The Collaboration Rubric®
The Collaboration Rubric® is an evidence based model which you can use to help build and evaluate your collaboration. It describes how to collaborate effectively and gives you a practical way of assessing where you are now, where you want to be, and what actions you need to take to get there.
Using the tools we have developed, based on the Collaboration Rubric® you will identify what type of collaboration will best suit your purpose and intent, you will identify where your strengths and weaknesses are, and you will be able to measure your progress towards your goals over time so you can see what changes have been successful and what still needs more work.
Our model is built on the following building blocks:
There are FOUR TYPES OF COLLABORATION, each with a different purpose. Each type represents an increase in the level of complexity (investment of time, resources and commitment) required to achieve success
There are THREE KEY DRIVERS that enable collaboration, and you need to have all three to succeed.
There are FIFTEEN ACTION AREAS (FIVE IN EACH DRIVER) that are unique and measurable, and will guide you towards your collaboration goals.
The Collaboration Rubric is presented below in chart form with the criteria for success on the left and increasing sophistication of actions toward the right.
Types of COLLABORATION
We have identified four types of collaboration in partnerships, each defined by an increasing complexity of consumer issues. This in turn increases the complexity of the actions required by the partnership to achieve the desired outcomes.
Each type of collaboration has a specific focus, purpose and outcome. The one you should be aiming for depends on what you are trying to achieve, the resources you have available in the capacity or willingness of the partners in the collaboration to cultivate relationships with each other.
What is important is that the behaviours and actions of the partnership are consistent with the type of collaboration you're trying to achieve.
The four types of collaboration assume that:
Effective communication is an essential starting point for collaborations as it improved understanding of consumer issues and builds trust with potential partners;
Understanding and trust leads to better coordination between partners so that services are more accessible to clients who need them
From this stronger base, partners cooperate with each other to address service gaps and to change the service system
Finally, as our partnerships strengthen we can create more far-reaching relationships with other sectors, including beyond the service system, to address the needs of our consumers in a holistic way and accomplish community level change
LEVEL 1 - Improve understanding of consumer issues and build trust (communicate)
Focus
Relationships and information sharingPurpose
To build a better understanding of the needs of consumers and to build trust between partners
Outcome
Good working relationships develop between individuals from different parts of your network who share information and solve small scale problems between their agencies
LEVEL 2 - Improve service access (coordinate)
Focus
Partnerships to improve work flows and streamline services
Purpose
To build a network of services which make information and services more accessible, especially for those who find formal systems difficult to navigate
Outcome
Different parts of the network achieve improved work flows and streamlined services for consumers
LEVEL 3 - Address service gaps (cooperate)
Focus
Changing the way the service system operates
Purpose
To address service gaps and emerging community issues, and provide more responsive ways of working for consumer groups
Outcome
Different parts of the network works together in complex ways to change the way the service systems operate
LEVEL 4 - Accomplish community change (create)
Focus
Partnerships beyond the service sector
Purpose
To take a holistic, creative approach to consumer and community needs and to increase wellbeing and connectedness
Outcome
Partnerships go beyond their own organisation, sector, jurisdictions, community, for-profits and philanthropic organisations to achieve communiy and population level change
Key DRIVERS of Collaboration
Collaborative partnerships depend on three major Drivers*. All three are essential and without these Drivers, attempts to build partnerships are unlikely to succeed. Effective partnerships must have:
1. a shared vision about why the collaboration should be undertaken (the Value of the collaboration);
2. the resources needed so that the collaboration can be delivered (the ‘Capacity’ of the collaboration);
3. the support and leadership of influential stakeholders so that partners may undertake the collaboration (the ‘Authority’ to undertake the collaboration)
We refer to these three Drivers as the “Should do, Can do, May do” of Collaboration. The Collaboration Rubric identifies 5 Action Areas which make up each of these Drivers. The Action Areas are the practical real world descriptions of how collaborations are built. These Action Areas become more complex as the types of collaboration change to meet the more complex needs of different consumers.
THE CAPACITY TO COLLABORATE
Can Do
For a collaboration to be effective and sustainable, it has to be doable. Capacity measures your network's operational ability to build and sustain your collaboration.
This means financial, physical, and human resources. It begins with a respect for the professional knowledge and skills of others and a willingness to develop new ways of working across all phases of contact with consumers. It requires a willingness to share information and to train together to promote shared practice and trust between staff. It requires pooled approaches to budgets and accountability systems and structures that enable managers and staff to work flexibly and creatively.
Collaborative networks need to develop the skills of partnering and have the resources to apply to it.
SHARED VALUE OF COLLABORATION
Should Do
For a collaboration to be effective and sustainable, it has to be valuable. Shared Value measures your network's common understanding of how the collaboration will create better outcomes for your clients.
This means having a shared sense of how you will improve outcomes for your consumers. It requires a willingness to share goals for your consumers, share the planning for how you will achieve these goals and agree how you will measure your success.
Collaborative networks need to develop an agreement on how they will improve outcomes for their consumers, plan for success and how they will measure it.
THE AUTHORITY TO COLLABORATE
May Do
For a collaboration to be effective and sustainable it has to be genuinely authorised. Authority measures the strength of your network's mandate to collaborate, the willingness to build and sustain a coalition of stakeholders, and the alignment of the different interest groups to acheive the intended outcomes.
This means support by all stakeholders. For your collaboration to be successful it needs to be led and supported by leaders within your collaboration network, be supported by influential stakeholders outside your network, and be supported by those who set the policy frameworks relevant to your network.
Collaborative networks need to be endorsed and supported by policy makers and leaders, by stakeholders and staff, and by consumers.
ACTION AREAS of collaboration
We have identified 15 Action Areas within the three main Drivers that, when measured, indicate how well your partnership is functioning. The behaviour, or aim, that you should be working towards for is dependent on the partnership type you are hoping to achieve, and this is reflected in different action area statements for each of the partnership types in the rubric framework. Therefore, less complex partnerships will have less complex aims for each of the action areas.
Action Areas that you don't perform well on are the ones that you should work on to ensure your partnership succeeds.
Action Areas of Capacity
Mutual respect and understanding
Shared training and development
Sharing information
Common practice models
Flexible use of resources for innovation
ACTION AREAS OF SHARED VALUE
Shared purpose
Setting shared goals
Planning for shared goals
Data informs decision making
Governance and accountability for collaboration
ACTION AREAS of Authority
Legislation and policy frameworks
Leadership drives collaboration
Internal stakeholder support for collaboration
External stakeholder support for collaboration
