Collaboration

Benefits
Guidelines

Definition: "a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more parties, who work toward common goals by sharing responsibility, authority, and accountability for achieving results." (Chrislip & Larson)

Successful partnering requires a shift of perspective from the individual (company/organization) to the community--from what's good for me to what's good for me to what's good for the network. (Kanter)

Benefits:

Cost Savings
Visibility
Sphere of Impact
Potentially improving image or credibility
Synergy
What else?

Guidelines:

Connection with Purpose & People

Alliances are successful when key individuals connect personally and emotionally with the alliance's social purpose and each other.

Clarity of purpose

Jointly prepare a written purpose statement. Vagueness or ambiguity will cloud the vision of the undertaking and may breed confusion or event conflict.

Congruency of Mission, Strategy, and Values

Engage early in identifying alignment between mission, strategy, and values. The closer the alignment the greater the potential gains from collaboration.

Creation of Value

Jointly and explicitly specify the benefits each of you expect to obtain from the collaboration.

Communication Between Partners

Respect and trust are imperative in collaborative relationships. Communication needs to be open and frank and critical communication constructive. Do you treat each other as partners?

Continual Learning

Collaboration must be viewed as dynamic. Partners need to view alliances as learning laboratories and cultivate a discovery ethic that supports continual learning.

Commitment To Partnership

Over committing and under delivering can destroy partner credibility and neglect can lead quickly to partner disengagement.
(James E. Austin)

For more information on collaboration, contact Renee Alfano: Alfano@odos.wisc.edu.