Collaboration is “a mutually beneficial and well-defined
relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common goals”
(United Way). Dissecting this definition reveals key issues associated with
collaboration: 1) “mutual” benefit or the balance of value each collaborator
receives, 2) how “well-defined” the relationship is, and 3) the extent of “common
goals” or aligning interests between partners. While these issues may be more salient
for collaborations with certain sectors over others, overall, these issues are universal
and are related to collaborations with any sector.
Issue 1: Mutual
Benefit – Resource Flow
First, regardless of the sector in which the partner
organization operates, a successful collaboration must be “mutual” (United Way).
More specifically, one factor for creating a “mutual” or balanced benefit involves
considering resource directionality between participating organizations
(Austin, Seitanidi). Both Timberland and the Seattle Art Museum (SAM)
contributed financial resources or transferred assets to the nonprofit partner,
and received associational value (increased visibility of product and
grass-roots support, respectively) from their collaboration. However, the SAM
case was a more one-directional resource flow, creating a less “mutual” benefit
for SAM because of the associational value First Things First gained coupled
with value of the financial resources SAM contributed. The La Alianza and DHS
case provides another example of imbalanced resource flow. In this case, the negative
associational value on La Alianza’s reputation if it collaborates with DHS and
the human resource demands the DHS proposal requires create a large imbalance
in both resource flow and value creation; La Alianza receives less, must give more,
and has more to lose than DHS.
When the resource flow or benefits created are imbalanced,
the relationship is often unsustainable (Austin, Seitanidi). Regardless of
which sector it partners with, a nonprofit organization must consider this
issue of resource flow and balanced value creation.
Issue 2: Well-defined
Relationship
Another issue relevant for all collaborations with different
sectors concerns defining the roles of collaborating organizations and the
vision of the relationship. For both the City Year and La Alianza cases, the
relationship with their partner organizations was not well-defined. For City
Year, this created a potential conflict-of-interest situation as Timberland became
overinvolved and joined City Year’s board of directors. A nonprofit partnering
with a more powerful organization, such as in the La Alianza case, may feel
unable to ask their partner to clarify roles or visions for the relationship,
particularly when it may be heavily dependent on the funding included in the
collaboration. This power difference can arise in partnering with any sector,
not just a governmental organization. However, in designing and managing a
collaboration, planning is needed to define the relationship, set direction and
focus, and identify needed organizational structures and joint strategies (Sharman).
Issue 3: Shared Vision
Like defining the roles of the participating groups, a “shared
vision of the collaboration and what is to be accomplished” is key to any
successful collaboration (United Way). in the La Alianza case, the
collaboration puts La Alianza at risk of mission creep as the goals of the
partnership do not align with the organizational goals. ). This issue of
mission alignment also appears in the SAM case in which the participating
organizations were on socially polarized sides of the housing issue and initiated
the collaboration not because of their aligned interests but because of fear of
competition. Their shared “interests” were shallow roots for the collaboration;
deep roots are needed to create stability (Austin, Seitanidi). In collaborating
with any sector, linked interests is essential; a collaboration needs multiple,
deep linkages and greater linked interests creates greater motivation for all
participants (Austin, Seitanidi).
These cases revealed how similar collaborations are,
regardless of what sector a nonprofit partners with. Imbalanced power or
resource flow, lack of planning and defining roles, and misalignment in vision
and values are risk factors for any collaboration. However, effective collaborations
can help identify gaps in service, create opportunities for linking people from
diverse backgrounds to share diverse perspectives, and mobilize action to
effect needed change (United Way). When a collaboration is truly “mutual”, “well-defined”,
and has “common goals”, “greater value can be created for participating
organizations, individuals, and society” (Austin, Seitanidi).
Sources:
Austin,
James E., Seitanidi, M.May. "Value Created Through Collaboration". From The Jossey-Bass
handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Sharma, Janet. "How I Learned to Stop Griping and Love Collaboration". From Collaboration Handbook, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
United Way. "Best Practices Summary: Collaboration, Coalition-Building and Merger".
