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