Learning Through Pilots: Refining Our Collaboration Models

As part of our journey, we’ve been piloting new ways of collaborating with creatives across the Global South. These early experiments — in mentorship, research, and creative design — have been invaluable in helping us understand how to structure partnerships more effectively, set clear expectations, and remain grounded in our mission.

Below are two key pilots we’ve run, along with the lessons they’ve taught us:

Pilot 1: Visual Branding & Creative Identity

We worked with an overseas creative professional to shape our early digital identity and branding. This collaboration gave us practical lessons in managing scope, expectations, and remote working relationships.

Some of the challenges we encountered included:

• A loosely defined scope, which led to overruns and unmet expectations.

• A gap between the advertised role (“consultant”) and the level of experience reflected in the work delivered.

• Outputs leaned toward strategy, underscoring the need for clearer implementation guidance.

From this, we learned to:

• Define scope precisely. Especially for hourly work, deliverables and expectations must be crystal clear.

• Position roles accurately. Titles and experience levels should match the actual work required.

• Differentiate strategy from execution. Collaborators need to understand whether tasks are strategic, technical, or both.

• Strengthen remote frameworks. Contracts, fair wage agreements, cross-border payments, and communication structures all need to be in place.

• Vetting portfolios rigorously. Skills must be directly relevant, not just impressive on paper.

• Clarify budget and funding. Ensure budgets are realistic, agreed upon in advance, and aligned with project scope and deliverables.

This pilot sharpened our approach to engaging creative talent — ensuring outputs are usable, the process is fair and structured, and overseas remote work is conducted ethically and realistically, creating mutually valuable outcomes.

Pilot 2: Pro Bono Mentorship Collaboration

We also partnered with a creative researcher from South Asia under a pro bono mentorship model to test how we might co-develop projects and explore new approaches to preserving and digitizing cultural knowledge.

While the collaboration began positively, it soon became clear that our priorities were not fully aligned. Our partner’s focus was on securing funding for travel and visibility in the UK, whereas our emphasis has always been on building credibility through peer-reviewed work, institutional affiliations, and strengthening the broader creative ecosystem.

We chose to close the pilot gracefully — and it left us with several important lessons:

• Clarity of scope and intent. We need to be upfront about what we are and what we are not, so that partners clearly understand our collective mission.

• Entry criteria. Collaborations work best when there is demonstrated credibility (e.g., affiliations, community recognition, portfolio) to ensure mutual value.

• Communication discipline. Public announcements should only follow once partnerships are fully aligned and confirmed.

This experience sharpened our ability to structure meaningful collaborations while minimizing reputational and operational risks.

Looking Ahead

These pilots are not setbacks but important steps forward. Each has sharpened how we scope, contract, and collaborate with creatives across the Global South, reinforcing our iterative approach to learning and improvement.

Our mission remains clear: to cultivate creative leadership, digitize cultural and social knowledge, and connect fragmented creative ecosystems with the global creative economy.

Every collaboration — successful or challenging — moves us closer to building frameworks that are sustainable, impactful, and true to our vision.

If you’d like to know more about how to Collaborate or Fund, please write to manuhcollective@gmail.com.