Service Delivery
Forming, Funding, and Maintaining Partnerships and Collaborations
How can we establish and maintain a community partnership or collaboration with other organizations or groups?
While there are a number of potential benefits, including eligibility for external funding, that may come with community partnerships and collaborations, their formation can be challenging, and maintaining them over time can present additional challenges. Organizers can face frustrations in attempting to secure the active participation of agencies that are seen as being key to success, or in keeping the parties committed to working together toward common goals. Differences in agency missions, orientations, and methods of operation can present barriers to communication and disagreements on how to work toward these
There is no simple means for overcoming these challenges but there are some guidelines provided by past research that can assist organizers in outlining the nature of the task and provide yardsticks by which current progress can be measured. Wilder Research Center conducted a massive review of the research literature on the characteristics of successful collaborations. The researchers described 20 different
Environmental
- Experience with collaboration or cooperation in the community
- Collaborative group is seen as a legitimate leader in the community
- Favorable political and social climate
Membership Characteristics
- Mutual respect, understanding, and trust
- Appropriate cross-section of members [stake holders are adequately represented]
- Members see collaboration as in their self-interest
- Ability to compromise
Process and Structure Factors
- Members share a stake in the process and outcome
- Multiple layers of participation [members include both line staff, middle, and upper management of the participating organizations]
- Flexibility
- Development of clear roles and policy guidelines
- Adaptability
- Appropriate pace of development
Communication Factors
- Open and frequent communication
- Established informal relationships and communication links
Purpose Factors
- Concrete, attainable goals and objectives
- Shared vision
- Unique purpose [different from that of the individual participating groups]
Resource Factors
- Sufficient funds, staff, materials, and time
- Skilled leadership
More Information
A number of resources are available on-line for those interested in establishing or maintaining community partnerships. Together, the following sources provide how-to details for establishing and maintaining community partnerships and collaboration.
Toolkit for Establishing and Maintaining Community Partnerships and Collaborations
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) prepared a toolkit on issues related to establishing and maintaining community partnerships and collaborations. In addition, the toolkit provides discussions on numerous topics, including selection of potential partners or collaborators, preparation for meetings, monitoring progress, and anticipating potential problems. OJJDP also prepared a bulletin specifically about planning and establishing systems for information sharing between agencies working in collaborations or partnerships.
See the toolkit at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
Community Toolbox Resources
The Community Toolbox provides a description of a number of issues related to community partnerships, guides for initiative development, advice for avoiding or resolving common problems, and forums and chat rooms for sharing first-hand experiences.
See the resources at ctb.ku.edu
Information on Building Coalitions and Community Needs Assessments
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration produced a series of publications called "Community How To Guide On..." which cover several topics, including building a coalition between several organizations. The coalition guide includes suggestions for recruiting participants, overcoming obstacles, and improving communication. It also includes checklists to highlight the key issues described in the guide. An additional guide is provided that discusses the importance of a community needs assessment which can assist in the formation and support of a community partnership or collaboration.
See the Needs Assessment guide at www.nhtsa.gov
Building Community Partnerships and Systems Change at the Neighborhood Level
The Center for the Study of Social Policy provides a number of publications relevant to establishing and maintaining partnerships, many of which can be read online for free or ordered in hardcopy for the listed fee. Among them are publications on Building Community Partnerships and Systems Change at the Neighborhood Level.
Report on Evaluation of Grant Program for Local Community Partnerships
The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention produced a report on an evaluation of a grant program that provided funding to 251 local community partnerships. The report contains information about the implementation process, descriptions of the nature of the evaluated partnerships, and characteristics of successful partnerships.
Collaborations Between State Agencies and Academic Researchers
The Collaboration Newsletter is a service of the Center for Mental Health Services and is geared primarily toward issues surrounding collaborations between state agencies and academic researchers. Many articles, however, contain information that is applicable to collaborations in general.
Using Technology to Support and Enhance the Work of Collaborating Agencies
The Office of Victims of Crime sponsored the creation of a bulletin on a model program for collaboration on crime victim services. This bulletin provides an illustration of how technology can be used to support and enhance the work of the collaborating agencies through the sharing of information and elimination of duplicated effort.
Establishing and Maintaining Community Partnerships for Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Researchers at the Cornerstone Consulting Group produced a report that discusses a number of issues relevant to establishing and maintaining community partnerships. The report is written in the context of efforts to prevent teen pregnancy, but much of the material applies to any type of partnership and collaboration. In particular, see the chapter on "Understanding the Process of Partnership Development" and the sections on the advantages and difficulties of partnerships.
Characteristics of Effective Partnerships Between Schools and Community Agencies
With school success being strongly linked to non-academic factors such as poverty, family relationships, and mental and physical health status, meeting youths' needs requires collaboration between schools and community services. The WestEd policy brief Using School-Community Partnerships to Bolster Student Learning addresses this issue by offering information about the importance of schools creating partnerships with youth-serving organizations and giving examples of what some school districts have done to develop such partnerships. The policy brief describes several characteristics of effective partnerships between schools and community agencies. A key characteristic is the ability of a school to identify organizations that can coordinate services, enhance communication between partners, and provide the partnership with the stability that is necessary to sustain funding. Policy recommendations that can be carried out at the state and local level are also provided in the policy brief.
Footnotes
[1] Chavis, D. M, "Building Community Capacity to Prevent Violence Through Coalitions and Partnerships, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995, pp. 234-245. The list of ten primary functions listed earlier is taken from page 236 of this article.
[2] Mattessich, P. W., M. Murray-Close, and B. R. Monsey, Collaboration: What Makes It Work, 2nd ed., Appen. A, St. Paul, Minn.: Amherst Wilder Foundation, 2001. To order, visit: www.wilder.org/pubs
Back to Top