broader public conversation about the importance of creating the conditions for collaboration, facilitating healthy rivalries and building trust to cure paralysis in our lifetime.

Objective 3 Integration – Network Development & Facilitating Connections.

3.1 Network Development: Systematically identify, map and build relationships with scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists and regulators around the world.

3.2 Facilitating Connections: Facilitate connections to catalyse collaborations capable of making €100 million translation projects the standard, not the exception.

Objective 4 Fundraising – Digital Fundraising & Major Gifts.

4.1 Digital Fundraising: Execute a best-in-class fundraising strategy to sustainably manage the organisation.

Objective 5 Governance – Programme Management & Board Compliance.

5.1 Programme Management: Co-ordinate the work programme for all aspects of Collaborative Cures and ensure that resources, including people, partners, suppliers and technology, are managed effectively to deliver on our strategic objectives.

5.2 Board Compliance: Ensure best practice governance and compliance is followed to standards required by Government and regulators.

Creating Conditions for Collaboration  

Since 2011, we have been involved in catalysing collaborations that are now valued at over €100 million. These include co-creating international neuro-modulation and robotics research studies; building an exoskeleton rehabilitation programme; facilitating multi-stakeholder relationships towards the commercialisation of academic research; and working alongside Wings for Life Spinal Research Foundation and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

Combining that experience with initiatives with the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and work carried out in partnership with The Dock, Accenture’s flagship R&D and Global Innovation Centre, our research has identified 4 primary building blocks to create the conditions for collaboration and mitigate against systemic fragmentation.

leadership - Embodying collaborative leadership involves leaders being visibly and tangibly open to collaboration. Leading by example promotes a culture of collaboration and shared endeavour as the way to achieve results.

Embodying Collaborative Leadership

Creating a culture of collaboration needs people to lead by example. It demands leaders being visibly and tangibly open to collaboration.
Collaboration - Incentivising collaborative behaviour requires recognising and rewarding collaboration. Incentives beyond funding are required to drive collaborative behaviours including rewards for sharing scientific data and open communication between different parts of the system.

Incentivising Collaborative Behaviour

Incentives beyond funding are required to drive collaborative behaviours including rewards for sharing scientific data and communicating openly. It involves recognising and rewarding collaboration.
Systems-led approach - Mission orientated framing has concrete, measurable and achievable outcomes. Establishing a shared mission that multiple parties can sign up to is essential for creating the conditions for collaboration.

Mission Orientated Framing

Establishing a shared mission that multiple parties can sign up to is essential for creating the conditions for collaboration. It requires concrete, measurable and achievable outcomes.
governance - Active governance is central to building credibility and trust with key stakeholders in the system by incorporating proactive and appropriate levels of oversight to ensure projects achieve mission-level impact. Critically, funding, partnerships, and actual scientific progress can be wasted if the right governance structures aren't in place.

Active Governance

Establishing proactive and appropriate levels of oversight is fundamental to allow collaborative projects to deliver. It requires robust structures to help build credibility and trust.

Using these four collaborative building blocks, Collaborative Cures was established in 2020 to scale Mark Pollock’s work to bring people together to cure paralysis in our lifetime.