The ability to collaborate with other organizations for the purpose of jointly tackling problems, achieving shared goals, and generating value in ways that are not possible when acting independently, is rapidly becoming a critical success factor for organizations in all sectors of the economy.
The proven benefits of collaboration include securing access to capital, expertise and facilities, sharing the costs and risks of major projects, improving the quality and efficiency of service delivery, securing economies of scale and reducing costs, improved innovation, and more effective ways of tackling “complex” social and economic issues.
In true collaboration, the defined purpose and shared goals of the initiative are prioritized over and above the interests of the individual participants. To achieve these goals, the participants must be willing to modify their own organizational processes or systems to maximize the overall effectiveness of the collaboration and invest in activities that enhance the capabilities of their collaborative partners.
Forms of collaboration notable for their growing use and proven value for generating collaborative advantages include: Public Private Partnerships and Multi-Sector Collaborations, Public Sector-led Collaboration Networks: Shared Spaces or “Community Hubs”, Private and Inter-Sector Co-Innovation Initiatives, and Private/Non-profit Collaborations for Sustainability.
Achieving successful collaboration often requires extensive transformation of organizational cultures, systems and processes that have evolved in line with more traditional silo-based or competitive approaches to organizational activity. For successful organizational transformation, it is crucial to achieve the right balance of art and science. In Schroeder & Schroeder’s Art and Science of Transformation® framework, the “science” is defined as the use of change management tools and techniques, and the “art” as the skills and attributes needed to manage the cultural and people-related aspects of change.
The Importance of Collaboration
Government departments, non-profit agencies and private sector firms alike are finding that collaboration with other actors, within the same sector or in other sectors of the economy, is often the best way of achieving their goals and objectives, reducing costs, achieving greater efficiencies and improving overall performance. As collaboration becomes a “new normal” of operational practice, organizations that fail to adapt to this way of working may rapidly become less competitive or struggle with increasing budget deficits and inefficiencies.
The proven benefits of collaboration include: securing access to capital, expertise and facilities, sharing the costs and risks of major projects, improving the quality and efficiency of service delivery, securing economies of scale and reducing costs, improved innovation, and more effective ways of tackling “complex” social and economic issues.
Growth Drivers
Drivers of this Growing Trend in Collaboration Include:
• Business competition and growing awareness of the competitive benefits arising from “collaborative advantage”
• Financial pressures to “do more with less” and operate more efficiently
• Public/stakeholder demands for sustainable business practice and growing emphasis on the Triple Bottom Line
• The need to address multiple/complex social/economic issues in ways not achievable by a single organization/sector
There are also a Number of “Enabling” Drivers, including:
• Advances in Information and Communications Technologies
• The trend in “social” business – evidence of a changing business mindset, largely reflecting the growing numbers of “millennials” in the workforce
• Greater willingness and ability of organizations to form trust-based relationships
• Growing use and acceptance of new business models such as outsourcing and virtual project team-working
Defining Collaboration
Collaboration involves relationships formed for the purpose of jointly tackling problems, achieving shared goals, and generating new forms of value in ways that are not possible when acting independently.
In true collaboration, the defined purpose and shared goals of the initiative are prioritized over and above the interests of the individual participants. To achieve these goals, the participants must be willing to modify their own organizational processes or systems to maximize the overall effectiveness of the collaboration and invest in activities that enhance the capabilities of their collaborative partners.
Forms of Collaboration
Five main forms of collaboration are particularly notable for their growing use and proven value for generating collaborative advantages:
1. Public Private Partnerships and Multi-Sector Collaborations: In many countries, governments now collaborate with the private sector and non-profits in the delivery of public services, such as welfare programs and pension management, and in other areas such as regional development.
2. Public Sector-led Collaboration Networks: Collaborative networks involving a range of public, private and non-profit sector partners are often used in public service delivery to provide a more integrated, coordinated approach, especially in areas where public service agencies face challenges in meeting the needs of widely dispersed or disadvantaged populations and communities.
3. Shared Spaces or “Community Hubs”: A growing response to budgetary pressures in the government and non-profit sectors is the “shared space” model, often referred to as a “community hub”. This takes various forms, but generally involves a number of agencies jointly using or renting vacant real estate and working collaboratively from this space in the delivery of services to the community.
4. Private and Inter-Sector Co-Innovation Initiatives: One of the main ways in which organizations gain “collaborative advantage” by working with others is through joint innovation or R&D initiatives, often referred to as “co-innovation”. This sometimes takes the form of collaboration between private sector firms, and sometimes involves inter-sector partnerships, particularly between industry and universities. These types of collaboration initiatives are also established for the purpose of exchanging knowledge and expertise.
5. Private/Non-Profit Collaboration for Sustainability: Largely in response to the demands of stakeholder and pressure groups for sustainable business practices, many of the worlds leading corporations have developed collaborative arrangements with non-profit organizations in the environmental and human rights fields, to help them develop and implement sustainability plans and programs.
Organizational Transformation for Collaboration
Achieving successful collaboration often requires extensive transformation of organizational cultures, systems and processes that have evolved in line with more traditional silo-based or competitive approaches to organizational activity. This includes developing strategic capabilities and transforming organizational cultures and systems in ways that will help the collaboration to achieve its shared purpose and objectives.
Transformation can be defined as a continued focus on fundamental purpose and core values, while changing the way these are pursued in response to changing market conditions or other drivers in the external environment. The primary requirement when selecting a collaboration partner or partners should be the existence of a shared or complementary authentic purpose, as this will make it easier to identify a shared purpose and conduct the organizational transformations necessary to pursue this effectively.
The Art and Science Transformation for Collaboration
For successful organizational transformation, it is crucial to achieve the right balance of art and science. In Schroeder & Schroeder’s Art and Science of Transformation® framework, the “science” of transformation is defined as the use of change management tools and techniques, and the “art” of transformation as the important skills and attributes needed to manage the attitudes and behaviours of people to bring about a successful transformation.
For effective collaboration, each of the participating organizations must have closely aligned or shared values that support the types of norms and behaviours necessary for effective inter-organizational working, such as integrity, respect for others, transparency, and willingness to share information. Trust is the most important shared value for effective collaboration.
It is essential that the collaboration participants identify and consistently address the “culture enablers”; elements of their organizations that shape behaviour by establishing norms and expectations for individuals and groups involved in the collaborative effort. These include, for example, the leadership system, the organizational design and structure, the competencies system, and the compensation and rewards system.
Having the right tools, technologies and systems to support collaborative working is also essential, especially for the purpose of sharing and transferring information and data between the participants, and for monitoring and measuring the impacts of collaboration.
Preparing for Collaboration
Organizations wishing to improve their ability to collaborate should first conduct an organizational readiness assessment to determine the extent to which the skills and strategic capabilities needed to support collaboration are in place, and whether there are gaps or potential barriers to collaboration that need to be addressed. They should also review existing organizational culture, to ensure that values, norms and ways of behaving are supportive of collaborative relationships and to identify possible cultural barriers to their success. Once a collaboration partner or partners have been identified, joint business planning and aligned transformation initiatives will help ensure the success of the initiative.