Guidebook: Steps 1-8

STEP 1

Planning. Intra-agency planning for collaboration is a process and takes some time to create.  Most successful partnerships require the agencies to begin planning one year in advance of implementation and are based on community assessments.   The planning process should include direct service staff, parents, and governing board of the agency. There are four elements of partnership planning:

A.  Vision.  The vision should be a systems-focused approach that will embrace partners as an integral part of future service delivery.   The vision must include a clear understanding of where the collaboration is going based on goals, an assessment of the community at all levels, and a plan to accommodate and meet the future needs of children birth to five and their families.

B.  Assessment.  The assessment needs to be comprehensive and inclusive, identifying internal and external needs and strengths, include local and state levels, and based on the status of children and families.  This process will allow collaboration to address families’ needs to effectively provide a comprehensive system that respects, responds to, and empowers families.

C.  Capacity.  Examine your agency’s current services, space, facilities, personnel, and the number of children and families served.  Then determine if a partnership can help build the organization’s capacity.

D. Relationship Development.  Create and develop mutually respectful personal, professional, and political relationships with staff, parents, community leaders and organizations.  To be successful, you must know and be familiar with the services and philosophies of the other agencies in the community.  Building trust and cultivating openness takes time.

Before Partnering:

Page 7a is a checklist you can use to assess you agency’s need to collaborate.

STEP 2

Identifying Potential Partners.  In creating partnerships, you want to find partners who will be a good fit for your program.  A good match can make the difference later when you are searching for common ground on which to build a collaborative partnership.  It is important to find partners who share your vision and have the resources and management capabilities needed to support the collaboration.  Partnerships may begin in two ways:  building on and formalizing an existing relationship, or seeking out new organizations.  Many partnerships begin on an individual level, between   people representing different agencies sharing a common interest.  These personal relationships should be valued and cultivated as an important first step for crossing agency boundaries.  Leaders of many successful partnerships point to supportive administrators and directors who allowed them to participate in networking activities that built relationships with other community service providers.  Community involvement allows you to share   services and also familiarizes you with the strengths and needs of other community groups providing essential information for creating a partnership.

When identifying potential partners, consider the following aspects:

Pages 8a-8b are tools that can be used to help your agency identify community partners and the stages of collaboration.

STEP 3

Identifying The Benefits.

As you begin to look at how this will benefit your agency, make sure you ask yourself:  “What’s in it for us?” “What’s in it for the partners?” What’s in it for children and families?” There are various benefits that can be gained by partnering with other early care and education agencies, with the most important one being more effective services for children and families.   The benefits of collaboration not only affect children and families but the community as a whole.  By braiding funding and other resources, agencies will be able to improve the early childhood experience of young children.  Benefits include:

STEP 4

Developing the CollaborativePartnership.

This step requires the key players of each agency to come together to set the ground rules and plan for the development of a collaborative partnership.  During this step, partners should take time to understand each other’s organization and build trust and ownership.  They must be committed to developing services that promote high expectations for all children and families.  Communicating and being able to recognize the strengths of others within the partnership will help you to implement a shared vision.   Using different methods to engage partners and build a base of common knowledge will set the stage for the development of a written agreement and plan of action.

The written agreement spells out the roles and responsibilities of each partner, identifies objectives, and details activities required to accomplish the objectives within established timelines.  This agreement should identify the work to be accomplished and serve as a way to monitor and assess your progress toward your identified goal.  The agreement should be written jointly and used to help maintain the focus of the partnership.  Written agreements should include the following, but are not limited to:

The plan of action identifies the task(s) to be completed for each objective, sets timelines for completion, and identifies who is responsible for doing each task.   An action plan will provide the foundation for implementing your partnership.  It is import to discuss availability of resources and personnel of partners to accomplish the mission and to have a backup plan.  Depending on availability and other factors, the commitment level may vary throughout the partnership.  But by communicating anticipated needs as soon as possible and establishing open communication on issues of this nature, you can prevent misunderstandings or disappointment as the collaboration moves forward.

Partnerships often fall apart when members perceive their role to be meaningless.  Once partners are committed to the goals of the partnership, it is essential to keep them engaged. Active participation goes beyond attending meetings.  If all partners assume significant roles they make invaluable contributions and feel that the time and energy they invest in the partnership is worthwhile.

Pages 10a-10i are tools that can be used in developing the collaborative partnership.

STEP 5

Managing the Partnership.

It is the responsibility of all parties involved to manage the process and implementation of the partnership.  Because it is an ongoing process, everyone should have a clear understanding of the goals/expectations of the partnership and be informed of the rules and regulations for all funders and committed to abiding by them.   You can manage a partnership by:

STEP 6

Monitoring and Assessing.

The continued success of collaborations ultimately depends on being able to demonstrate positive results over time.  Partners must find ways to show continued progress towards goals and objectives in all phases of their work.  Ideally, goals should be set and performance measures should be used to track the success and promote the value of the collaboration.   Collaborations should regularly collect data to measure progress toward their shared goal(s).  Both process and program evaluations are important tools for tracking the partnership successes.  By establishing indicators, collecting information, and analyzing data, partners can determine how well they are doing and/or what changes need to occur.  Ideas to consider:

STEP 7

Strengthening the Relationship.

Once the collaboration is operating, it is imperative that you continue to build the relationship with the partner(s).  Take the time to celebrate progress and show appreciation for those involved by acknowledging their efforts.  There will be many challenges to overcome in this process, and working on the relationship will make it easier to respond to challenges in other areas.   Listed below are several ideas to use in strengthening your relationship with your partner(s):

Page 11a are tips partners can use to guide the successful operation of a partnership

STEP 8

Evaluation.

As you implement your collaborative partnership, you need to evaluate each step.  The word evaluation makes many people nervous because they think you are evaluating their personal performance.  Make sure everyone understands that this is a systems-focused process and that the outcomes of the collaboration are being evaluated for the purpose of improving services for children and families.

Two types of evaluations you might want to consider are:

Process evaluation explores how effectively the collaborative partners are working together and how their relationships could be improved.  Methods for gathering this information includes:

Outcome evaluation measures the effects of your collaborative partnership on children and families.  Indicators for success should relate directly to collaboration goals, be measurable and achievable.  Methods for evaluating include:

There may be several reasons for evaluating the collaborative partnership, so make sure you have a clear purpose for its use.  One reason may be to share with funding resources in order to maintain or increase funding. Another reason may be to maintain support of leadership in partnering organizations. But the most import reason is to measure your success in improving services for children and families.

Conclusion.

Collaborative partnerships do not appear overnight, but must be cultivated and nurtured as the decision is made to partner.  In conclusion, although there are many sand traps, collaboration is worth it for everyone involved.  Effective planning and open communication are the keys.  You have the steps…….. now just do it!

Guiding principles for developing partnerships’:

Page 12a is a guide that can be used in developing evaluation tool(s).