Who's This For
You've had good first conversations. You've mapped assets. The partnership feels promising. Now comes the part most researchers skip: having explicit conversations about what you each expect.
This issue is for faculty, PIs, and research administrators who've experienced partnerships that seemed solid until they weren't. Maybe you've watched misaligned expectations turn enthusiasm into frustration. Maybe you've been the partner who felt surprised by demands you never agreed to. Either way, you know that unspoken assumptions create problems down the road.