Our Culture of Partnerships

Why We Work with Partners

Partnerships are essential to our work at the Cornell Lab—we would not be able to achieve scale or impact, or fulfill our mission, without partners. With partners, we amplify collective impact by mutually sharing ideas, expertise, and support—together accomplishing much more than any of us can do alone. 

We care deeply about our partners, their goals, their work, their challenges and successes. Our relationships with partners are incredibly important. Successful partnerships require trust, communication, transparency, understanding, and support of one another’s goals and priorities. Part of a good partnership is also the pride and enthusiasm we take in recognizing each other’s roles and contributions.

How We Work with Partners

We approach partnerships by listening, learning, and asking how we can be of service to meet the needs and goals of partners while achieving the Lab’s mission and strategic priorities. 

We do this with a genuine spirit of collaboration, respect, and appreciation for our partners. 

We express the Lab’s attributes through our work with partners. We are…

• Inclusive in who we engage and how we collaborate
• Generous in sharing ideas and resources as well as recognizing others for their generosity in all that they share with us
• Trustworthy in our information, conduct, and relationships
• Rigorous in our science and standards of excellence 
• Driven to work with others in our mission to help birds and biodiversity.

We strive to uphold our values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the way we build partnerships with others. Please read the following helpful information:

Lab’s DEIJ statement

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice 

Working with Diverse Communities 

Partnership for Impact: A workbook for informal science educators and outreach specialists working with diverse communities 

Understanding the Impact of Equitable Collaborations Between Science Institutions and Community-based Organizations: Improving science through community-led research

Example of Independent Community-Based Organization Working Agreements 

Meaningful Collaborations: A workbook for community leaders, educators, and advocates working with science institutions

International Perspective 

Neotropical Ornithology: Reckoning with Historic Assumptions, Removing Systemic Barriers, and Reimagining the Future.