Running Head: USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 1

Using Partnerships and Collaborative Networks to Improve Community Outcomes:

How Community-Based Organizations Can Unite Effectively to Advance Change

Julie Fitch

Gonzaga University

COML 598 A1

Spring 2017
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 2

Abstract

Non-profit organizations need to be effective and efficient in order to create the largest impact in

their communities with the limited resources available to them. Forming partnerships and

collaborative networks, individual organizations can unite with others to increase their impact in

underserved populations. There is a growing area of research regarding what effective

collaboration between community-serving organizations looks like and what the challenges and

benefits are. The purpose of this paper is to report the common characteristics of effective

collaborations as seen across the most current literature in order to clarify where organizations

and coalitions should focus their efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their

collaborations. The research indicates seven areas of focus to make effective partnerships and

improve the impact in the community. These areas are investing time, understanding the target

community or group, clarifying shared understandings, building and maintaining quality

relationships, seeing differences as strengths, incorporating ongoing evaluation and self-

assessment, and building a culture of sharing and learning.

USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 3

Using Partnerships and Collaborative Networks to Improve Community Outcomes:

How Community-Based Organizations Can Unite Effectively to Advance Change

Community-based organizations are often filled with passionate individuals who see a

need and want to make a difference. Although many organizations form with the goal of

advancing equality and solving social problems, these organizations see varied success. These

non-profit organizations need to be effective and efficient in order to create the largest impact in

their communities with the limited resources available to them. Forming partnerships and

collaborative networks, individual organizations can unite with others to increase their impact in

underserved populations.

There is a growing area of research regarding what effective collaboration between

community-serving organizations looks like and what the challenges and benefits are. In this

research, many articles emphasize the importance collaboration and effectiveness for

organizations serving underprivileged groups. The purpose of this paper is to report the common

characteristics of effective collaborations as seen across the most current literature in order to

clarify where organizations and coalitions should focus their efforts to improve the efficiency

and effectiveness of their collaborations. The research indicates seven areas of focus to make

effective partnerships and improve the impact in the community. These areas are investing time,

understanding the target community or group, clarifying shared understandings, building and

maintaining quality relationships, seeing differences as strengths, incorporating ongoing

evaluation and self-assessment, and building a culture of sharing and learning.

Investing Time

Effective collaborations and partnerships take significant and ongoing investments of

time. Well-invested time will be focused on people and processes, not on tasks (Miao,
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 4

Umemoto, Gonda, Hishinuma, 2011). Developing collaborative, trusting relationships between

individuals and between organizations takes time, as does gaining experience and understanding

of a target community or group (Marlier, Lucidarme, Cardon, De Bourdeaudhuij, Babiak, &

Willen, 2015; Thomas, Rosa, Forcehimes, & Donovan, 2011). Effective collaborative time can

be used for making formal agreements, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and collecting and

analyzing results (Marlier et al., 2015; Thomas et al., 2011). Investing time in people and

processes like this allows trust to grow and the perceived value of the partnership to increase

(Marlier et al., 2015; Thomas et al., 2011). Focusing on investing time well and recognizing that

taking the time to invest in people and processes leads to long-term benefits within and across

organizations is an important place for partnerships to begin.

Understanding the Target Community or Groups

One area that will take a significant amount of time is gaining a deep understanding of

the target community or group. It is not enough to bring great ideas and services to a

community; research suggests that organizations must make decisions and plans based on the

specific needs and characteristics of the community or group they are trying to serve (Bellman &

Ryan, 2009; Peifer & Perez, 2011; Thomas et al., 2011). It takes time and experience in the

community and culture to identify strengths and resources already present and incorporate them

into the planned services (Thomas et al., 2011). Another important benefit that comes from

spending time in the target community is discovering potential. Community-driven efforts are

often more successful and more ethical than outside efforts, especially among underserved or

historically marginalized groups, and efforts involving or led by local people are even better

received (Thomas et al., 2011). Gaining this experience and understanding, and participating in
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 5

this planning takes a great deal of time and effort but results in more successes and changes that

are more easily maintained over time.

Clarifying Shared Understandings

Another aspect that will help collaborative networks be more successful is creating and

clarifying shared understandings. These may include a shared purpose and vision, as well as

agreements, roles, and expectations of the organizations and individuals involved. Highly

effective organizations have clear purpose and function (Faust, Cristens, Sparks, & Hilgendorf,

2015). Developing a shared vision and set of values across partnerships that also align with the

values of the community is an essential unifying element (Miao et al., 2011). Clarifying

agreements, roles, and expectations is important to the functioning of the organization and the

network. This leads to increased accountability, trust, and more knowledge sharing within and

between organizations (Marlier et al., 2015). Having clear understandings facilitates all

coordinated efforts in a partnership or collaborative network.

Building and Maintaining Quality Relationships

Time and effort should also be invested in building and maintaining quality relationships.

Quality relationships should be fostered between individuals within an organization as well as

between individuals from partner organizations. Research repeatedly pronounces the central role

relationships play in effective organizations. Bellman and Ryan (2009) identify strong

relationships among members characterized by trust, collegiality, and friendship as one of the

core indicators of extraordinary groups (p. 18). Miao and colleagues (2011) found that personal

relationships help build environments that are safe and inclusive and based on trust, respect,

flexibility, honesty, and openness (p. 125). Marlier and colleagues (2015) found that personal

relationships between organizations improved trust, knowledge, and skill sharing. They also
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 6

found that interdependence created a greater need to collaborate and led to more resource sharing

(Marlier et al., 2015). Within a network of organizations, strategic collaborative relationships

were identified as essential to the success of the network as a whole (Faust et al., 2015). Quality

relationships are key factors in the effectiveness and success of collaborative groups.

Seeing Differences as Strengths

Even though partnered organizations form clear sets of shared understandings and invest

significant amounts of time building and maintaining quality relationships, differences will still

be present. Effective alliances embrace individual and organizational differences as sources of

strength. Diversity at the organizational level benefits the partnerships and the community they

serve in a several ways. Organizations that deliver different activities or services can form

powerful partnerships and extend the network of services available (Marlier et al., 2015). Faust

and colleagues (2015) found that when highly functioning organizations of different kinds are

dispersed throughout a collaborative network, the effectiveness of the network overall improves.

Additionally, because of the uniqueness of each community or group, approaches and services

will often need to be adjusted or developed (Thomas et al., 2011). Being able to collaborate with

partner organizations with different experiences and knowledge-bases will lead to the creation of

services that offer greater impact and also lead to more knowledge sharing and complementary

skill development (Marlier et al., 2015; Peifer & Perez, 2011). In this way, organizational

diversity can be a powerful resource for progress and advancement.

Diversity at the individual level also adds to the strength of organizations and

partnerships. In their book, Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams achieve Amazing

Results, authors Bellman and Ryan (2009) identify the habit of embracing differences as one of

the characteristics of extraordinary groups. In these groups, individuals respect each other for
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 7

who they are as human beings as well as for the skills, knowledge, and talent they apply to the

groups purpose (Bellman & Ryan, 2009, p. 26). Through this, group members see, value, and

use their diversity as a strength (Bellman & Ryan, 2009, p. 18). Speaking of group dynamics,

Bellman and Ryan (2009) also observe that in these groups, conflict and disagreement are not

uncommon and are not avoided (p. 25). Recognizing and valuing differences may be one of the

easiest ways to increase effectiveness and build a safe and trusting relationships.

Incorporating Ongoing Evaluation and Self-Assessment

Another important area of focus for effective collaboration is incorporating ongoing

evaluation and self-assessment into the culture of the partnership. The capacity for

organizational learning requires constant evaluation and self-assessment (Faust et al., 2015).

Through this evaluation and self-reflection, learning communities can help organizations and

networks understand lessons about their efforts and areas for improvement (Marlier et al., 2015;

Miao et al., 2011). Objective results and successes can build hope and efficacy (Marlier et al.,

2015; Miao et al., 2011), but intangible results are also essential (Bellman & Ryan, 2009). With

this in mind, one group reports that the value of a meeting, or an entire project for that matter,

was not based on productivity or outcome measures alone but was seen from a larger lens that

encompassed the process of sharing life, deepening trust and building capacity among engaged

community members striving to persevere and sustain such efforts (Miao et al., 2011, p. 130).

Organizations and partnerships may need to increase their capacity for both of these types of

evaluation.

Building a Culture of Sharing and Learning

A final area of focus for creating effective collaborations is building a culture of sharing

and learning. An organization or networks capacity for sharing and learning is related to other
USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 8

characteristics. Marlier and colleagues (2015) found that knowledge and skill sharing increase as

levels of trust and the quality of personal relationships improve. This sharing increases

individual capacity within and across organizations and can be facilitated by providing for

periods of collaborative time (Marlier et al., 2015; Miao et al., 2011). Also, because of their

focus on learning, extraordinary groups experience unexpected learning that translates into

personal and group growth (Bellman and Ryan, 2009, p. 18). Integrating formal and informal

spaces and times for social support, evaluative reflection and social learning was beneficial for

some groups and allows time for maximizing unexpected learning opportunities (Miao et al.,

2011, p. 130). A culture of sharing and learning helps people, organizations, and networks grow

and improve.

Conclusion

Community-based organizations play an important role in our society. Through their

commitment and efforts, many needs are being met at the local level. Despite their many

successes, these organizations face challenging work with limited resources. One way to

improve the organizational capacity to meet the needs of the people they serve is to build

partnerships and networks with one another. The most recent research indicates that building

partnerships and networks of organizations strategically and intentionally can lead to significant

results in the community.

Although there are many elements identified in the literature as helpful to building

collaborations and networks of organizations to better serve underprivileged populations, these

elements can be summarized into seven main areas of focus. Those areas are: investing time,

understanding the target community or group, clarifying shared understandings, building and

maintaining quality relationships, seeing differences as strengths, incorporating ongoing

USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 9

evaluation and self-assessment, and building a culture of sharing and learning. If organizations

can partner with others and together work on improving their practices in these seven areas,

research suggests that they would be on their way to making significant and lasting changes in

the populations they serve.

USING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS 10

References

Bellman, G. & Ryan, K. (2009). Extraordinary groups: How ordinary teams achieve amazing

results. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Faust, V., Christens, B. D., Sparks, S. M. A., & Hilgendorf, A. E. (2015, December). Exploring

relationships among organizational capacity, collaboration, and network change.

Psychosocial Intervention, 24:125-141. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.foley.gonzaga.edu/ehost/

Marlier, M., Lucidarme, S., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Babiak, K., & Willem, A. (2015,

December). Capacity building through cross-sector partnerships: A multiple case study of

a sport program in disadvantaged communities in Belgium. BMC Public Health 15:

1306. Retrieved from http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/

Miao, T., Umemoto, K. Gonda, D. & Hishinuma, E. S. (2011). Essential elements for community

engagement in evidence-based youth violence prevention. American Journal of

Community Psychology, 48: 120-132. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.foley.gonzaga.edu/ehost/

Peifer, K. & Perez, L. (2010, July). Effectiveness of a coordinated community effort to promote

early literacy behaviors. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 15: 765-771. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.foley.gonzaga.edu/ehost/

Thomas, L. R., Rosa, C., Forcehimes, A., & Donovan, D. M. (2011, September). Research

partnerships between academic institutions and American Indian and Alaskan Native

tribes and organizations: Effective strategies and lessons learned in a multisite CTN

study. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 37: 333-338. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.foley.gonzaga.edu/ehost/