External Relations

1
External Relations

• Marketing, Networking, and Social Action

2
Organization Managers must Manage the external
environment of the agency

• They must market the agency to prospective
  clients, board members, funders, community
  residents, funders, government decision-makers
  and the media.
• They must network with community leaders and
  informal groups in the community.
• They must network with other organizations
• They must lobby for funding and changes in
  legislation
• They must fight for social justice for the people
  they serve
• When serving marginalized populations, managers
  must explore methods for increasing the political
  power of constituency groups.

3
A focus on internal maintenance and
community/external relations

• Is critical to the overall heath of organizations
  (political economy theory)
• Creates a process for multi-systems practice in
  which not only do service users receive
  assistance, they are provided with resources that
  can be used to improve their daily lives, the
  quality of life in the community, and the
  political power to change laws and policies.
• The empowerment of service users and community
  residents can also increase the power of the
  organization in that the health of the
  organization increases when additional volunteers
  or board members are recruited, the organization
  has the support of a constituency group, the
  quality of the organizations services is
  increased, and the organization can influence the
  legislative process.

4
Marketing

• Brochures and flyers
• Reports
• Media stories
• Paid advertisements
• Funding proposals
• Web pages
• Fundraising letters and emails
• Outreach campaigns (door to door community
  events)
• Word of mouth

5
Organizations can also be effective in linking
informal groups to the organization and
surrounding institutions

• Identify local leaders (sources of referrals,
  information, volunteers, board members, etc).
• Identify and strengthen local informal resource
  networks.
• Establish close ties to informal groups
• Link community residents to other institutions
  that can provide resources and political power
• Rationale Strengthening local networks and
  resources helps improve the quality of life in
  community and assists in the development of
  community leaders who have effectively work for
  social change.

6
Organizations also acquire power and resources
when they learn to work cooperatively with other
organizations serving the same community or
population group!
7
Ecological Theory tells us

• Organizations will compete for scare resources.
• Only the strongest organizations survive in a
  highly competitive environment.
• Organizations can survive if they have political
  power, money, or offer highly specialized
  services or fill a specific niche in the
  service system.
• It will be difficult, given competition to work
  cooperatively with other organizations.
• Most organizations will fight to protect their
  turf!

8
Other theories that we use to explain networking

• Political economy theory organizational
  survival is based on creating support for
  organizational objectives in the
  inter-organizational environment. Membership in
  the network gives the organization power.
• Resource-dependency theory. Niche organizations
  do have their own power resources because they
  can offer unique services to small populations
  that are not cost-efficient for larger
  organizations to provide. The ability to exchange
  resources (services, legitimacy) with larger
  organizations gives ethnic and other niche
  organizations power.
• Institutional theory. New organizations are most
  likely to survive if they can establish goals and
  services that conform to the values of community
  institutions and the larger society. By joining a
  network they signal that they are ready to
  conform to expectations of network members and
  society at-large.

9
Organizations may work together to

• Share Resources
• Share Clients
• Deliver Services (Joint Delivery, Collaborative
  Partnerships)
• Coordinate Service Delivery
• Establish Case Management Systems or Referral
  Processes
• Subcontract the delivery of services from one
  organization to another

10
Organizations will work collaboratively if

• Funding sources tell them to do so.
• They do not have the resources with which to
  survive on their own.
• It may be a temporary vehicle to establish a more
  permanent organization.
• They are not permitted to survive as independent
  organizations

11
Types of Collaborative Structures Include

• Case Management Systems
• Joint Delivery or Co-location of Agencies
• Collaborative Ventures
• Coalition Groups
• Task Groups
• Shared Referrals
• Informal Processes

12
As in team building, collaborative groups

• Go through the stages of forming, norming, and
  storming- trusting relationships must be
  established

13
Collaboration and networking are necessary if

• Mandated by funders
• New organizations are developed and try to enter
  existing networks.
• Organizations that serve small niche
  populations must collaborate with larger
  organizations to survive. For example, ethnic
  organizations may not have the resources to
  survive outside the context of existing networks.

14
To acquire power, organizations must also be able
to

• Lobby for legislation or funding
• Work cooperatively with other organizations and
  groups work for community improvements or changes
  in legislation. Coalition-building is effective
  because there is strength in numbers.
• Engage in social planning with other
  organizations in order to develop new programs
  and services
• Use community organization strategies such as
  community development and social action to bring
  about changes in the community or alleviate the
  harmful effects of oppression on marginalized
  groups.
• Engage in voter registration and education to
  assist service users in the development of
  political power.