joan roberts consulting key factors for effective collaboratives presented by joan roberts, ma joan...

Joan Roberts Consulting www.joanroberts.com

Key Factors for Effective Collaboratives

Presented byJoan Roberts, MA

Joan Roberts Consulting

About Joan Roberts

Inter-agency Services Collaboration Project, (IASCP) 2008

Author of Alliances Coalitions and Partnerships, Building Collaborative Organizations, 2004 and Governance for Collaborative: A Guide to Resolving Power and Conflict Issues 2010

Over 15 years working in area of collaboration


Definition of Collaboration

When we speak about collaboration there is widespread agreement that the term refers to a group of people working together to reach a common goal. Within this definition, collaboration can describe a group of people working within an organization or external to an organization.


A common agenda, vision, program or function. Two or more autonomous organizations maintain their

separate organizational governance systems while creating a new trans-organizational system (to manage and oversee the collaboration).

Shared investment of time energy and resources and risk .All of the above may be specified in a formal agreement.


The Structure of an Inter-organizational Collaboration includes:

TYPES OF COLLABORATION

INTER- AND INTRA-GOVERNMENTAL COLLABORATION

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

INTER-ORGANIZATION

COLLABORATION


We are pioneers!


6 step development model


A Developmental Model to Develop a Collaborative

Step 1 Problem /Problem set identificationWhat intractable problems are surfacing in our

environment that we cannot resolve by ourselves?Step 2 Motivation to ActSomeone alone and then with a small group decides to act

in concert with others because of the perceived benefits of collaborative action.

Step 3 Member Identification and Selection Who cares about the problem and is willing to join our

process?


Step 4 Collaborative PlanningShould a collaborative be created and if so what is its

vision and action strategies?

Step 5 Building an Organization Operationalizing the vision and action into structure,

leadership, communication, polices and procedures.

Step 6 Evaluation How is the collaboration performing re: performance

outcomes, quality of interaction, member satisfaction?Outcome measurement.


A Developmental Model to Develop a Collaborative

10 Critical Success Factors

Developed from the literature and recent research including the Interagency Services Collaboration Report.


#1 Motivation to Collaborate Motivation to collaborate is critical to the success of

collaboration. The desire to address gaps in service delivery and resource enlargement are the principal motivations to collaborate for NPOS. Forced or incentive driven partnerships designed by funders may have motivations that are unclear and not in the interest of participants.


Motivation to Collaborate

Is the organizing issue compelling enough to maintain interest and commitment?

Are there clear benefits to undertake collaboration.Is there a clear value proposition.Is the problem complex and cannot be addressed by a

sole organization.


#2 Environment is Ready

Conditions are favourable in the external environment.Funding is available.Convenor and convening leadership is seen as legitimate

and acceptable. Collaboration members have developed collaboration

skills and built some inter-organizational trust from previous efforts.


# 3 Power issues addressed head onCollaboratives are consumed with power and turf

issues!


PowerBoundary negotiation is constant-boundaries around

the problem, the boundary around the system -interpersonal boundaries.

Ambiguity reigns- attribution of power must be worked through in decision-making processes, policy and governance structures.


Joan Roberts Consulting, 2010

Some people believe conflict is not desirable in any relationship or organization!

Is that possible?

Is that desirable?

Collaborative organizations are created to explore and mediate conflicts.


Alliance type organizations are vehicles for conflict resolution. Their implicit purpose is to resolve conflict by naming it and working through it.

Joan Roberts Consulting, 2008www.joanroberts.com

There are always power dynamics in any human system. With each autonomous partner, the likelihood of power issues increase exponentially.


Political SkillsSuccessful coalition developers require political and networking abilities. Political competence is needed to understand and resolve conflicts of interest and value dilemmas inherent in systems made up of multiple organizations, each seeking to maintain autonomy while jointly interacting.

Political savvy can help change agents to manage their own roles and values in respect to those power dynamics. It can help them avoid being co-opted by certain collaborative members and thus losing their neutrality.

#4 Get the Right People

The persons and organizations that have an interest in the problem.

Those with resources (not only financial) that can address the problem.

Those that have the skills to co-create boundaries and negotiate the creation of a new structure.

Organizational representatives that can act.



Lateral LeadershipLeadership across and power with- rather than up and down- is what leadership looks like in a collaborative, whether shown by member or staff.

Leadership and Skill BuildingInter-organizational collaboration requires a range of skills,

often high-level. This complex skill-set includes all the skills required to run programs and organizations, and the ability to deal with a high level of conflict and change leadership competencies. Programs and training need to be made widely available to enable the people who will lead successful collaboration.

Looking at collaboration in the for-profit sector highlighted another important lesson: poor relationship building among organizations is what leads to a failure in their collaborative efforts. Relationships are built over time. Time and energy for this must be allocated.



Tent of Collaborative CompetenciesLateral Leadership

Content Expertise

Human resource management

Pattern Recognition

Adult Education/Facilitation

Problem solving

EmotionalIntelligence

Systems Change

FinancialManagement

Project Management

Agreement about the terms used to describe collaborative arrangements and the target issues must be a widespread goal. Professional jargon impedes trust building across sectors and with lay people. Organizations should move towards adapting the same definitions. Until these terms have been widely agreed upon, an emerging collaboration even needs to develop shared definitions of collaboration before beginning their conversation.


#5 Terminology JARGON

# 6 Find Common Ground

Development of a unique purpose and common vision is critical.

Begin the process with self-interest but to continue -need to transcend difference to find common ground.

Along with an agreed to common vision, the project needs clear measureable goals and objectives that can be linked to outcomes.


#7 Sufficiency of Financial and Other Resources

Financial resources are necessary for the extra time to build inter-organizational relationships in a collaborative process. Insufficient staffing prohibits the organizing of meetings and the work to implement intervention strategies.

Smaller agencies although motivated to collaborate to access needed resources often have little extra financial capacity to invest. But they bring skills and expertise, information, and connections to target populations.


#8 Leadership and Participation

Everyone in a multi-organizational collaborative experiences some form of culture shock and culture clash. Culture is a belief system-organizations and sectors all have many covert beliefs that only come to the surface when you work with people from outside your group.

Collaboratives need lateral leadership processes and role modeling to bridge the diverse cultures, perform boundary-spanning functions, and reveal and challenge assumptions that limit thinking and action. Change management tools from OD and adult education can help work through difference.


Leadership and ParticipationLiterature scans in Inter-agency Services Collaboration

Project (Wellesley Institute) found that good collaborative processes are necessary to improved outcomes.

Participative processes are needed to develop a vision and for governance especially decision making, trust building and the co-ordination work amongst multiple partners. These processes can facilitate the egalitarian leadership and commitment needed amongst disparate and autonomous partners to co-create a new mission and collaborative organization.


# 9 Role and Structural Clarity

Members need to understand their roles, rights and responsibilities and how to carry out their responsibilities.

A flexible governance framework needs to be developed to ensure participation, clear roles, and the policies needed to support the work.

Implementation strategies require a flexible organizational structure and multi-talented generalists as staff.

Once developed, its wise to formalize arrangements in a collaborative agreement.



Often collaborative members assume collaboratives are organized the same way as the organization they work in or a collaborative is just a process not an organization.

Collaboratives can function as democratic organizations if they are organized on a power sharing model.



Co-ordinationTeam

Comprised of staff and chairpersons

Organizations of Origin

Democratic TSStructure


What kind of work do organizations do?

Organizations manage knowledge to achieve desired results.

They are comprised of knowledge specialists and generalists who manage the interface between specialties.


What kind of work do collaboratives do?

A trans-organizational system ( technical term for a collaborative) manages knowledge too. It must be managed in a similar fashion to any organization comprised of specialists, but with TSs it is organizations that hold specialized knowledge rather than individuals.


Some collaborative members assume the work of a member of an alliance, coalition or partnership is to only attend meetings and share information!

The work of any organization is to transform knowledge. You do that through decision making. If no decisions are ever made, then the process is not an organization or a system.


# 10 Communication

Co-ordination of communication among partners and partnership activities, and the preparation of materials makes it possible for multiple, independent people and organizations to work together.

When there are only monthly meetings, ongoing communication can be supplemented with newsletters, e-mail broadcasts intranets and other technologies.

Maintaining a group memory is critical if there is member turnover.


A collaborative is built and maintained using 3 process streams:

People processesGovernance processesManagement/co-ordination processes


Model of Trans-Organizational Effectiveness

Trust BuildingProcesses

GovernanceProcesses

Co-ordinationProcesses

3 Process Streams


Trust Building or People Processes

As with any human system you need to build a team or a group where people feel safe and a sense of belonging. Trust-building processes are used to help build relationships among the individuals who come together to form a new group.


Group Development Theory

Collaboratives need to incorporate group development theory into day to day activities.Most known theory is Brian Tuckman’s stage theory:

FormingStormingNormingPerforming


Trust Building ProcessesTools include:Ice breakers-openers or closers-round robin Value discussions Visioning and strategic planning processes Dialogue Adult education principles Roles of group members Social events Storytelling and myth building Process consulting Joan Roberts Consulting www.joanroberts.com

What is Governance?

Governance process are organizational structures, decision making processes, and communication strategies. Governance structures and processes are concerned with and use power.

Tools to accomplish these objectives:

ContractingTerms of ReferencePolicy-makingDecision-makingConflict ResolutionRegular Meeting ManagementCollaborative Agreement

Why is Co-ordination the third leg? Another thinking trap is that an alliance, coalition

or partnership can be organized and maintained with very little co-ordination effort!

This set of processes and tools is essential for the work that must occur to form a TS and keep it operating and implementing its vision and strategic plan.


A collaborative needs more co-ordination not less, since it needs to transcend so many organizational boundaries and interests.


Tools for Work Co-ordination Include:Note or minute taking Logic models Work plans Timelines Communications mechanisms (i.e., e-mail, listserv,

internal newsletters, meeting agenda packages) Large group meetings Work groups and subcommittees or virtual teams Hiring staff or contracting with a consultant to

coordinate the work needed to keep the TS going Joan Roberts Consulting www.joanroberts.com

Adizes' 10 stages of an organizational life-cycle


Organizations must cycle back to stability to avoid decline


Story of the Canadian Geese: As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird following. By flying in a ‘V’ formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if the bird flew alone.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/1817034358/

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.Joan Roberts Consulting www.joanroberts.com

Lessons from Geese:


Lessons from GeeseIf we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go and we will be willing to accept their help as well as give our help to others..Joan Roberts Consulting www.joanroberts.com


Lessons from GeeseIf we have as much sense as geese, we too will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.




Conclusion

Collaboratives are a emerging form of organizationThey require a lot of co-ordination and different skill

setsThey are inherently politicalLeadership involves facilitating the process forward

rather than pushing ahead towards an end goal

More information can be found in:

Alliances Coalitions and Partnerships, Building Collaborative Organizations

Governance for Collaboratives: A Guide to Resolving Power and Conflict Issues

By Joan M. Roberts

ww.joanroberts.com


joan roberts consulting key factors for effective collaboratives presented by joan roberts, ma joan...

Documents

collaborative step

collaborative slide

organization step

definition of collaboration

identification step

collaborative planning

success of collaboration

problem definition step