Workshops: COLLABORATIVE WORKING

Collaborative working; shared needs and common goals.

Led by Gareth Coles from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations

With increasing external pressure for the voluntary and community sector to form partnerships, greater numbers of organisations are exploring the opportunities offered by joint working.

Collaborative working can take many forms and bring huge benefits but is not right in all cases. It can be all too easy to overlook the potential pitfalls.

NCVO's Collaborative Working Team can support you with this process, helping you to decide whether to work collaboratively and assisting the development of your partnership.

Support

We can offer support in a range of areas:

• facilitating meetings between partners
• developing written joint working agreements
• advising on structures for consortium delivery of public services
• exploring the initial stages of merger
• considering other collaborative working arrangements

We provide:

• independent, impartial advice, information and guidance
• bespoke training workshops
• seminars and speakers at events
• dedicated one-to-one support
• signposting to other specialist agencies

Gareth Coles
Gareth has been the Development Officer in NCVO’s Collaborative Working Team since 2006, where he has gained a thorough understanding of many different types of collaboration. He has delivered training and provided consultancy support for various collaborations. Amongst other guidance, Gareth is the author of Collaborative working to generate income and co-author of Campaigning in Collaboration.

He previously worked in the Big Lottery Fund and the Community Fund, as a Grants Officer on the voluntary and community sector programme.


Top tips to deal with economic uncertainty

• Diversify income streams
• Strengthen key relationships
• Focus on your mission
• Tighten up financial systems
• Plan for the future

Workshop objectives

• To understand the context and drivers of collaborative working
• To identify the benefits and obstacles
• To explore the potential for collaboration between faith-based organisations, and between faith-based organisations and other civil society groups
• To enable you to make informed decisions about whether collaboration is right for you

Joint working drivers

• Government
• Public opinion
• Charity Commission
• Funders
• Beneficiaries

Faith and voluntary action – key findings

• Collaboration between faith-based and mainstream organisations needs further impetus, in order to build community cohesion.
• Faith-based organisations feel excluded from policy or funding discussions; affecting the potential for collaboration between faith and secular organisations.
• Faith-based and secular organisations should build on what makes them distinctive, but should not lapse into practices and identities of separateness and, ultimately, isolation.

Benefits of joint working

• New or improved services
• Knowledge & information sharing
• More efficient use of resources
• Sharing risk in new projects
• Stronger, united voice
• Better co-ordination of activities
• Enabling a better service for beneficiaries

Collaborative advantage
will be achieved

•  when an objective is met that no organisation could have produced on its own, and
•  when each organisation is able to achieve its own objectives better that it could alone

What would society look like in 2020 if we were collaborating?

• More social entrepreneurship
• Back into society
• Extension of state?
• Increased liberalism / increased orthodoxy
• Positive perception of faith groups
• Secularisation
• 2nd tier organisations out of a job
• Bringing diverse groups together

Obstacles

• Different values
• Different objectives
• Who’s accountable?
• Loopholes and bureaucracy
• Voluntary / professional
• Language differences
• Support from outside agencies needed
• Achieving full cost recovery
• Cultural differences
• Personalities
• Lack of resources
• Competition
• Cultural difference
• Lack of information and experience
• Resistance to change

Things that can help

• Personal relationships
• Compatible cultures
• Written agreements
• Leadership
• Vision
• Resources
• Big picture
• Collaborative advantage
• Planning
• Clarity of roles & aims
• Communication
• ICT

Structures

• New legal body
• Lead organisation
• External non-delivering lead

Joint working agreements – why?

• Clarify the project
• Define roles and commitments
• Process of writing
• Reference document

Resources

• Bassac – Collaboration Benefits www.bassac.org.uk
• Hact – ‘Collaborate’ resources www.hact.org.uk
• Office of the Third Sector – Working in a Consortium www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx
• Charity Commission www.charitycommission.gov.uk

Next steps
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/collaborate
collaborate@ncvo-vol.org.uk
020 7520 2440