The Trust Company Strategic Partners Symposium Multi-Sector Collaborations October 2013

Grantmakers For Effective Organisations Working Better Together – Building Nonprofit Collaborative Capacity (2013) “As much as funders would like to see more strategic collaborations among their grantees and other organisations, the reality for many nonprofits is that they simply do not have the time or the resources to do collective work. Each organisation must seek its own funding, develop its own plans for sustainability, create its own niche and brand, and, essentially compete with other organisations for funding and recognition.”

WHAT DO NONPROFITS NEED ? Time and space to explore power of collective action to advance their missions, foster new connections and build and grow partnerships Organisational ‘slack’ so that they can join with others to identify and work towards commonly held goals Board and staff leaders who: –Can share power and responsibility –Are skilled at building relationships –Are adept at ‘systems thinking’ so they can see the big picture

Key capacities that support and enable collective action among nonprofit organisations: Strong leadership and an open mindset Ability to share power and responsibility Adaptability and flexibility Strong connectivity and relationship building

Approaches for Funders Help make connections, but don’t force them Offer core support and flexible, long-term funding to grantees Provide necessary resources to support and enable collaboration

PARTNERING CYCLE ScopingIdentifyingBuildingPlanningStructuring Mobilising Delivering Measuring ReviewingRevisingScaling Moving On The Partnering Cycle

Partnering Challenges Challenges Relating to Individuals Involved in the Partnership Challenges Resulting From Partner Diversity Challenges Arising From the Partnering Process Competitiveness between strong personalities Different drivers and motivations for each partner organisation Difficulties breaking away from existing hierarchical structures or systems Partnership dependence on contacts and ‘who you know’ Making (often inaccurate) assumptions about each other’s organisational priorities Overly lengthy (or not lengthy enough) consultation procedures Key people changing jobs and moving away from the partnership Unwillingness to accept each other’s priorities (if different) Loss of focus for the partnership New people coming in with different priorities/personalities and approaches Over-emphasis on money (as opposed to other types of resource contribution) Failure of individuals or organisations to complete agreed tasks Lack of appropriate leadership (too weak or too dominating ) Hidden agendasGeneral sense of low levels of commitment from some partners Lack of appropriate skills and competencies Absence of a genuinely shared mission Over reliance on some partner organisations or specific individuals Cross-sectoral or cross-cultural intolerance Power imbalances (real or perceived)

Partnership Brokers Partnership Brokers: Internal – working from within one of the partner organisations External – independent professionals working on behalf of all partners

Partnership Brokers Scoping Partnership Potential Awareness Raising Convening and Facilitation Brokering Relationships Skills Training Advice on Options and Models Research and Case Studies Networking Reviewing and Evaluation Knowledge and Management Brokering Roles