COLLABORATION 101:

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COLLABORATION 101

• AKA The Art of Collaboration

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SESSION PURPOSE

• To provide participants with the basic
  information needed to successfully link services
  with other community child and family services
• To provide participants with the skills needed to
  improve coordination and delivery of child and
  family services in communities.

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SESSION AGENDA

• Overview of Session
• What is Collaboration?
• Pre-Collaboration Assessment
• The Collaborative Process
• Partnership Success Principles
• Wrap Up

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ACTIVITY

• MY HOME IS MY CASTLE
• Why is your home your castle?
• Why is this important to you?
• Why would I want to come live with you at your
  house?
• What would be the benefits to me?
• What would be the challenges if I came to live
  with you?

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COLLABORATION IS

• Collaboration is the most intense level of
  working together. It is a structure a process
  for creating CHANGE.
• A collaborative effort is driven by partners who
  agree to share information, activities,
  resources, influence, power decision-making
  authority to achieve common goals goals that no
  single partner or program could achieve by acting
  alone.
• From Community Partnerships Working Together, US
  DHHS

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BARRIERS/SANDTRAPS

• Turf-ism
• History of unresolved conflict/Hidden agendas
• Lack of communication
• Lack of clear purpose
• Lack of leadership
• Ineffective inter- OR intra- agency structures

• Resistance to change
• Lack of time/resources
• Conflicting requirements
• Parents/Staff not involved in decisions
• Unequal distribution of work/recognition
• No clear ground rules

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BENEFITS TO COLLABORATION

• Increased access to additional services for
  children families
• Full day/year
• Continuity of care
• Expanding services in cost effective manner

• Serving a wider range of children
• Improving quality
• Reaching new communities
• Providing more flexibility
• Strengthening local community systems

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COLLABORATION SKILLSPRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

1. Relationships created by communication.
2. Intrapersonal communication is a major factor
   affecting interpersonal communication.
3. Relationships should be defined by both persons.
4. Each is 100 responsible for nature of the
   relationship.

1. Relationships change when communication changes.
2. To change a relationship requires persistence.
3. Most options the best odds of getting what is
   wanted.
4. Communication is most effective when it reflects
   intentions for the relationship.

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COLLABORATION SKILLS COMMUNICATION

• WHAT LANGUAGE ARE YOU SPEAKING?
• Cross program/cross agency language barriers,
  i.e., use of acronyms
• Articulation of agency mission, goals, and
  philosophy
• Active listening
• Research
• Written, verbal, and body
• Ongoing

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COLLABORATION SKILLSNEGOTIATION

• A WORD ABOUT POWER
• Negative positive uses
• Same characteristics can be negative or positive
• Sunshine/Shadow
• Charisma winning/beguiling
• Expertise apply share/withhold
• Persuasion convincing/bullying
• Position/turf knowing boundaries or
  demanding control

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COLLABORATION SKILLS NEGOTIATING COMMON GROUND

• POSITIONS regulations, beliefs, demands
• INTERESTS what you care about, concerns, what
  matters
• MUST come to middle/common ground

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COLLABORATION SKILLS NEGOTIATING COMMON GROUND
Position Whats your demand? Is it regulatory or belief based? Interest What do you care about? What worries you? COMMON GROUND Interest What are your biggest concerns? Why does it matter? Position What do you believe? Why is it right?
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COLLABORATION SKILLSNEGOTIATION

• WHEN NEGOTIATING
• Honor the relationship
• Be realistic fair
• Know your bottom line
• Come prepared to commit resources
• Explain what youre doing
• Engage in active listening

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COLLABORATION SKILLS NEGOTIATION

• Work toward a group outcome
• Work toward the Mission, not self-interest
• Facilitate dont manipulate
• Take a fresh look at practices standards
  remember the difference between
  positions/interests
• Take PLENTY of TIME to get it right!

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INTRA-AGENCY PRE-ASSESSMENT

• LOOKING INWARD
• HOW ARE WE DOING ON OUR OWN?
• Look at own mission, integration, evaluation
• DO WE NEED TO CHANGE?
• What needs to change how?
• Whats in it for you?

• LOOKING OUTWARD
• HOW WELL ARE WE CONNECTED?
• How connected where
• HOW READY ARE WE TO COLLABORATE?
• Common vision, how strong are connections?

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STAGE 1 Getting Together

• MILESTONES
• DECIDING TO ACT
• SELECTING PARTNERS
• SET GROUND RULES
• EVALUATE/CELEBRATE

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DECIDING TO ACT

• HAVE YOU COMPLETED YOUR PRE-ASSESSMENT WORK?
• HAVE YOU DETERMINED A NEED FOCUS FOR
  COLLABORATING?
• THEN, YOURE READY TO MOVE ON

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SELECTING PARTNERS

• CONSIDER
• Who you know/share a positive relationship
• Who you need
• Who has the expertise skills you need
• Diversity

• Power who has it/what do you need
• Who can block it
• Who will be affected
• How big should the group be - numbers

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SETTING GROUND RULES

• DISCUSS/DECIDE
• Meetings when, where, how often, who does
  agenda,
• Rules to guide decision-making
• Rules to protect confidentiality
• Responsibilities

• Length of time
• How to resolve conflict
• How to keep records, gather data, share
  information
• How to evaluate work

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STAGE 2 Building Trust Ownership

• MILESTONES
• Engage Partners
• Build Common Base of Knowledge
• Develop Shared Vision
• Revisit Revise Ground Rules
• ID Planning Resources
• Evaluate/Celebrate

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ENGAGING PARTNERS

• BUILD TRUST/OWNERSHIP WITH PARTNERS BY
• Face to face individual meetings
• Visit them on their turf, at their home
• Share information tentative dream
• Clear the air
• DONT apply pressure

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BUILD A BASE OF KNOWLEDGE

• BUILD TRUST/OWNERSHIP WITH KNOWLEDGE BY
• Work to understand self-interest personal
  similarities differences
• Apply no PRESSURE
• Accept divergent point of view
• Presume the positive
• Avoid 1 right answer thinking

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BUILD BASE OF KNOWLEDGE (continued)

• Encourage risk taking
• Figure out whats in it for them!
• Share information about your services, program
  culture, etc. Find out about theirs.
• Focus on their skills
• Clear the air
• Think and act win-win
• TAKE YOUR TIME

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DEFINING A SHARED VISION

• VISION Clear picture of what you hope to
  create.
• SHARED VISION SHOULD
• Get partners to knit own visions into ONE
• Focus on possibilities for children families
• Generate energy motivation
• Tell everyone where collaborative is going

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ACTIVITY

• DREAM HOUSE
• How does the group dream house compare to your
  own dream house?
• What was hard about the process?
• What did you notice about behaviors during the
  activity that helped/hindered it?
• What would have made it better?

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In Stage 2, dont forget to

• Assess the group to ensure there is commitment to
  the collaboration the Vision.
• Revisit your Ground Rules revise renegotiate
  until all partners are satisfied.
• ID planning resources before you move into the
  planning of Stage 3.

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STAGE 3 Developing a Strategic Plan

• MILESTONES
• Develop a Mission
• Environmental Capacity Assessment
• Establish Goals Strategies
• Write Plan of Action
• Evaluate Celebrate

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DEVELOP THE MISSION

• MISSION captures the SHARED VISION, UNIQUE
  PURPOSE VALUES of the collaboration, and
  should
• State the direction, rationale what will be
  achieved by the collaboration
• Describe what (will be accomplished) for whom
• Suggest the scope of work how big, how
  many/much
• Convey the Vision
• Be easy to UNDERSTAND and REMEMBER
• Not include the how-tos for achieving results

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ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

• Consider
• Economic/population changes
• Funding trends
• Political social forces
• Laws/regulations
• Policies/procedures
• Existing collaborations
• Share info about these impact on the collab
• What other needs?

• What is happening in the community that will
  affect your plan?
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.

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CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

• Discuss strengths each partner brings
  individually collectively to the collaboration
• Discuss/list what is lacking.
• Consider benefits of collaborative action what
  might happen if you take no action in the
  immediate future

• Central Question Does the collaboration have the
  ability to accomplish its mission?
• Review the Environmental Analysis prioritize
  which factors will have the greatest impact on
  the collaboration

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ESTABLISH WELL-FORMED GOALS

• GOAL specific statement of what collaborative
  partners intend to do.
• GOALS ARE
• Indicators of what partners want to achieve
• Measures for evaluating a collaborations
  progress
• Measures for holding partners accountable

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GOALS (continued)

• LONG TERM GOALS results partners hope to see in
  2-3 or more years
• SHORT TERM GOALS focus on more specific,
  immediate results
• In developing GOALS, use the following
• Does the goal focus on the positive?
• Is it realistic achievable?
• Can it be measured?
• Is it clear specific?

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GOALS (continued) AFTER

• GOALS
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.

• AFTER goals are decided
• Compare them to the environmental analysis
  capacity assessment
• If large gaps are found revise the goals until
  gaps are minimized

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SELECT STRATEGIES

• Brainstorm strategies or routes to achieve goals
• Look at potential impacts, benefits costs of
  each
• Select those that are feasible
• Review Mission see if strategies fit

• GOAL 1
• Strategy 1
• Strategy 2
• Strategy 3
• GOAL 2
• Strategy 1
• Strategy 2
• Strategy 3

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DEVELOP A PLAN OF ACTION

• Map out actions to implement strategies
• Decide who will take responsibility for each
  action
• Set target dates for completing each action
• Decide on accountability/evaluation measures or
  standards
• Prepare a budget

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CASE STUDIES

• There are 5 case studies.
• Case Studies 1 2 A Partnership at Work
• 2 different perspectives
• Case Study 3 Discord in Harmony
• Case Studies 4 5 Metro-City Head Start
• Scenes 1 2
• In groups of 5-7, take 30 minutes to review,
  discuss answer the questions.

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STAGE 4 Taking Action

• MILESTONES
• Written Agreement
• Implement Plan of Action
• Adapt/Expand
• Monitor Evaluate
• Celebrate

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COMPONENTS OF A WRITTEN AGREEMENT

• Identity/legal status of signers.
• Period of agreement.
• Scope/Vision.
• Statement of performance/services/plan.
• Compliance with regulations.
• Financial agreement/payment procedures.
• Prior approval requirements/authority.
• Management.
• Equipment/materials ownership.

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AGREEMENT COMPONENTS (CONT.)

• Liability/Insurance.
• Record Keeping/Confidentiality.
• Monitoring/Evaluation.
• Public/Community Relations.
• Conflict of Interest/Prohibited Activities.
• Changes/Amendments.
• Dispute Resolution.
• Renewal/Termination.
• Contact Person.
• Signatures.

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WRITTEN AGREEMENTS

• REMEMBER, it is always advised to consult an
  attorney!

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WHY A WRITTEN AGREEMENT?

• To write agree to shared vision
• To write agree to goals, strategies plan
• To spell out results
• To spell out responsibilities
• To spell out services
• To define partnership management

• To commit to what, when, how
• To hold people accountable
• For audit legal purposes
• To provide escape in case of failure
• To commit resources
• For monitoring evaluation

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OPERATIONAL TIPS ASK

• Is the Written Agreement in place?
• Has the case management record keeping system
  been revised?
• Are there policies procedures in place?
• Is there a system for access to needed records
  information?
• Are confidentiality protocols in place
  understood?
• Does the database include the collaboration?

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OPERATIONAL TIPS ASK

• Does the collaboration team meet regularly?
• Are communication systems used effectively?
• Is conflict appropriately addressed?
• Have job descriptions been revised?
• Is there a collaboration manager with appropriate
  support/authority?
• Are we doing cross training?

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OPERATIONAL TIPS, ASK

• Have the goals been communicated effectively?
• Is the team regularly assessing progress on the
  plan?
• Is data being collected analyzed?
• Are team members following through?
• Is the community aware of the collaboration?
• Are you evaluating for outcomes?

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EVALUATION

• Evaluation is an ongoing process
• Tells how well the strategies are working
• Guides changes/modifications to the plan
• DOES NOT need to be complex
• Find out whats working whats not
• Fix whats not

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EVALUATING EFFORT

• ASK
• Are our efforts achieving our Mission?
• What environmental factors have inhibited or
  helped?
• Do we need new partners?
• Is our Plan being implemented?

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EVALUATING EFFECTIVENESS

• ASK
• Are we reaching the right people?
• Are we making an impact?
• What are the child/family outcomes?
• Whats different?
• What happened that we didnt expect?
• Is our Plan still appropriate?

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EVALUATING EFFICIENCY

• ASK
• Are our goals attainable? Are they being
  attained?
• Are our resources sufficient?
• Are we making the best use of our talents
  strengths?
• What can we do to be more efficient?

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PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

• TAKE YOUR TIME DEVELOP THE PARTNERSHIP
• DRAW FROM STRENGTHS OF ALL
• OPENNESS, HONESTY, MUTUAL RESPECT
• ATMOSPHERE OF POSITIVE THINKING
• RECOGNIZE SEEK EXCELLENCE

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PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

• HOLD TO THE VISION
• ABIDE BY RULES
• HONOR AGREEMENTS
• SYSTEMS-FOCUSED APPROACH
• ADAPT TO CHANGE
• HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR!

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BE A STAR! COLLABORATION COMMERCIAL

• With a team, take 5 minutes to develop a 60
  second commercial promoting and selling
  collaboration.
• Commercials should be ONLY a paragraph, catchy,
  and include concepts learned.