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Originally Posted by Billfred
But I've never heard anything about how these partnerships were created. I've seen established teams working with rookies (see also: NiagaraFIRST triplets), and two established teams working together (see also: 254/22, 217/229). Who approaches who? How do you communicate across teams (and states, for that matter)? How do you settle on one design?
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I found the key to success for the NiagaraFIRST.org collaboration, was that we had a unifying link between our three teams. Our General Manager, Matt Vint, was in charge of overseeing the entire project. He was able to ensure that all three teams were always on the same page. When decisions were made, Matt made sure that they were communicated to all three teams. This is crucial to the success of a collaboration.
Our collaboration was greatly simplified by the locations of our teams. All three high schools were withing 30 minutes of each other. Governor Simcoe (1114) was the home base for the collaboration. This is where the assembly of all 4 (including the practice bot) robots took place. Having the common location for assembly helped achieve the desired level of assembly for all robots. Clearly, this isn't possible for collaborations across states.
When it came to settling on one design, again we had it easier. Our teams functioned more like one big team, than three teams working independently. For our mentors, many didn't wear a team shirt at competitions, rather they would wear a NiagaraFIRST.org shirt. There wasn't too much distinction as to who belonged to which team. As a result, the debates about design weren't debates across teams, rather they were the typical internal debates that all teams go through.
In response to your question about who approached who, I think in general these collaborations occur when there's already a strong relationship between two teams. Ideas get bounced around in the off-season, teams realize they have some common goals and complimentary needs. They see that a collaboration would be mutually beneficial.
Having traveled the route of a collaborative effort, I definitely can see the value of them. Although, I caution team who are thinking of undertaking such a venture. Without proper communication, strong management, and a willingness to compromise, the collaboration could become more of a hindrance than a help.