Collaborating with Strangers In and Outside Mass Communications Project Proposal Narrative and Budget Narrative 

 A. Project Description   This project respectfully requests $4,342 to promote, facilitate and evaluate five Collaborating with Strangers (CoLAB) networking workshops that will connect the College of Journalism and Communications (CJC) with other disciplines on campus such as business, fine arts, and the health sciences. Based on successful pilot workshops using the CoLAB Planning Series® facilitation methods, participants will wear profile signs outlining their research interests, strongest skills, etc. and engage in three minute one‐on‐one “speed meetings.” In these highly focused conversations participants quickly reveal passions, skills and resources that may otherwise take months to uncover. Each participant’s photo, profile sign and contact information is subsequently loaded into a password protected website for online follow‐up and further collaboration after the workshop. An average of 50 participants per session will meet 12‐20 strangers resulting in 5,000 possible total connections. These CoLAB workshops will use proven facilitation processes to eliminate networking barriers, while creating the fertile ground necessary for the next generation of bloggers, reporters, social media marketers, graphic designers etc. to build upon their own skill sets as they collaborate with other disciplines on campus to bring awareness to academic research and innovation.   Previous CoLAB workshops facilitated by the libraries have been funded through grants from UF’s Creative Campus Committee and the National Library of Medicine for sessions focusing on sustainability or sex and gender differences in health. However, there has not been a CoLAB primarily focused on connecting the unique skill sets of a particular college (already interdisciplinary in nature) with other disciplines on campus that can greatly benefit from a variety of available expertise. If the initial series of workshops is successful, and the project team is able to demonstrate the lasting benefits to the CJC, the ultimate goal is that the college will take ownership of future workshops and install the process into their own culture, while the libraries stay involved as convener and facilitator. The CoLAB Planning Series was invented by Bess de Farber, certified professional facilitator and the UF Libraries’ grants manager, in 2002, and trademarked in 2004. Collaborating with Strangers workshops have served over 1,690 participants at libraries, universities, conferences, United Ways and community foundations in Florida, Arizona, Maryland and Washington.   Project Goals:    

1. Present five topic based “Collaborating with Strangers” workshops (ex. Collaborating with Strangers in Communications and Health, Collaborating with Strangers in Communications and Sustainability etc.) that connect students, staff and faculty in the UF College of Journalism and Communications with other disciplines such as business, engineering and the health sciences. 

2. Improve interdisciplinary networking skills while participants increase their knowledge of available resources/assets using the CoLAB Planning Series speed‐meeting processes during each two‐hour session. 

3. Augment online community of participant profiles to encourage ongoing discovery and sharing of resources.  

4. Promote process and results for future replications at other academic institutions through two conference presentations, publications and online research guide dedicated to collaboration and creativity. 

5. Evaluate sessions through external evaluation services provided by David Miller, Ph.D., director of the College of Education’s Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services, to determine longitudinal effectiveness, improvements and components for replication. 

6. Prepare the CJC to take ownership and install the CoLAB process into the J‐school culture.    

 

B. Project Importance  This project will allow the UF Libraries to play a new and unique role as convener and facilitator. As one of the most interdisciplinary departments on campus, this is a natural relationship. Libraries have always connected their users to information. Instead of merely collecting and organizing “stuff” why not people and ideas too? In her “First 100 Days” address to CJC faculty, new dean Diane McFarlin outlined her goal to move away from four departments (journalism, public relations, advertising and telecommunications) existing in silos to a more collaborative, cross‐curricular approach. She also expressed a need for a more entrepreneurial focus among the college, especially within advertising and public relations, as they seek to take on external clients beyond their own media properties – across campus and beyond. During a recent CJC faculty retreat, as the four departments brainstormed on the core competencies each J‐school student should possess, a high level of interpersonal communication skills, and the ability to present oneself effectively in a professional environment, was mentioned several times. Similarly, in a study at Mount Royal College, journalism students identified the “ability to go out of one’s comfort zone to find new sources and perspectives on a topic” as an essential component to professional success. However, according to Dr. Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA who specializes in brain function, we are seeing an evolutionary change as the next tech savvy generation begins to “neglect human contact skills and lose the ability to read emotional expressions and body language.” He goes on to say “the people in the next generation who are really going to have the edge are the ones who master the technological skills and also face to face skills.” There is a real need, especially within the CJC, to increase collaboration and enhance in‐person communication skills, and the libraries can play a vital and distinctive role in meeting that need. This project will also serve as a series of outreach activities for the libraries, allowing the new journalism librarian to increase her visibility and develop stronger relationships with CJC students, staff and faculty.    C. Comparison With Other Projects  Many academic libraries, such as Wells Library at Indiana University and Bobst Library at NYU, have collaborative spaces in the form of information or scholars commons. These spaces are often outfitted with meeting rooms, recording/videotaping pods, and presentation areas and frequently offer equipment, instructional workshops and technology support. Others, such as the University of California McHenry Library host research symposiums and colloquiums so students can share their work with others outside of their discipline.  The University of Washington libraries hold lightning rounds, “unconferences” and poster sessions in their research commons to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. After hearing about the successful CoLAB workshops taking place at the University of Florida, UW librarians requested training from de Farber and started their own CoLAB series to take place in their research commons during the 2013‐2014 academic year. However, beyond UF and UW no library (academic or otherwise) has taken on the role of convener and facilitator in deliberately hosting real time in‐person collaboration development workshops. This is a key missing element as there is little evidence that patrons are collaborating with “strangers” in these spaces, but are instead interacting with those they already know. The large amount of total possible connections and the types of highly focused conversations that will take place are what set the CoLAB workshop series apart from other collaboration development services being offered by libraries.  D. Resources  

• Space to hold five CoLAB workshops in a variety of locations (Weimer Hall Atrium, Smathers 1A, Reitz Union Rion Ballroom, etc.) 

• Photography Services to be provided by Barbara Hood • Advertising and Promotion to be provided by Barbara Hood, CJC Communications Office and a hired 

student assistant • Student assistant to assist with maintaining and updating the CoLAB website, event planning and 

promotion, and social media marketing • Evaluation services to be provided by David Miller, Ph.D., director of the College of Education’s 

Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services • Facilitation Services to be provided by Bess de Farber 

 

E. Plan of Action  Timeframe Activity Responsible Party November 2013

CoLAB #1: Confirm workshop venue Hire and train student assistant Prepare and distribute graphic for postcard and signs Complete email promotions Establish social networking promotions

PI and B. Hood

November Design short term and long term evaluations PI and CAPES December Present CoLAB #1 PI and Project Team December Complete posting new information to CoLAB website on separate page

for CJC Complete evaluation analysis

PI and Student CAPES

January 2014

Interview interested CoLAB participants periodically CoLAB #2: Confirm workshop venue Prepare and distribute graphic for postcard and signs Complete email promotions Update social networking promotions

PI and Student

January Present CoLAB #2 PI and Project Team February Complete posting new information to CoLAB website on separate page

for CJC Complete evaluation analysis

PI and Student CAPES

February Interview interested CoLAB participants periodically CoLAB #3: Confirm workshop venue Prepare and distribute graphic for postcard and signs Complete email promotions Update social networking promotions

PI and Student

March Present CoLAB #3 PI and Project Team March Complete posting new information to CoLAB website in separate page

for CJC Complete evaluation analysis

PI and Student CAPES

April Interview interested CoLAB participants periodically CoLAB #4: Confirm workshop venue Prepare and distribute graphic for postcard and signs Complete email promotions Update social networking promotions

PI and Student

April Present CoLAB #4 PI and Project Team May Complete posting new information to CoLAB website in separate page

for CJC Complete evaluation analysis

PI and Student CAPES

September Interview interested CoLAB participants periodically CoLAB #5: Confirm workshop venue Prepare and distribute graphic for postcard and signs Complete email promotions Update social networking promotions

PI and Student

September Present CoLAB #5 PI and Project Team October Complete posting new information to CoLAB website in separate page

for CJC Complete evaluation analysis

PI and Student CAPES

October Interview interested CoLAB participants PI and Student

 

 F. Assessment   Evaluation services will be provided by David Miller, Ph.D., director of the College of Education’s Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services (CAPES). Each profile sign will have a survey printed on the back, and the participants are asked a variety of questions including whether they would attend such a workshop again, if they would recommend the CoLAB process to others, and if they feel more comfortable approaching people they don’t know. At the conclusion of each workshop participants are asked to share answers to questions on “Idea Boards” including: What synergies did you discover? What did you learn? What is your next follow‐up activity or step? These answers are collected and evaluated and will assist the project team in determining trends and patterns of workshop outcomes. This project also will collect longitudinal data measuring the ongoing impact of the CoLAB facilitative process. Through recorded interviews with prior participants the project team will attempt to track the kinds of unique partnerships, collaborative projects, and innovative research that will potentially originate from relationships discovered at the five workshops or online following the sessions. The interviews will be posted as podcasts or videos and added to the CoLAB website with participant permission. This will be the first time such longitudinal data has been collected since the Collaborating with Strangers series began 11 years ago. 

 In the 2012‐13 academic year, six CoLAB workshops were presented and externally evaluated by CAPES. The results incuded: 

 • 93.18% were about evenly distributed between rating the workshop good or excellent; • When asked if they would attend a workshop like this again, 88.18% responded positively; • 77.27% of participants reported they “felt more confident approaching people they do not know;” • and, 90.45% of participants responded that they would recommend the workshop to other 

students/faculty.  

G. Dissemination  

The project team has submitted proposals to present results from and methods used to facilitate Collaborating with Strangers in and Outside Mass Communications workshops at the Florida Library Association and American Library Association conferences (May and June 2014). These presentations will provide information to those interested in replicating CoLAB workshops at other library facilities. Currently there is an article (written by CoLAB creator Bess de Farber) outlining the context in which CoLABs began in 2002 in UF’s Institutional Repository as well as an online guide to open access software for replicating the Collaborating with Strangers website. The longitudinal data collected will likely be of great interest to other communications colleges and could potentially turn into a paper or conference proposal for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). 

 H. Financial Implications  If the initial series of communications themed CoLAB workshops is successful, the goal is to incorporate the process into the J‐school culture so the college will ultimately take ownership. The library will continue to provide facilitation services, but the CJC will potentially take over details such as advertising, location, and themes of future workshops. The CJC can opt to provide funding for a student assistant or create a semester long (for credit) unpaid internship. A CoLAB student assistant can easily transition into a J‐school internship with the web design, advertising, public relations, event planning and social media components in the job description.       

 

Budget Narrative  Grant funding will be used to employ a student assistant for 40 hours per CoLAB (x5 sessions) at $10 an hour. The student assistant’s responsibilities will include: 

• Advertising and promotion (ex. distributing promotional materials, reaching out to media outlets, posting to student listservs etc.) 

• Updating the Collaborating with Strangers website with participant profiles, photos, and “Idea Board” answers 

• Creating a new social media component to the CoLAB online follow‐up (ex. a Facebook group where workshop participants can form a community based on common interests) 

• Assist with event planning such as securing spaces, monitoring workshop registrations etc. • Assist PI with conducting follow‐up interviews with interested CoLAB participants 

 Grant funding will also be used for external evaluation services provided by David Miller, Ph.D., director of the College of Education’s Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services (CAPES), to determine effectiveness, improvements and components for replication. In‐person interviews with interested past participants will collect data on the kinds of unique, innovative projects and ongoing relationships that can arise from the CoLAB facilitative process. This data will also be evaluated by CAPES.  A room rental fee in the amount of $250.00 is being requested to reserve half of the Reitz Union’s Rion Ballroom for one of the sessions. The Reitz Union is a truly interdisciplinary space on campus and is located near the College of Journalism and just up the hill from the Health Science Center. The project team will test the effectiveness of such a space and assess whether participation is improved in such a location.  The PI will contribute an average of two hours per week during the grant period while the project team members will contribute 40 minutes per week.       

 

04-Budget_Form_2012-2013-Posted.xlsx, 08/15/2012

Collaborating with Strangers In and Outside of Mass Communications

1. Salaries and Wages (no fringe benefits required)Name of Person Salary times % of effort Grant Funds Cost Share Total

OPS Student Employee 40 hrs/session X 5 sessions at $10 an hour plus fringe $2,092.00 $0.00 $2,092.00April Hines 5% $0.00 $2,868.00 $2,868.00Barbara Hood 1% $0.00 $687.00 $687.00Bess de Farber 1% $0.00 $1,071.00 $1,071.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00SUBTOTAL $2,092.00 $4,626.00 $6,718.00

2. EquipmentItem Quantity times Cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

3. SuppliesItem Quantity times Cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

4. TravelFrom/To # of people/# of days Grant Funds Cost Share Total

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

5. Other (Vendor costs, etc. Provide detail in Budget Narrative section.)Item Quantity times cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total

Evaluation Consult by CAPES $2,000.00 $0.00 $2,000.00Rental Half of Reitz Union Rion Ballroom $250.00 $0.00 $250.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

SUBTOTAL $2,250.00 $0.00 $2,250.00

Grant Funds Cost Share TotalTotal Direct Costs (add subtotals of items 1-5) $4,342.00 $4,626.00 $8,968.00

Mini Grant Budget Form 2013-2014

Page 1 of 1

 

Appendices  

A. References B. CoLAB Participant Testimonials C. Email of Commitment from CJC Communications Office D. Email of Support from Elizabeth King E. Letter of Support from Spiro Kiousis F. Letter of Support from Sophia Acord   

                                             

 

Appendix A   

References  

 College of Journalism and Communications (2013). 2013 State of the College. Retrieved from http://my.jou.ufl.edu/blog/2013/04/29/2013‐state‐of‐the‐college/  Goldsmith, Belinda (2013). Is surfing the Internet altering your brain? Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/10/27/us‐technology‐ibrain‐tech‐net‐idUSTRE49Q2YW20081027  

 MacMillan, M. (2009). Watching learning happen: Results of a longitudinal study of journalism students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 35(2), 132‐142. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2009.01.002  Ohio State University Libraries. (2012). Overview of Research Commons in Academic Libraries: A White Paper. Retrieved from  http://library.osu.edu/staff/administration‐reports/ResearchandEducation/ResearchCommonsVision.pdf  University of California Santa Cruz (2013). Graduate Research Symposium at McHenry Library. Retrieved from http://library.ucsc.edu/news/graduate‐research‐symposium‐at‐mchenry‐library‐may‐10‐130‐430‐pm  University of Washington Libraries (2013). UW Research Commons Retrieved from http://commons.lib.washington.edu/ 

 

Appendix B  

CoLAB Participant Testimonials   

UF Graduate Student Testimonials:  “I learned how to get important information from people you meet for the first time when we are talking. I also learned some interesting research area from faculties.”  “I recommend future CoLAB can offer us more opportunities to talk with grad students, so that we can not only find something interesting in our academic work, but also can we broaden our social network:)”  “I found work of three faculty members interesting and in tune to my research interests.” “I made contacts (with) people who are from particular places I am interested in and who possess skills that will be useful for future projects. Journalism, video tutorials, Columbia and Iran.” “I met people from different disciplines, and some of them provided me with useful information in my area, such as useful websites and related people they know.” “…On a larger scale, it’s easy to see how an exercise such as this can help facilitate communication and generate interest across disciplinary lines.”  UF Undergraduate Student Testimonials:  “I learned how easy it is to begin a conversation with someone else by finding common ground or an interesting fact about them. It amazed me how much I had in common with so many of the people I met and how much could be learned from a person, simply by filling out a simple card.”  “I was surprised to have an hour of meet‐and greet complete with hand‐made profiles we pinned to ourselves. It was fun, though.”  “The Colab session was an interesting way to develop a familiarity with the other people in the class. Furthermore, the use of the signs allowed us to quickly summarize some main points about a person, and provided discussion topics for the conversations.”  “I learned the importance of finding common ground when communicating with others, especially when meeting for the first time. Reading the signs, which initially seemed awkward; forced us to learn something about the other person, and then encouraged us to find something to talk about for the required amount of time.”  “I learned that people can always find something that they have in common to talk about. These commonalities may not necessarily be personal, but arise from the situation at the time of the conversation. For example, there were a few people that I talked to during the session who completely bypassed the information written on my card and preferred instead to talk about the class itself.”                   

 

Appendix C  

                             

 

Appendix D  

  

The Foundation for The Gator Nation An Equal Opportunity Institution

College of Journalism and Communications 2096 Weimer Hall

Office of the Dean PO Box 118400

Gainesville, FL 32611-8400

352-392-0466

352-392-3919 Fax

October 14, 2013

Dear Mini Grant Selection Committee,

I am writing in support of April Hines’s proposal, “Collaborating with Strangers In and Outside of Mass

Communications.” As the executive associate dean for the College of Journalism and Communications I can

speak to the immense impact such a series will have on our college. The CJC has made collaborative

curriculum design among our four departments a top priority and has recently formed a Collaborative

Curriculum Development task force to craft an implementation plan. The need for collaboration among

disciplines consistently emerged as a major area of opportunity during faculty interviews conducted by our

dean during the Spring 2013 term. The CJC was also recently awarded preeminence funding to create a Center

for STEM Communications Research. This center will be the first of its kind in the country and enable us to

support research in other STEM disciplines through translational communications research. We’re also

exploring partnerships with the colleges of Education, Engineering and Fine Arts on areas related to

eLearning and personalized communication. Increased collaboration within the CJC, across campus and

beyond is an extremely important goal for our college and the Collaborating with Strangers Workshop series

can only enhance those efforts as we seek to accomplish that goal.

Best regards,

Spiro Kiousis

Spiro Kiousis, Ph.D., APR

Executive Associate Dean

Professor of Public Relations

Director of Distance Education

skiousis@jou.ufl.edu

The Foundation of the Gator Nation An Equal Opportunity Institution

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

200 Walker Hall

P.O. Box 118030

Gainesville, FL 32611

tel. 352.392.0796

fax 352.392-5378

www.humanities.ufl.edu

10 October 2013

To members of the Smathers Libraries Mini-Grant Committee,

I am happy to provide a letter of support of the internal library grant proposal submitted by April

Hines, Journalism and Mass Communications Librarian. The project, to fund five Collaborating with

Strangers workshops in conjunction with the College of Journalism, is a vital way for the Library to

catalyze significant faculty and student research at the University of Florida.

As a member of the UF Creative Campus Committee, I am no stranger to the Collaborating with

Strangers (CoLAB) model. I can also say the CoLAB workshops that have been held in other units

around the UF campus over the past three years have been immensely successful in every instance.

These workshops provide a unique (and desperately needed) space for individuals at UF to meet, talk,

and make significant connections for future research and other activities.

I have also had the pleasure of working with the CoLAB team to develop a workshop focused on

generating collaborations within and linked to the humanities disciplines in fall 2012. This workshop

provided a creative space for a wide variety of people (students, faculty, and staff members) to learn

about each other’s work and identify connections to their own. The ‘social capital’ that we created at

this event is continuing to bear fruit, in the form of grant proposals, faculty working groups, and team-

taught courses.

The idea of conducting workshops aimed at students, in particular, is long overdue. I’ve observed

many students coming to other CoLAB events, and they have a great thirst to meet and discuss ideas.

But, the past CoLABs, which mix faculty and students, can make for an awkward dynamic if the

interests of the faculty are too disconnected from those of the students. The idea of promoting these

CoLAB workshops in journalism to students, in particular, may seed some very interesting

collaborative projects and empower students to draw on the resources of UF to accomplish significant

work in their time here. It will also help students to make connections outside of their social groups.

This firmly positions the Library at UF as a unit involved in promoting diversity and inclusion on our

campus.

If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards,

Sophia Krzys Acord, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law