Beauchamp, Gary and Chapman, Sammy and Atherton, Stephen and Ayres, Julian and Young, Nick and Crick, Tom and Davies, Owen and Horder, Sue and Hughes, Carl J. and Jones, Mathew and Karlinger, Panna and Layland, Sue and Lewis, Anthony and Lewis, Caroline and Lewis, Jeff and Owen, Kaydee (2025) The ‘roots/routes to fruit’ model: developing a ‘fruitful’ collaborative network across universities. Cogent Education, 12 (1). p. 2559153. ISSN 2331-186X
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This study explores the development and dynamics of the Wales Collaborative for Learning Design (WCLD), a multidisciplinary network across eight Welsh universities. Funded by Welsh Government, the WCLD aimed to foster collaboration in digital learning design while supporting individual and collective academic growth. The study aimed to investigate what factors impact on the development and sustainability of a personal and professional, multidisciplinary Higher Education collaborative network. Using a collective autoethnographic approach, the research explored the network’s evolution, highlighting the interplay of person attributes, facilitating conditions, and professional relationships. Findings revealed key factors including trust, open-mindedness, and consistent communication as essential to the network’s sustainability and success. Further findings illustrate how positive constraints, diverse career stages, and interdisciplinary opportunities underpin growth and productivity. ‘Outcomes’ included enhanced institutional impact, significant personal and professional conversations, and the cross-pollination of ideas within and beyond the network. When considered as a process, the findings underscore the value of cultivating intentional, yet adaptable, collaborative networks to support higher education innovation and personal academic development. This culminates in the ‘Roots/routes to Fruit’ model. This original contribution builds on existing theory surrounding significant, collaborative networks and provides a process for future interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, collaborative networks to build upon.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | ** Article version: VoR ** From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications Router ** History: received 18-06-2025; revised 03-09-2025; accepted 04-09-2025; epub 13-10-2025; issued 13-10-2025; published 13-10-2025; ppub 31-12-2025. ** Licence for VoR version of this article starting on 13-10-2025: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Social sciences, collective autoethnography, higher education,cross-national perspectives, collaborative networks |
| Subjects: | L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education |
| Divisions: | Institutes and Academies > Institute of Education and Humanities > Academic Discipline: Childhood, Youth and Education |
| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2025.2559153 |
| SWORD Depositor: | JISC Publications Router |
| Depositing User: | JISC Publications Router |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Oct 2025 15:25 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2025 15:26 |
| URI: | https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3963 |
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