# Optimizing the Collaboration Structure in Cross-Silo Federated Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.06508 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.06508/

## Key facts

- Cited by 19 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 24 of its 39 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Jun 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Communication-Efficient Learning of Deep Networks from Decentralized Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.05629/) (2016)
- [Fashion-MNIST: a Novel Image Dataset for Benchmarking Machine Learning Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.07747/) (2017)
- [Advances and Open Problems in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04977/) (2019)
- [Federated Optimization in Heterogeneous Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.06127/) (2018)
- [Learning Imbalanced Datasets with Label-Distribution-Aware Margin Loss](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.07413/) (2019)
- [Tackling the Objective Inconsistency Problem in Heterogeneous Federated Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.07481/) (2020)
- [Measuring the Effects of Non-Identical Data Distribution for Federated Visual Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.06335/) (2019)
- [LEAF: A Benchmark for Federated Settings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.01097/) (2018)
- [Federated Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.10467/) (2017)
- [Ditto: Fair and Robust Federated Learning Through Personalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.04221/) (2020)
- [Personalized Federated Learning with Moreau Envelopes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.08848/) (2020)
- [Federated Learning with Matched Averaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.06440/) (2020)
- [An Efficient Framework for Clustered Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.04088/) (2020)
- [Clustered Federated Learning: Model-Agnostic Distributed Multi-Task Optimization under Privacy Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.01991/) (2019)
- [Agnostic Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.00146/) (2019)
- [Fair Resource Allocation in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.10497/) (2019)
- [Personalized Federated Learning with First Order Model Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.08565/) (2020)
- [Multi-Center Federated Learning: Clients Clustering for Better Personalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.08647/) (2021)
- [Robust Federated Learning in a Heterogeneous Environment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.06629/) (2019)
- [Model-sharing Games: Analyzing Federated Learning Under Voluntary Participation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.00753/) (2020)
- [Efficient Distribution Similarity Identification in Clustered Federated Learning via Principal Angles Between Client Data Subspaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.10526/) (2022)
- [On the Convergence of Clustered Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.06187/) (2022)
- [Continuous Transfer Learning with Label-informed Distribution Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.03230/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [Adaptive Test-Time Personalization for Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18816/) (2023)
- [Unlocking the Potential of Prompt-Tuning in Bridging Generalized and Personalized Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18285/) (2023)
- [FedGKD: Unleashing the Power of Collaboration in Federated Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.09517/) (2023)
- [Hierarchical Federated Learning with Multi-Timescale Gradient Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18448/) (2024)
- [Fine-Tuning Personalization in Federated Learning to Mitigate Adversarial Clients](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.20329/) (2024)
- [Enhancing Clustered Federated Learning: Integration of Strategies and Improved Methodologies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05397/) (2023)
- [Towards Layer-Wise Personalized Federated Learning: Adaptive Layer Disentanglement via Conflicting Gradients](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02845/) (2024)
- [Benchmarking Data Heterogeneity Evaluation Approaches for Personalized Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07286/) (2024)
- [Research in Collaborative Learning Does Not Serve Cross-Silo Federated Learning in Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.12595/) (2025)
- [Distributionally Robust Clustered Federated Learning: A Case Study in Healthcare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07039/) (2024)
- [Wavelet Scattering Transform and Fourier Representation for Offline Detection of Malicious Clients in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09674/) (2025)
- [UnifyFL: Enabling Decentralized Cross-Silo Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.18916/) (2025)
- [Federated Classification in Hyperbolic Spaces via Secure Aggregation of Convex Hulls](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.06895/) (2023)
- [Personalized Additive Modeling for Multi-level Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.16472/) (2024)
- [Stratify: Rethinking Federated Learning for Non-IID Data through Balanced Sampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.13462/) (2025)
- [FedAvgen: Metadata for Model Aggregation In Communication Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.05486/) (2025)
- [Voronoi-grid-based Pareto Front Learning and Its Application to Collaborative Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.20648/) (2025)
- [Tackling Heterogeneity in Federated Learning via Variance-Reduced Boltzmann Sampling within Homogeneous Social Coalitions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02897/) (2025)
- [From Data Heterogeneity to Convergence: A Data-Centric Review of Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.10595/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In federated learning (FL), multiple clients collaborate to train machine learning models together while keeping their data decentralized. Through utilizing more training data, FL suffers from the potential negative transfer problem: the global FL model may even perform worse than the models trained with local data only. In this paper, we propose FedCollab, a novel FL framework that alleviates negative transfer by clustering clients into non-overlapping coalitions based on their distribution distances and data quantities. As a result, each client only collaborates with the clients having similar data distributions, and tends to collaborate with more clients when it has less data. We evaluate our framework with a variety of datasets, models, and types of non-IIDness. Our results demonstrate that FedCollab effectively mitigates negative transfer across a wide range of FL algorithms and consistently outperforms other clustered FL algorithms.