Measuring Collaboration: Is There A Recipe For Success? SIG Network Webinar February 5, 2014 Presented by: Courtney Salzer Co-Director, Region 4 PTAC Co-Director, WI FACETS’ PTIC The contents of this document were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H325R130010. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, David Emenheiser.  

Courtney’s Disclaimers I am NOT an evaluator – the information in this presentation is largely based on my experience and some of the existing working theories on collaboration. I work at WI FACETS, which is one of over 100+ parent centers throughout the country. My experiences may not represent the experiences of every other parent center. I do not believe in sugar coating things. I have worked on our SIG projects for almost 10 years. We have been through good times, bad times and just plain confusing times. I have been told that my PowerPoints generally have too many words and not enough visuals, so please enjoy my clipart. I worked very hard on it.

Widely Used Collaboration Lifecycle Five Levels of Collaboration (Frey, et al., 2006) Networking Cooperation Coordination Coalition Collaboration

The Lifecycle of our SIG/SPDG Collaboration The Dark Days First Date Making a commitment True Partnership

Lessons We’ve Learned Collaboration is a process, which ebbs and flows – this makes it somewhat challenging to measure, but not impossible! The term “Collaboration” means something different for everyone. Try to establish a common language. Effective measurement will be difficult without it. Measurement of collaboration should occur at several phases during its lifecycle. Each collaboration has vital signs that can be measured, a “recipe” of sorts.

What Goes Into “The Recipe”?

Ingredient 1: Systemic Vital Signs Communication Cooperation Shared Decision-Making Shared Vision & Goals Sufficient Resources Skilled Leadership Openness/Transparency Appropriate Cross- Section of Collaborators

Ingredient 2: Collaborator Vital Signs Are collaborators well-informed? Are collaborators willing to compromise? Do collaborators believe their group or constituents will benefit from the collaboration? Is everyone at the table? Are collaborators willing to work through conflict? Does respect exist between collaborators? Is there trust between

Two Helpful Resources for Building Collaboration “Leading By Convening. A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement” Source: IDEA Partnership Location: http://www.ideapartnership.org/building-connections/the-partnership-way.html “Serving on Groups that Make Decisions. A Guide for Families” Source: WI FACETS Location: www.servingongroups.org

A Cautionary Note on Measuring Collaboration Evaluation is usually done, in part, for continuous improvement. In my experience, there is always much room for improvement. However, if all you focus on is improvement, you will in time kill the momentum of your collaboration. When your evaluation reveals successes or milestones, you must celebrate them – however small they may be.

Shifting Collaboration Paradigms Old Paradigm: Effective collaboration is a “nice by-product”. New Paradigm: Effective collaboration is an outcome. Old Paradigm: Measuring collaboration = are people talking to one another? New Paradigm: Measuring collaboration = measuring systemic + collaborator vital signs Old Paradigm: Successful projects are those with many outcomes and products New Paradigm: Successful projects are those with collaborative outcomes and products

Thank you! Questions?