Collaborative Blueprint Onboarding

When to use Collaborative Blueprint Onboarding

Use this method at the beginning of a transdisciplinary project to ensure all team members (students, teachers, external partners) are aligned on expectations, roles, and goals.

What it solves

Misaligned expectations, unclear roles, lack of shared understanding, potential conflicts arising from differing assumptions.

How to run Collaborative Blueprint Onboarding, step by step

1. Informal Kick-off (30 mins) - Facilitate a casual get-together for the team to meet and connect. Optionally, use an icebreaker activity to encourage interaction.
2. Orientation (30 mins) - Explain the purpose of onboarding. Provide sticky notes and ask each participant to reflect individually on what they bring, get, and need from the collaboration, writing one idea per sticky note.
3. Sharing Mutual Expectations (30 mins) - Have participants consider their expectations of others, based on their needs. Each team member takes a turn asking others, 'What do you expect from me?' A designated note-taker captures keywords on sticky notes, avoiding repetition.
4. Aligning Expectations (20 mins) - Guide the team to cluster sticky notes by similarities and differences. Discuss how to translate similarities into concrete working agreements. Address differences by identifying underlying concerns and finding compromises.
5. Collaboration Blueprint (45 mins) - Facilitate a discussion to define the team's main goal, success criteria, and commitment. Then, guide the team to create a creative expression (symbol, image, sentence) that represents their collaboration.

Materials needed

• Sticky notes
• Pens
• Large paper or whiteboard
• Timer
• Collaboration Blueprint template (optional)

Facilitator tips

• Encourage active listening and respectful communication throughout the process.
• Ensure all voices are heard and that no one dominates the conversation.
• Help the team translate abstract expectations into concrete, actionable agreements.

Common pitfalls

• Participants being hesitant to express their true expectations - Create a safe and open environment where vulnerability is encouraged.
• Focusing only on similarities and avoiding difficult conversations about differences - Gently guide the team to address challenging topics and find common ground.

Variations

• Use different icebreaker activities to suit the team's preferences and context.
• Adapt the Collaboration Blueprint template to include additional elements relevant to the project.
• Conduct the onboarding process in multiple sessions if time is limited.

Running it online or hybrid

Use a virtual whiteboard like Miro or Mural to capture sticky notes and facilitate clustering and blueprint creation. Ensure all participants have access and are comfortable using the platform.

What it produces

A Collaboration Blueprint document outlining team goals, success criteria, commitment statements, and a symbolic representation of the team's collaboration.

Origin

Adapted from Transition Makers Toolbox — source

Build a session around Collaborative Blueprint Onboarding

METODIC places Collaborative Blueprint Onboarding inside a complete, timed session plan — agenda, worksheets, facilitator guide and slides — matched to your group and goal.

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