Collaboration and partnership

Includes publications from Trust for London, IDeA and HACT...

London Funders' Publications
Believing in your community and green spaces
(2009) GrantScape and Church Urban Fund - funders collaborating

Health and Belief
(2009) A grants collaboration between London Catalyst and Church Urban Fund

External Publications

Collaborating for impact
Angela Kail and Rob Abercrombie, Impetus/NPC, 2013
An intelligent analysis for voluntary organisations of how to spot opportunities for and de-risk collaboration, which also includes some concise pages aimed at commissioners.

Collaborative learning: a case study
Root Cause and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012
Learn faster and grow smarter is the sub-text of this US report on collaborative learning as an alternative to a merger.

Compact at work: Kensington and Chelsea
Compact Voice, 2012
A two page briefing describing the impact of the local Compact which the Borough has developed across public, private and voluntary sectors – one of the first to cover this span of sectors. The paper also describes how they are working with neighbouring boroughs to improve VCS relations. The Kensington and Chelsea Compact Implementation Group is helping to guarantee that services provided by the voluntary sector are sustainable, with relationships remaining strong despite the current challenges.

European foundations working together
GrantCraft, 2012
European foundations are very diverse – many in continental Europe combine grantmaking with running operational activities, for example, and different legal and tax regimes help shape very different national patterns of foundation development. Nonetheless, there is an increasing number of collaborative ventures between foundations and across national boundaries. This publication usefully examines some of these.

Funder collaboration – Fear and Fashion
2010
Independent evaluation of a major collaborative initiative to understand and devise practical responses to the problem of knife crime involving young people. Supported by five grantmaking foundations - The City Bridge Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, John Lyon’s Charity, Trust for London and The Wates Foundation - it funded four projects to deliver work with young people and the evaluation identifies some significant achievements. Summary also available.

Funder collaboratives: why and how funders work together
GrantCraft
Insight from US foundation leaders on the advantages and challenges of funder collaboration, for funders and recipients. In depth analysis examines how to start joint ventures and make them succeed, using three examples of funder collaboration. The guide gives recommendations on building strong relationships, including how to structure collaboration to fit its purpose, and how to assess it to ensure its effectiveness.
 

Global Coalitions: An introduction to working in international civil society partnerships
The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, 2012
The Fund has published a resource for people working within civil society coalitions, or thinking of establishing such a coalition, and particularly for those working towards some distinct change in international policy or law. The report is also available in an interactive format, see here. 

Needle-moving community collaboratives: a promising approach to addressing America's biggest challenges
Bridgespan, 2012
This study was conducted at the request of the White House Council for Community Solutions and finds that multi-stakeholder collaborations have achieved "needle-moving" change, share common operating principles and characteristics of success. The report identifies four common operating principles among successful collaborations as well as five key characteristics of success: having a shared vision and agenda; effective leadership and governance; alignment of resources, programmes, and advocacy; dedicated staff capacity and appropriate structure; and sufficient funding. 

New routes to better outcomes
IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency), 2009
The Partnerships team’s guide evaluating the delivery of public services through local partnerships. Part one looked at progress from 2004 since 2004 and made the case for further central government reform to consolidate the framework around Local Area Agreements (LAAs) and strengthened Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs).
Part two, a practitioners’ handbook, offers information on 20 different approaches and methodologies that were being used by local partnerships in the UK for achieving LAA targets and developing LSP capacity. The structures may have been discontinued but much of the practice and learning remain valuable.
 
HACT, 2011
A report summarising the experience of 12 partnerships between housing providers and established community anchors with many examples of creative outcomes and tips on what makes good partnerships blossom. 
 

Vital ingredients when collaboration and merger are on the menu
Tim Brogden, LVSC, 2013
Practical experience of mergers, group structure, partnerships and other kinds of collaboration and even a case study of an organisation that explored lots of options and decided to reinvent itself on its own. This is a valuable tool for any organisations looking positively at options to strengthen their service or for those that feel change is being foisted on them because of a resource crisis. Right through the report are examples of organisations improving their services for users, and securing a more sustainable future. A useful tool for funders, e.g. some of the case studies will throw light on why likely looking combinations may not result in a merger. 

 
ACEVO and the CBI, 2010
Report on third sector-private sector partnerships and at the factors which bring about effective leadership of such partnerships. It includes case studies. 

 

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