This is a summary of what partnership and collaboration can mean for your organisation, and how to approach working in partnership effectively. It’s meant as a basic outline to guide your initial thoughts, not as a complete “how to”. Particularly if you are thinking about entering into a formal partnership you’ll need additional information, and perhaps legal advice.

Working with other organisations and groups increases your impact, improves your service to your beneficiaries, increases your “fundability” and can save costs. However, in order for joint-working to provide and maintain these benefits you need to think carefully before entering into any form of collaboration, however informal.

Informal collaboration can include all kinds of working arrangements such as referrals, providing free “hot-desk” space to colleagues from other organisations, running events together.

Formal collaboration includes sharing offices or back-office functions, partnering to run projects or campaigns, making joint bids to funders or commissioners.

Things to think about before you start your collaboration or partnership

Don’t make your decision before thinking it through. Have you had enough time to really consider this and spot any potential issues? Even the most informal arrangement can cause problems so it’s important to discuss the main issues.

• What could we realistically get from collaborating with another organisation –  better service for our beneficiaries, increased income, reduced costs etc
• Could we get what we want another way?
• Will it have a major impact on how we work, staffing etc?
• Might it have a negative effect on other relationships we value?
• Does it fit with our vision for the future, our priorities and plans or will it just divert our energies without giving us anything back?
• Do we have enough capacity to do this properly? Even quite simple, informal, short-term collaborations take time to set up and run. A formal partnership will mean key staff being diverted from other jobs for a long time.

Your committee or board

Your committee or board (trustees or directors) need to keep a close eye on the progress of the joint work to make sure it’s working in ways that provide a benefit to your organisation. There may be points where legal or other professional advice is needed and it’s their job to make sure this happens. As with everything else your organisation does, the trustees/directors need to be sure that it fits with your purpose as defined in your governing document. Especially if your plans are for a major collaboration or partnership they may find additional information and training useful so that they can fully understand their role.

Managing change

The people who will lead on your collaboration could be trustees or paid staff, or even an external consultant. What are the skills, information and other qualities (persistence, good listening etc) needed to do this well?

It’s a good idea to think in advance about who might need to be involved at each stage, and how you will keep everyone informed about how things are progressing.

Finding the right partner

Often you start to explore collaboration when there’s already a potential partner, or perhaps you are thinking about researching who is out there that you could work with. In either case, make sure that you investigate them thoroughly before making any major commitment. Are they financially sound? Do they have the staff and trustees to make this work? What are their overall strengths and weaknesses?

Research has shown that one of the main factors that makes great collaboration is a match in organisational culture and values, so pay particular attention to this when you are asking questions. Your potential partner organisation might be smaller, or larger than you. How will you negotiate power imbalances?

If you choose to build a more formal relationship with a current partner think about how this might change the way you currently work together. Might you lose something on the way?

Managing risk

This is an important issue with any form of joint working that we can only summarise here.

There are all kinds of risk involved in collaboration, including;

• Finance and resources
• Staffing and capacity
• Reputation

You will also need to properly manage:

• intellectual property rights and copyright
• compliance with data protection law
• possible re-location for any of your activities and the impact of this

Financing your collaboration

Planning and setting up a new initiative and managing change takes time.

• Can you get funding for a feasibility study or risk assessment?
• Can you afford to set aside funding to set up and run the collaboration?
• Are your funders aware that collaborative working may take time to show results? Are there any ‘quick wins’ that will reassure them?

Financial management

• If you are grant funded, is one organisation in the partnership going to be financially accountable to the funder? How will you decide which?
• How will you manage the receipt and allocation of funding?
• Who is liable for what if things go wrong?

Organisational impact

Always bear in mind the impact of collaboration on the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of your organisation as a whole. Make sure you identify:

• Opportunity costs –  costs you’ll have to meet upfront before you start to see the benefits.
• How you will maximise opportunities and minimise problems

Regular reviews will ensure you keep the work on track.

• How will you evaluate the ongoing success of the collaboration?
• How will you know when you have achieved your aim?

Public relations

Collaborating can have an effect on your public profile. You may lose control over your brand, perhaps putting your reputation in the firing line if things go wrong as a result of partners’ actions.

• How will you manage the branding of joint work?
• Is there potential for positive publicity about the collaboration?

Staffing

Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of individuals will limit the likelihood of conflict.

• Do you envisage problems with staff and volunteers with allegiance to their particular organisation, rather than to the proposed collaborative working project?
• How will you deal with conflict?
• Can you afford the time and money necessary to train staff and volunteers in new working procedures and systems?

Formalising your partnership

Written agreements in formal partnerships aid clarity and help to manage conflict. It is important to set out exactly what will happen if the collaboration ends. In all but the simplest cases, a properly drafted legal agreement is recommended.

If you decide it’s not for you

Collaborative working may not be right for you right now, but organisations should regularly review how collaborative working might help them. Each opportunity should be considered on its own merits.

Useful info (for charities) here

Disclaimer

We make every effort to ensure that our information is correct at the time of publication. 

This is only intended as a brief summary of relevant issues and information. Legal advice should be sought where appropriate. The inclusion of other organisations in this information does not imply any endorsement of independent bodies, they are just for signposting purposes.

Voscur is unable to accept liability for any loss or damage or inconvenience arising as a consequence of the use of this information.