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Foreign subawards: Effectively managing your collaborations

Reader question: My proposed project involves working with foreign collaborators. Are there any effective strategies for monitoring their work so that I can be sure it’s getting done on time and to a certain standard? But I don’t want to appear that I’m micromanaging the situation. What should I do?

Expert comments: There is a real need to balance monitoring with micromanagement. From the lead PI’s and institution’s standpoint, you must make sure that the project comes out well in the end — that you get what you’re paying for and that everyone meets the project goals.

• Communication — Keep in frequent, informal contact by phone or email. That can help you to get an indication of the project’s progress and give you a sense of the sub-recipients’ understanding of project goals, methods and specifications.

  If you hire within the United States, you expect performance will meet the contract. In many foreign countries, this may not be the case, and having a relationship with the subawardee is critical — they have to know you and you know them.

  So with foreign sub-recipients, setting up regular times for communication is vital. Say, “How about we discuss this every Friday?” That way, you build regular contact into a habit.

  Regular, planned communication — because it builds and maintains relationships — helps avoid the problems of micromanagement. In addition, avoiding micromanagement is mostly a matter of tone. You have an informal discussion during which you can ask questions rather than say something like, “Send me your data every afternoon.” During your talk, you listen for signs of progress or red flags that something isn’t going as planned — and especially to ensure everyone understands your expectations.

  Important: Don’t give only negative feedback. Positive responses can readily steer your partner in the right direction.

• Review invoices — Examining your sub-recipients’ invoices is important if you’re paying their actual expenses. Make sure the contract supports the personnel they are requesting payment for and the percent effort are . Look for red flags that they’re spending too fast or too slowly for what you normally expect.

  This is similar to working with a domestic collaborator in terms of the project resources needed. If they expected one tech and suddenly charge you for two, you should call and ask why that changed. You are looking for alterations from what was originally proposed.

Expert comments by Janet Simons, director of research policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore.