Partnering and collaborating

What, why and how to collaborate

Collaboration is a common way for people working in social services to get things done. Here we look at some of the ways people work together and share tips on effective partnering.

Collaboration in many shapes and sizes

Sometimes collaboration means very different things to different people. It can be hard to reach a common understanding. New Zealand researchers Megan Courtenay and David Craig suggest viewing partnerships as one specific type of relationship. Ways of working range from co-existing together to a comprehensive formal partnership (see diagram 1).

Diagram 1, A partnering continuum
(from Potential to Partnerships (2004) by David Craig and Megan Courtenay)

Collaboration can include:

• structured processes to co-ordinate service delivery
• strategic alliances focusing on policy objectives
• working for societal-wide change
• joint public awareness campaigns
• sharing back office services (eg photocopiers)
• community forums and other types of community engagement 
• jointly defining problems and co-creating new initiatives. 

Defining Partnerships

The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS) describes partnerships according to their purpose, focus, governance, participants, timeframes and funding.

Purpose	Partnerships may be created for strategic planning, service co-ordination, information sharing, service/programme delivery, or capacity building
Focus	Some partnerships focus on a sector such as health, education, or youth justice. In others, representatives from central government, local government, and community groups come together to work collectively on broad themes such as safer communities, healthy cities, and strengthening families.
Governance	The possible governance structures for partnerships range from simple informally constituted collectives, to formal legal entities such as charitable trusts, charitable companies and incorporated societies. The parties may also have contractual arrangements between them.
The range of participants	Participants can be drawn from central government, local government, the community and voluntary sector, iwi and Māori organisations, business or industry groupings, or other key interest groups.
Timeframes	Partnerships can be formed to undertake short term one-off projects, or they can be the basis of an ongoing relationship between two or more parties, who subsequently undertake a range of projects over the long term.
Funding arrangements	Partnerships may be funded by central or local government, co-partner funded, or non-partner funded

Why collaborate?

Collaboration allows organisations to deliver more than what each one could deliver alone.

Other benefits include:

• Improved or a wider range of services for clients 
• Financial savings and better use of resources
• Knowledge and information sharing
• Sharing the risk in new projects
• Stronger, united voice
• Better co-ordination of organisations’ activities.

Tips for successful collaboration

It's not always easy to work with others, especially when you are trying to solve big, tough problems. Quite a bit of effort is needed to set up collaborative projects or agreements right from the start.

Lessons on partnerships from FACS Here are some lessons FACS has learnt through its practical work engaging in partnerships: Spend time building relationships, where expectations are clear and understood by everyone Respect diversity, recognising the unique skills and experiences everyone brings Have a shared vision, values and principles which guide how you will operate Decide on the outcomes you want to achieve – why you are there Plan how you will achieve the outcomes and how you will measure if you are successful Use open and clear communication, including how you will keep in touch between meetings Plan what you are going to do together – don’t come up with an idea and then ask people to support you.

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