Tuesday, May 21, 2013

love what if conversations. The most entertaining ones usually happen on long car rides with kids (what if everything we touched turned to pudding) or with co-workers over lunch (what if we won the lottery this week). Ive learned that whether

silly or serious, you never know where these conversations will lead, or what creative ideas will spring from them. A little over a year ago, a what if conversation I had in a coffee shop with consultant Linda Mollenhauer led to a year of amazingly creative work and the development of a completely unique collaboration resource for the not-for-profit sector. Our project, called Collaboration Coach, grew out of research that Linda and her colleagues Cathy Lang and Heather Graham prepared for the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2010. Their report, Strengthening Collaboration in Ontarios Not-for-Profit Sector (pdf), explored experiences of collaboration within the provinces not -for-profit sector and identified opportunities to further strengthen the collaboration approach. Among their many findings, the team identified a significant gap - despite a substantial amount of documented learning and research about collaboration, little has been translated into practical, easy to use resources. And having access to user-friendly resources to support collaboration is more important than ever. In our competitive environment, with higher expectations for accountability and achieving better outcomes, combining forces is a key strategy for achieving mission. Building collaborative relationships also allows organizations and networks to be more agile, to leverage expertise and resources, and to seize opportunities. But authentic collaboration requires a unique set of values, knowledge and skills that are very different from those learned from managing an organization. So over a cup of coffee, Linda and I began to wonder what if Capacity Builders, the not -forprofit support division of the Ontario Community Support Association, could help organizations and networks navigate issues like trust, power dynamics, and accountability. What if we could provide tools and resources to help organizations assess their readiness to collaborate, identify the right collaboration partners, design a best fit collaboration governance structure, or evaluate the effectiveness of a collaboration. Fortunately, all three consultants were excited about the concept, as was the Ontario Trillium Foundation who awarded us a province-wide grant to research and develop a web-based resource. From the start, our vision was to integrate a coaching approach that would stimulate deeper understanding and reflection about collaboration, and help visitors to find and use practical tools and resources. We wanted to tell stories that illustrate common challenges and creative solutions. Our shared intention was to design a site that was:

free to use, with quick pathways to needed information; practical, with comprehensive resources that could be immediately and easily applied by busy practitioners;

applicable to a broad range of not-for-profit organizations addressing needs at different stages of collaboration; and

evidence-informed, synthesizing relevant and available research, experience and leading practice and addressing priority needs identified by collaborative leaders and practitioners in the NFP sector.

The Collaboration Coach web site was launched in mid-March 2013 through an email campaign to capacity building organizations, associations, foundations, and volunteer centres across the province. With the support of these umbrella organizations, Collaboration Coach is being widely introduced to not-for-profit organizations across Ontario. Our hope is that site will indeed strengthen collaboration in Ontarios not-for-profit sector, and perhaps even ignite a few more what if conversations.