A collaborative work plan is a document that outlines the structure of work for the partnership or a specific initiative within the partnership(Strengthening, 2010). A collaborative work plan acts as a roadmap for a partnership much like a business plan for a start-up; it can be referred back to in the future to guide decisions on behalf of the partnership that help the partners stay the course with. Here are a 4 ways a Collaborative Work Plan can enhance a partnership:
Establishing buy-in:
Collaborative work plans document the work breakdown for your specific tasks—they cannot motivate people to action. Increase your success rate by first establishing buy-in from the members of your work group (Strengthening, 2010). The partners must buy-in to the vision and share the same goals, not strategies.
Being realistic: It is important to be realistic when developing a collaborative work plan. People want to see progress, no matter how incremental. Stay within the scope of your project (Strengthening, 2010). If realistic expectations are set from the very beginning with a work plan with realiastic "TIME MANAGEMENT"and what the partner's responsabilities are as far as "RESOURCE ALLOCATION" goes, it is easier for partners to stay on task.
Having measurable results: Consider developing short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes for your collaborative work plan. Identify how you will determine the success of your activities and efforts (Strengthening, 2010). If a partnership has a way to measure the fruits of their labor with "QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE OUTPUT", they can determine what works best in what situation and continue the success.
Being accountable: Communicate group accountability and interdependence of activities. Showing people how their specific tasks impact the completion of the overall task is a good way of communicating the expectation of accountability. Having an effective structure for open, honest communication can support conversations of accountability as issues arise (Strengthening, 2010). Any succesful partnership MUST have a strong system of accountabilty in place to keep each other on task and progressing "IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION" towards their "GOAL ACCOMPLISHMENT.".
(Importance, n.d.)
Using Technology to Manage Your Partnerships
Partnership norms, communication practices, and collaborative work plans can all be supported and strengthened by the use of technology; there are a host of platforms that allow you to effectively collaborate with partners online (Strengthening, 2010). Here are 8 examples of web-based techology platforms used to manage partnerships:
Methods for Distributing Information:
These technologies are the least collaborative, as they simply allow a lead organization to distribute information across a network. They are perfect for times when you simply need to share a new resource, provide an alert about a deadline, or update your partners on the status of a project (Strengthening, 2010). .
Electronic newsletters:
Electronic newsletters are an effective method for sharing information to be read and used by your audience when it is most convenient for them. This is also the risk associated with electronic newsletters—recipients may never make the time to read them (Strengthening, 2010). .
Websites:
A partnership website can be created to provide information about the partnership’s accomplishments and upcoming events, with links to each partner organization (Strengthening, 2010). .
Electronic clearinghouses:
An extension of the website model, an electronic clearinghouse is an online resource library. It is a database of searchable information that can be controlled and edited by a partner organization as a means for sharing multiple resources with a network of organizations (Strengthening, 2010). .
Systems for Collaborating:
If you want to go beyond information dissemination, consider using technology that allows multiple participants to have a voice. These platforms for communicating and sharing data allow partners to converse, edit a document together, and share data with each other (Strengthening, 2010). .
Electronic mailing lists:
An electronic mailing list, or listserv, allows all of the partners within a collaborative to have an online discussion via e-mail. When establishing the listserv, permission to post an e-mail can be granted to all partners, or the lead organization can serve as a “moderator” to check posts and allow permission before they can be viewed by other partners (Strengthening, 2010). .
Shared documents:
Google Docs provides free tools including a web-based calendar and a system for group sharing and editing of documents. A collaborative can establish a “shared drive” of documents on the web that all partners have access to, with any document edits being tracked. Project Spaces is another platform that allows users to share documents, as well as create electronic mailing lists (Strengthening, 2010). .
Web-based databases:
Web-based databases range in price, but the more customized you want it to be, the more it will cost. These databases can be a very effective means for multiple organizations (Strengthening, 2010).
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(Trabajo, 2017)
(Collaborative, 2019)
Mutually Reinforcing Activities
“Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action. Local individuals or organizations begin to work together differently than before and therefore find and adopt new solutions.” Mutually reinforcing activities are what allows the sectors of the collective impact partnership to do what they do best, while still keep the collective goal and vision in mind. Partners are not trying to do the same thing only better, competing against each other, but they figure out how their work can compliment each otherr over the long haul.
WORK PLANS AND ACTIVITIES
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
RESEARCH VIDEO
PROJECT
This Week's YellowDig Community Partnership Post (CLICK LINK TO VIEW ARTICLE)
