In addition, interview participants identified TREC I's crosscenter working groups, developmental pilot projects, and semiannual grantee meetings as particularly helpful in facilitating new TD research collaborations and sustaining existing collaborations. They described how monthly working group meetings generated new ideas for TD research that led to funded cross-center developmental pilot projects and other cross-center research, conference panel presentations, and publications. They credited the developmental pilot projects with enabling them to implement new TD research projects within and across their centers, as ideas emerged, without having to wait for new funding opportunities, and without having to worry about the “high-risk” nature of particularly innovative TD proposals. Meanwhile, they identified the semi-annual grantee meetings as important incubator spaces for new TD collaborations within and across TREC centers. Scientific sessions at these meetings kept them informed about research at other centers that was relevant to their own work. Opportunities to socialize with other TREC I participants in relaxed social situations at these meetings, such as group dinners, helped to support networking and brainstorming and led to new collaborations.
