Table 6.

Challenges of boundary‐spanning and coping strategies and assets for managing them

Boundary‐Spanning Challenges

Coping Strategies and Assets for Managing Boundary‐Spanning Challenges

Inherent features Actual work out of synch with initial work plan and the country reality Stress and ambiguity of working in an emerging context with no clear direction and plan Maintaining the insider/outsider approach when personal interests get in the way of the ultimate goal Dependency on others with authority to convene meetings Limited staffing and lack of control over key partners' planning, scheduling, and convening Patchy administrative support because no own country office Lack of official mandate in the country Bureaucratic rigidity and delays limit our effectiveness Staff turnover requires constant renewal of sensitization efforts, advocacy, and strategic partners Weak capacity within government and other stakeholders limits our effectiveness All possible solutions face a new round of bottlenecks Supporting 2 countries created insufficient physical presence in country at times   Relationships Others with poor understanding of our unique role Managing personal/social and professional relationships Perceived competing roles by some stakeholders Political interference in our work from some people Gatekeeping dynamics and manipulation at different levels Lack of collaboration at some points from some partners who were key to our work Riskiness in alliance building and partnerships at the national level Historical alliances for nutrition governance can impede the time it takes to understand peoples motivations and hidden agendas How to handle requests to join certain initiatives, alliances, or cliques that would compromise our neutrality Earning government trust   Identities Age, gender, expatriate, international PhD, international position Negative stereotypes about academic research that is extractive or exploitive and adds no practical value

Reputation Continually clarify our unique roles and responsibilities Reinforce and demonstrate that we have no separate agenda other than playing a supportive role to the country as a whole Focus on results and remain true to our core values: neutrality, inclusiveness, respect of all partners and their potential contributions Build your own credibility and respect   Identities and associations Selectively draw credibility and respect from association with Cornell and the team Selectively draw informal power by association with certain government or partner organizations without identifying too closely with them Some challenges simply need time for our identities and authenticity to emerge from our work and how we conduct ourselves   Personal qualities and orientations Patience, interaction, and communication skills Motivation and passion to help your own country maintain morale during the many difficult personal moments Ability to take risks, cope with challenges, adjust, and keep moving forward   Knowledge, skill development, and contextual analysis Mentoring from larger Cornell team Identify local mentors and continuously seek their advice and inputs Use intermediaries to understand and help address the issues Keep referring back to developmental evaluation principles Carefully study people and systems Assess peoples' intentions first, rather than assuming they are facilitators of the process just because of their position Try to understand the reason for not collaborating   Behaviors, practices, and tactics Accommodate to partner needs first; give credit, do not take it Persistent attempts to collaborate Strategically plan with partners to get government buy‐in through informal relations Form and draw upon strategic allies; do favors to build goodwill Create and/or seize opportunities Provide support out of our mandate without any incentives or expectations Bring in external consultants to build collaborative capacities in others   Funder and employer understanding, flexibility, and support Appreciation of systems, complexity, and need for a responsive, emergent approach Flexible goals, strategies, spending rates, reporting requirements, accountabilities Willingness to defend the approach from/to higher ups