Collaboration can take
many forms occurring across sectors or within a single sector. Each type of
partnership presents a different set of opportunities and challenges as well as
unique issues. In our class, we learned about three types of collaboration in
detail: nonprofit and government, nonprofit and for-profit, and two nonprofits.
Nonprofit and Government
The Massachusetts
Department of Social Services (DSS) and La Alianza Hispana (La Alianza) joined
forces in order to improve the DSS’s ability to provide culturally competent
services in Boston. DSS lacked community credibility; La Alianza had a strong
and valued reputation. As a government agency DSS had many resources and
developed structures valuable to a small, community funded group like La
Alianza. On the other hand, La Alianza’s reputation and cultural knowledge were
of great interest to DSS.
The potential
benefits of a collaboration between the two entities were:
·
Identifying
gaps in current services and cooperate to fill gaps;
·
Share
similar concerns while being enriched by diverse perspectives that different
members from varied backgrounds bring to collaboration. (United Way, 2008)
Unfortunately, the
collaborative partnership was unbalanced. Factors that influence successful collaboration
were absent in a contract that DSS proposed. The process and structural factors
that challenged this collaboration were the absence of a shared stake in the
ownership by members of both agencies, flexibility, and a shared decision making
model (Sharma & Missey, 1998).
Nonprofit and For-profit
City Year and
Timberland partnered over a joint interest in making the world a better place. Mutual
respect and shared vision drove the partnership, and for a period of several
years both City Year and Timberland benefitted from the collaboration. The
partnership had a solid foundation of accessible financial resources and a
commitment to the vision of City Year, but was challenged by lack of a
strategic plan.
When resources
became limited as City Year lost government funding and Timberland posted their
first annual loss the future was uncertain. According to Michael Winer-Cyr of
the Amherst Wilder Foundation, collaboration is: “A mutually beneficial and
well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common
goals.” (United Way, 2008). Where City Year and Timberland were challenged was
in the “well-defined relationship” portion of collaboration; when hard economic
times entered the picture, neither entity had a plan for the future of the collaboration.
Two Nonprofits
An unlikely
friendship was struck between the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and First Things
First (FTF) when a tax levy was proposed that would benefit both groups. FTF
was a coalition that advocated for low income housing and was skilled in grassroots
community engagement; SAM on the other hand was a favored by blue chip patrons…
the potential benefits from the collaboration were:
·
Mobilized
action to effect needed change through collective advocacy;
·
To achieve
greater visibility with decision-makers, the media, and the larger community
(United Way, 2008)
The challenges SAM and FTF experienced in
their partnership had much to do with trust and mutual respect. The differences
that brought them together also created tension because the purpose of the
collaboration was not clearly defined to volunteers and agency members. Since
each group was very different from the other, more time needed to be invested
in building trust.
Collaboration can be beneficial in any of
the forms it may take. For collaboration to be successful, the relationship
must emphasize balance, have a planned direction, and promote communication with
all stakeholders. Strategic planning is necessary to address all of the
potential issues in collaboration to ensure an advantageous partnership.
References
Elias, J. 1996. Timberland and Community Involvement.
Supervisor James Austin. Harvard Business School Publishing. Boston, MA.
Fortier, S. 1996. Funding Seattle’s Art Museum and Low-Income
Housing: The Politics of Interest Groups and Tax Levies (A). Supervisor Jon
Brock. Cascade Center for Public Service: Public Service Curriculum Exchange.
Sharma,
Janet and Amanda Missey. 1998. “How I learned to Stop Griping . . . And Love
Collaboration.” From a presentation at the National Community Service
Conference. June 30, 1998. New Orleans, LA.
United Way. 2008. “Best Practices Summary: Collaboration,
Coalition-Building, and Merger.”
Varley, P. 1996. Partners in Child Protection Services: The
Department of Social Services and La Alianza Hispana (A). Abridged. Kennedy
School of Government. Boston, MA
