ABSTRACT
Brokers of collaborations can play as important a role in joint partnership working as the agents of collaboration; indeed, some brokers may be part of the collaboration themselves but will also have a pivotal role to play in introducing partners to each other, and in maintaining relationships and connections. Brokering collaborative working is a key way to bridge divides and to draw in resources, insights and contacts from an alternative context. An approach such as this is of particular importance in the academy, where the troublesome nature of work in higher education can make it difficult to access the ideas and resources within anther context without a more direct personal involvement. Particularly important in development contexts, brokers can act to support collaborations between individuals and institutions looking to extend the ways in which they engage in academic working, at a variety of levels.
