Service Delivery
Forming, Funding, and Maintaining Partnerships and Collaborations
What are community partnerships and collaboration?
Community partnerships and collaboration are not new concepts but in recent years they have become increasingly common in local communities. This may be due in part to the growing emphasis on partnerships and collaboration of funding agencies interested in promoting comprehensive approaches to social problems and reducing duplication of
While there are no well-established definitions to serve as guides for local communities seeking to develop a partnership or collaboration, some researchers have produced working definitions that could serve as a starting point for these discussions:
Collaboration is a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common goals. The relationship includes a commitment to mutual relationships and goals; a jointly developed structure and shared responsibility; mutual authority and accountability for success; and sharing of resources and
rewards[2] .
[A] community partnership ... is composed of two or more legally separate units, which may include individuals as well as organizations, agencies, or entities; shares a commonly defined mission and goals; develops a nonhierarchical structure that makes decisions and policy and has well defined channels of communication; shares responsibility and resources and rewards and risks; and includes citizens of the local community and representatives of local community groups and
organizations[1] .
These definitions share common characteristics but collaboration is defined somewhat more narrowly than community partnerships. Collaborations do not necessarily involve private citizens or groups representing local citizens but may instead consist of a small number of agencies or organizations such as government or private service providers. A community partnership might represent a broader array of interests and solicit the ongoing input of local residents. One approach is not inherently better than the other. The value of establishing a collaboration or community partnership is largely dependent upon the needs of the local community and the nature of the problems to be addressed.
Primary Functions of Partnerships or Collaborations
Research has identified ten primary functions that can be carried out by partnerships or collaborations. Specifically, they have the potential to:
Broaden the mission of member organizations and develop more-comprehensive strategies
Develop wider public support for issues
Increase the influence that individual community institutions have over community policies and practices
Minimize duplication of services
Develop more financial and human resources
Increase participation from diverse sectors and constituencies
Exploit new resources in a changing environment
Increase accountability
Improve capacity to plan and evaluate
Strengthen local organizations and local institutions respond better to the needs and aspirations of their
constituents[3] .
Although researchers have observed the outcomes just listed, it is inappropriate to assume that a particular partnership or collaboration serves any or all of these functions without first conducting an evaluation.
More Information
Some additional sources of Web-based information on how community partnerships and collaborations can be defined by local communities are available:
Toolkit for Establishing Community Partnerships and Collaborations
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provides an extensive tool kit on the issue of establishing community partnerships and collaborations. It includes discussions and illustrations related to defining and establishing partnerships and collaborations. In addition, it provides discussions on numerous other topics, including selection of potential partners or collaborators, preparations for meetings, monitoring progress, and anticipating potential problems.
See the toolkit at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
Report on Collaborations for Substance Abuse Prevention
The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention produced a report that describes collaboration and provides illustrations of different types of collaborations within the context of substance abuse prevention. This report also describes keys to sustaining collaborations after they have been established.
Report on Partnerships and Collaboration for Teen Pregnancy Prevention
A report by researchers at the Cornerstone Consulting Group discusses the issue of defining partnerships and collaboration in the context of prevention of teen pregnancy. The partnership and collaboration information is very generalized and can be easily applied to a variety of issues.
Read the report at www.aspe.hhs.gov
Footnotes
[1] Edwards, S. L. and R. F. Stern, Building and Sustaining Community Partnerships for Teen Pregnancy Prevention: A Working Paper, Houston, Tex.: Cornerstone Consulting Group, 1998. Available at: www.aspe.hhs.gov
[2] Mattessich, P. W., M. Murray-Close, and B. R. Monsey, Collaboration: What Makes It Work, 2nd ed., Appen. A, St. Paul, Minn.: Amherst Wilder Foundation, 2001. To order, visit: www.wilder.org/pubs
[3] Chavis, D. M, "Building Community Capacity to Prevent Violence Through Coalitions and Partnerships," Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995, pp. 234-245. The list of ten primary functions listed earlier is taken from page 236 of this article.
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