Designing Collaboration: Building Sustainable Communities in University Alliance CHARM-EU

This paper explores the strategic development and piloting of internal networking formats within CHARM-EU, a transnational European University Alliance. Guided by theories of Communities of Practice, Networked Improvement Communities, meta-organizations, and marketing perspectives on identity and participation, a set of guiding principles was co-created and tested through pilot events. Evaluation data from over 90 participants informed iterative improvements and highlighted success factors and challenges. The study contributes to community-building practice in HEI alliances by proposing adaptive roles and formats for collaboration across institutional and cultural boundaries.