How to Get Started

On what subject or issue are you looking for thought partners?

• Choose a topic or question that is broad enough to benefit from multiple perspectives but focused enough to be manageable.
• Consider areas that are interdisciplinary and can attract scholars in different fields.

Connect with colleagues who have expertise or interest in your chosen topic.

• Aim for a group with diverse backgrounds and skills to enrich the project.
• Utilize your existing networks, or use the Corridor's new bulletin board to get the word out to colleagues.

Talk to each other about what you want to do and how you want to do it.

• Weigh the value of inward-facing work (building the group/supporting each other) against public-facing impact, based on your goals and capacity.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities, agree on a shared vision, and set regular check-ins to keep work divided fairly.
• Review our models of collaboration in theory and in practice.
• Flexibility is one of the most fundamental aspects of successful collaboration. Be ready to pivot and support one another's needs.
• Design your collaboration with vulnerable and marginalized scholars' needs in mind.

Develop a plan to get started. New groups typically start small and spend the first year learning how to work together and plan for the future.

• Outline your main goals and objectives.
• Select a Research Cluster that best aligns with your group.
• Prepare a budget that includes funding for each activity you are proposing, including funds for guest speaker travel/honoraria, group meals, and other expenses.
• If mentoring graduate students is a goal, build in specific roles for them early on (presenting work, offering commentary, introducing speakers).

• During the Spring CFP period, submit a Corridor proposal with a group description, goals, and a budget outline for activities for the next year.

Funding notifications go out in early May with feedback.

• If your proposal is declined: Not all groups are funded in any given year. Review the feedback provided. Regroup and consider submitting a proposal for the next cycle.
• If your proposal is funded: Congrats! Here are some next steps.