What have we learnt?
Most problems are too complex to solve on one’s own: ‘if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together’. Over the last year, we’ve learnt three key things that make collaborative work successful:
Collaboration requires a shared purpose that focuses on beneficiaries
True collaboration, unlike many partnerships, starts with a shared purpose which can only be built together and must be informed by the voices of beneficiaries. Within this shared purpose, roles and responsibilities need to be understood and respected, including who takes decisions on what, recognising decisions are best taken as close as possible to where they impact on people’s lives. When the shared purpose focuses on beneficiaries, bureaucratic barriers and turf wars between organisations begin to fall away. And collaboration persists, even when individuals move on.
Systems leaders have a big role to play
‘Systems leaders’ work beyond organisational self-interest and professional silos to fix systems that fail beneficiaries. And systems leaders are not found only at the top of organisations: once principles are agreed, front-line staff are best placed to lead the detailed design of changes, engaging with everyone involved.
Work on relationships, as they make collaborations work
When organisations come together, the starting place is often unequal and mutual understanding is low. Trust and respect can be built though contact in informal shared spaces, where people ‘take off their lanyards’ and bring their personal as well as professional experiences to the conversation. This allows people to be honest about what’s not working, to stop being defensive and be open to fresh approaches.
What can we do?
Here are some things we’ve identified that everyone can do – service providers, charities, central and local government and public agencies, private companies and funders too – and we’ll be exploring further how to do these things well, as well as investigating new ideas:
Putting in place a shared understanding and purpose
Spend time developing a shared purpose, informed by beneficiaries, and involve all social partners, including at national level as we advocate here.
Make sure roles and responsibilities are clear, and are aligned to the purpose.
Work on the shared language, metrics and systems that underpin successful collaboration.
Adopting systems leadership
Invest in systems leadership, including ‘connecting organisations’ and networks that can share learning and help build collective leadership.
Build systems leadership into job descriptions, including in local and national government as well as across sectors, and for front line not just senior roles.
Rewire funding, commissioning, procurement and governance practices to encourage collaboration, not competition.
Working on relationships
Make time for relationships right from the beginning and nurture them throughout.
Create opportunities for people to come together, and consider co-location.
Recognise the imbalances and inequalities that exist in collaborations and agree standards for behaviour that enable participation by all.
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