Collaboration benefits

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Collaboration benefits

• How can we work with others to achieve our aims?
• Development Trust Association Conference
• Leeds, 16th September 2008

2
Why collaborate?

• Two heads can be better than one!
• Many hands can make light work!
• Stronger Together!

3
History

• Informal working together
• Crisis driven lack of personnel, resources,
  funds
• External pressure e.g. partnership bids
• Enforced mergers

4
Why is bassac working on collaboration?

• Environment - Community organisations excluded
  from contracting processes
• Structural - Lack of specialist capacity, over
  reliance on volunteers/pro-bono, multi-task
  diverting from main business/improving services
• Collaboration - a way forward?

5
What is a cluster?

• Informal Group - open membership,
  networking/information exchange
• Cluster- defined membership, collaborative
  action/collective/largely informal but strong
• Consortium/Partnership- closed membership,
  specific outputs, contractual /formal structures,
  formally agreed roles

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SWiM learning

• Clusters developed habit of collaboration
• Have clearer understanding of what is needed to
  make partnership work
• Members have been galvanised to think
  strategically as a group
• Pilots left legacy of collaborative development

7
What is the Collaboration NSS?

• The Collaboration Benefits Programme
• A collaboration between 4 organisations
• Developing capacity of infrastructure/support
  providers to reduce costs and enhance service
  delivery

8
Whos involved?

• bassac ( lead partner)
• IVAR - Institute for Voluntary Action Research
• ACRE - Action with Communities in Rural England
• CFN - Community Foundation Network
• CES - Charities Evaluation Services (critical
  friend)

9
What is the programme?

• Resources - Collection dissemination of good
  practice
• Skills - Training and developing support
  providers
• Action - Developing and testing innovative
  collaborations

10
Resources

• Been involved in a collaborative cluster?
• Collecting cluster evidence
• Collating into a well structured national
  evidence database
• Disseminating through accessible online resource,
  information/advice, publications

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Skills

• Seminar programme - to raise awareness of
  collaborative support
• Train the Trainer programme - to build capacity
  of 20 training providers
• Cascade training programme - to enable wider
  infrastructure to support collaboration with
  their constituency

12
Who is targeted?

• Community development staff from community
  organisations
• People who support frontline voluntary and
  community sector organisations
• Local infrastructure organisations
• Regional infrastructure bodies

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Action

• Cluster Development
• Working with established clusters
• Helping to develop new/innovative clusters
• Facilitation to achieve a shared purpose
• Evaluation

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Potential clusters

• Develop joint back office functions
• Develop and deliver joint services
• Working within communities of place
• Develop bulk purchasing between organisations
• Develop joint tenders for service delivery
• Development of joint voice and advocacy functions

15
Potential clusters (contd)

• Local infrastructure partnerships working
  collaboratively to meet local frontline needs
• Regional infrastructure partnerships working to
  meet local infrastructure organisational needs
• Development of cross-sectoral partnerships to
  support Local Area Agreements
• Working in Local Strategic Partnerships
• Working with commissioning officers in design and
  implementation of services
• Tackling environmental issues together

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Contact us

• email
• Collaboration_at_bassac.org.uk
• tel [phone]
• website
• bassac.org.uk/collaboration
• THANK YOU!