Alliances, coalitions, public-private partnerships, collective impact initiatives, interagency collaboratives, networks… Whether required by funders or voluntarily created to better improve community outcomes, nonprofits and public agencies must work together all the time.
- Are individuals within your organization prepared to collaborate? Do they understand what it means, and what they bring to the collective table?
- Are you participating in meaningful partnership efforts? Do they help advance your organization’s mission? Do they support results you cannot achieve on your own?
- Does your network have in place the foundational elements for success? Is there a shared purpose, effective communication, strong relationships based on trust, a clear decision-making process, and just-enough structure to quickly respond to relevant issues?
- Is your collaborative achieving its intended results? Are you measuring and sharing them?
The Strategies Center can work with you to establish a new coalition or strengthen your existing network. We can:
- Administer assessments
- Provide training on the elements of effective, sustainable collaboration
- Guide you through formal consensus decision-making
- Help you to develop structure, including membership and agreements
- Facilitate strategic action planning
- Evaluate your coalition’s work
- Serve as the backbone organization to get your collective impact initiative started
