Perspective: Speed Networking for Scientists

Finding new research partners can be a challenge for basic scientists and clinical researchers, as it may require them to step outside of their daily commitments. But it's important: Meeting scientists from other disciplines can spark a new research idea or open the door to a solution to a problem that has seemed intractable.

The Weill Cornell Medical College Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), headed by Julianne Imperato-McGinley, took a novel approach to overcoming the challenge of forming scientific relationships: We organized a "speed networking" event that brought together researchers from CTSC's institutions-- Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery, Hunter College, and Cornell University--and from three New York-area community hospitals.

Our so-called Translational Research Bazaar, which took place in October, used a format popularized by speed dating: Two groups of people--in this case, basic scientists and clinical/translational researchers--sit on opposite sides of a table and chat for a few minutes until a bell rings, signaling that it's time to move on and strike up a new conversation. This process continues until everyone in one group has met everyone in the other group. The goal, for translational research as for dating, is to find a match.

More than 80 people registered for the event, and follow-ups with the attendees suggest it worked as planned: Eighty-five percent of participants said they met at least one potential collaborator, and seven pairs of researchers applied for internal pilot funding. Word has gotten out: Other institutions and organizations have contacted us hoping to learn how to run their own events.

This article is intended to provide suggestions for putting together your own speed-networking event, using ours as an example. It includes some reflections on a few things we'll do differently next time. You will no doubt adapt these instructions to your institution, limitations, audience, and desired outcomes. We hope you find our experience useful.

Getting People There

We had an enthusiastically supportive advisory team that believed in this idea, but a speed-networking event for researchers at Weill Cornell was untried and untested. Would anyone attend? Would it be successful? We had no idea, but we worked up a plan and sallied forth.

Two months before the event, we sent out a "save the date" e-mail broadcast with a subject-line teaser, "Find new research partners. Your funding may depend on it!" We were encouraged by an immediate flurry of "sign me up" responses and continued the e-mail campaign once a week until the final 3 weeks, when we accelerated our campaign.

Budget limitations meant that print advertising was out of the question, though we did invest in one poster. We worried that the Halloween-themed design was too cute for the serious business of science but went ahead anyway and attached it to our e-mail announcements, along with a request that recipients print it and post it in their departments. It attracted attention, which is what we needed.

People were required to register ahead of time by completing a form and sending it in via fax or e-mail. Because the purpose of our event was to help researchers find each other, we decided to gather key intelligence. In addition to the usual contact information, institution, and department, we asked three questions:

1. What is your top research interest?

2. What expertise are you looking for in a research partner?

3. What can you offer a research partner?

One week before and again 2 days before the event, we sent a reminder message with the event time, location, and specific instructions that everyone should bring a single-page information sheet about themselves. No one did.

In hindsight, and looking ahead to our next event, I'd recommend requiring that registrants complete an online bio with photo, contact information, and responses to the three questions about their research priorities and needs. Then, immediately following the event, I'd send a "thank you" follow-up with a link to these bios on a Web site. The photos will be a big help to the attendees, who will have met dozens of people in a short time. Taking a cue from online dating, that database would allow researchers--whether or not they attended the event--to peruse other researchers' interests and strengths to look for a match.

More than 80 people signed up for our free event--but one-third of the registrants didn't show up. This wasn't unexpected--everyone is busy and things come up. Fortunately, many new people appeared on the day of the event to register onsite. So be prepared to be flexible.

Event logistics

We reserved a room that could accommodate 100 people. In an effort to keep the noise down so people could hear their partner across the table, we put our tables end to end lengthwise in two parallel rows with a wide space between them. Each line of tables had a row of chairs on each side, with partners facing one another across the table.

We set up a microphone to be sure our signal to switch partners every 3 minutes would be heard over the din. I recommend a room with good acoustics and an excellent sound system. We had two large speakers strategically placed in the room, but once the event started, the noise level was very high. Forty-four intense, focused, simultaneous conversations ensured that one voice, even over a microphone, wasn't enough to get people's attention. Instead, we used a cowbell.

As participants arrived, we gave each a nametag and a canvas bag that included a pad of paper, a pencil, "dance cards," information about incentives CTSC was offering participants (including an additional $5000 in core services for a funded research project that originated from the research bazaar), and a bottle of water. The water was vital, as these people were about to spend the next 2 hours talking almost nonstop. The "dance cards" were color-coded to match the side of the table people sat on, and they listed the names and top research interests of each registrant, with a blank line to scribble a quick note.

We escorted clinicians to one side of the table and basic scientists to the other, with the help of six volunteer assistants. The assistants played a critical role throughout the event; I wouldn't attempt something like this without them. We also instructed the volunteers ahead of time to watch the emcee for cues to switch partners, because they might not hear the cue over the din.

We gave participants explicit instructions about how the speed networking would work--e.g., "If you're seated on SIDE B, when you hear the signal, you need to get up and move one chair to the right"--then gave them a sample of the cowbell sound that would cue them to change partners. We began by giving each pair 2 minutes to speak. After three rounds, the participants insisted on more time, so we acquiesced and gave them 3 minutes to quickly introduce themselves to one another and state their primary research interest and need.

We also encouraged them, when meeting someone with whom they discovered no common interest, to refer the person to a colleague.

More recommendations: Provide participants with a complete set of instructions ahead of time. In your instructions, tell the participants what to expect overall, give them explicit guidance on the logistics, tell them how any incentives will work, what specific follow-up evaluation and tracking activities you plan, and why this is important. Also let them know when they can expect access to the full contact data and photos of their fellow participants. Definitely provide participants with easy-to-carry bags, a dance card, water, and a pencil.

During the Event

Our Translational Research Bazaar was scheduled for midafternoon. After opening remarks and instructions, we planned 90 minutes for the speed-networking activity, followed by an hour for the wine-and-cheese reception. We had trouble sticking to the plan exactly as envisioned. After more than an hour of rapid-fire conversations, during which each person had already met 25 other people, everyone was exhausted and begging for a break, so we took one--5 minutes. That slowed the momentum and a few people left, leaving us with holes in our seating arrangements and some scrambling to do. Next time I'd either keep the speed networking to an hour, or perhaps schedule a 15-minute beverage-and-snack break about 45 minutes in, followed by another 40 minutes of speed networking, and then by a reception.

By the end of the speed networking, the collective energy, adrenaline, and enthusiasm in the room was surging and people had ideas they were anxious to discuss. The wine-and-cheese hour that followed turned out to be a critical and powerful element of the Research Bazaar. People could unwind and carry on a more relaxed conversation with people they'd identified as potential collaborators.

We anticipated that most of the people who came would be early-career scientists. Instead, we ended up with scientists from every career stage. We had a nice balance of clinical and basic researchers from all of our five CTSC partner institutions and several affiliated community hospitals, representing many disciplines.

We were gratified by the enthusiasm displayed by the 88 scientists in the room, none of whom had ever participated in such an event. They had no idea what to expect, but they dove right in with a spirit of fun. Conversations were immediate, focused, and intense--and loud.

Final advice

Decide ahead of time what outcomes you desire and how you'll track them. We were clear on ours: We wanted new research partnerships across disciplines, among our partner institutions, and between basic and clinical scientists. We have a talented CTSC Evaluation Team who helped us create a strategy to track the number of "new partners" who submitted grant proposals over the course of the following year. Tracking is challenging because our participants came from seven institutions, but follow-up surveys and phone calls have produced results.

We continue to hear from people excited about the new research opportunities that opened up for them after the event by talking with someone they probably wouldn't have met without stepping outside of their usual research network.

Will we do it again this year? Absolutely. The Clinical and Translational Science Center Second Annual Translational Research Bazaar is scheduled for October 2009.

Louise Holmes is a special projects consultant at the Weill Cornell Medical College Clinical and Translational Science Center in New York City. She is a founding partner of Nine Work Lives, a company that helps people develop the agility to thrive during periods of rapid change.

10.1126/science.caredit.a0900075