Collaboration: Strategy

“Public managers can choose from four types of cross-sector collaboration. Here's a look into the tradeoffs of each type.”

In this blog post, Nina Burke and Ruth Wageman at ReThink Health discuss distributed leadership and how it “[plays]out in the context of transforming regional health ecosystems. They explain why distributed leadership matters, specifically comparing it to common governance structures.

This article reviews theoretical and empirical work on collaboration from the last decade. “Research indicates how complicated and challenging collaboration can be, even though it may be needed now more than ever. The article concludes with a summary of areas in which scholarship offers reasonably settled conclusions and an extensive list of recommendations for future research.”

David Ehrlichman, David Sawyer, and Matthew Spence, partners of Converge, “a team of strategists and designers committed to social and environmental impact through collaboration and networks”, discuss what it actually takes to make collaborations and networks achieve their ambitious goals.

“This special supplement, sponsored by the Presidio Institute, takes a close look at cross sector leaders: how they are different from other types of leaders, the role that they play in advancing social change, and why they are so important today.”

In this article, researchers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the RAND Corporation “analyze outstanding examples of partnership-driven work. [They] also study the challenges of how partner sectors outside the formal health system, such as organizations working in the education or housing sectors, can effectively lead collaborations. The analysis builds the evidence base for understanding and sustaining the impact of cross-sector collaboration on pubic health.” Please note that this article is only available with purchase from the publisher.

Sandra Bates, CEO and founder of The Innovation Partners, discusses “a framework for visualizing problems [or unmet needs of the individuals and organizations involved] and a common language for talking about them can make all the difference.”

John Kania, managing director at FSG, and Mark Kramer, co-founder and a managing director of FSG, discuss how “large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations.”

“The call for greater collaboration has been a persistent drumbeat in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors in recent years. The message is clear: The scale and complexity of the problems that the sectors seek to address require collaborative approaches. A go-it-alone mentality will not result in meaningful impact.”

“One challenge that arises in cross-sector partnerships is the set of practical governance tools available to each of the partners, which we argue differ significantly across sectors. Consequently, alliances between companies and non-profits must rely on other partnership structures and governance mechanisms. Our research suggests that similar challenges arise in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) between businesses and governments.”