Article type
Abstract
"Background
The 17th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) upholds partnerships to advance the goals. Transnational collaborations are common in systematic reviews. But, it is unusual to have a sustained collaboration spanning nearly a decade among people based in different continents, hailing from different disciplines, and who have never met as a team. This abstract is about an enduring academic collaboration among four women for a Campbell systematic review. The collaboration has been voluntary with no funding support.
Coming Together
A mentor had introduced three members to one another via email and video conferencing during 2015-2017. It marked the beginning of collaboration between an experienced evidence synthesis specialist, a Sociologist and a Psychologist. Intersectionality is an advanced social science concept that is gaining popularity in Public Health. The three team members are in Public Health with an expressed interest in the application of intersectionality to it. The work - on a systematic review on the use of intersectionality in interventions in public health and nutrition - would lead to more robust evidence on equity. More recently, an India based Sociologist has joined the team. She works on food and nutrition security of indigenous people. For several years, an information retrieval specialist at a leading university in the USA was a team member till she left the university.
Power of Perseverance
The team members primarily communicate via email. The communication intensifies during activities such as the drafting of abstracts, or the protocol. There has been no in-person team meeting, though country based members have met one another. There has been modest - but tangible - progress in this decade long collaboration. This includes one conference presentation (2018), title registration (2019), and the submission of the protocol (2023). The protocol is currently under review for Campbell Systematic Reviews.
Lessons for Collaboration
Multiple SDGs can be advanced through such transnational collaborations. A mentor can play a catalytic role. Technology is a great enabler and can be effectively leveraged for overcoming distance. With time, and the promotion of open research, the knowledge and skills of the team members in different aspects of systematic reviews can improve.
"
The 17th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) upholds partnerships to advance the goals. Transnational collaborations are common in systematic reviews. But, it is unusual to have a sustained collaboration spanning nearly a decade among people based in different continents, hailing from different disciplines, and who have never met as a team. This abstract is about an enduring academic collaboration among four women for a Campbell systematic review. The collaboration has been voluntary with no funding support.
Coming Together
A mentor had introduced three members to one another via email and video conferencing during 2015-2017. It marked the beginning of collaboration between an experienced evidence synthesis specialist, a Sociologist and a Psychologist. Intersectionality is an advanced social science concept that is gaining popularity in Public Health. The three team members are in Public Health with an expressed interest in the application of intersectionality to it. The work - on a systematic review on the use of intersectionality in interventions in public health and nutrition - would lead to more robust evidence on equity. More recently, an India based Sociologist has joined the team. She works on food and nutrition security of indigenous people. For several years, an information retrieval specialist at a leading university in the USA was a team member till she left the university.
Power of Perseverance
The team members primarily communicate via email. The communication intensifies during activities such as the drafting of abstracts, or the protocol. There has been no in-person team meeting, though country based members have met one another. There has been modest - but tangible - progress in this decade long collaboration. This includes one conference presentation (2018), title registration (2019), and the submission of the protocol (2023). The protocol is currently under review for Campbell Systematic Reviews.
Lessons for Collaboration
Multiple SDGs can be advanced through such transnational collaborations. A mentor can play a catalytic role. Technology is a great enabler and can be effectively leveraged for overcoming distance. With time, and the promotion of open research, the knowledge and skills of the team members in different aspects of systematic reviews can improve.
"