Why should you work with another organization? ___You have considered what your organization wants to accomplish, and determined that another organization shares your goals, and you can accomplish them better together than apart Which kind of organizational relationship is necessary to accomplish those goals? ___Networking ___Coordination ___Cooperation ___Collaboration ___Multisector collaboration ___Is there sufficient trust and commitment to support the kind of relationship you chose? Resources are available for this kind of organizational relationship, such as: ___Time ___Skills ___Financial resources ___Community support ___Commitment of everyone involved ___If not, these resources can be accessed You have considered how you will overcome the challenges that organizations confront when they are working together: ___People's belief that individual effort is more beneficial than cooperation ___ Mistrust ___A lack of communication skills ___ Racism and other forms of discrimination that keep people and organizations isolated from each other ___ A lack of strong leadership ___People's internalized sense of powerlessness ___Private and public funders requirements You have decided if you will involve the following stakeholders: ___Leaders of the organizations ___Staff who will implement the programs ___Constituent groups of the organizations ___People who will be involved in the programs ___The larger community ___People who may be affected indirectly You have begun to build trust with the other organizations: ___You have built some one-to-one relationships ___You have planned time for trust-building with the individuals who will be working together ___ Each person involved has had time to talk in the group about themselves, their organization, their stake in the issue and community, their interest in the partnership, and their concerns about the relationship ___The group has established guidelines that people will be honest with each other, respect confidentiality (when decided upon), and be responsible to the group ___A tone of cooperation has been established ___You have planned a time to build communication skills ___Each organization has clarified the goals they want to accomplish You have established procedural ground rules for the following points: ___How decisions will be made ___Who will speak to the media ___What should be considered confidential ___How information will be distributed ___The role of representatives ___Any other important procedural guidelines ___People know how to listen to each other ___People are building on points of agreement People have learned about each other's cultural group through: ___Cultural celebrations ___Discussions and exercises ___Hiring a trained facilitator when needed ___People in each organization are assured that they don't have to give up their identities ___People are prepared to handle problems and disagreements ___You celebrate every success
