Category Archives: collaboration

Control or Collaboration? You Can’t Have It Both Ways

I’m working with a client on a grant writing process for a project that is due in about 2 weeks. I am accustomed to working with multiple project partners in a collabortaive planning and program development process, but I have also worked with clients who had more of a “top down” approach through which an administrator or small group of administrators developed a program design, made the decsions, and passed their decisions on to me.

However, this grant process is a bit different because the client is trying to use both approaches.  Well, they are trying to walk through a collaborative planning process, while doing their own planning behind the scenes and trying to steer the collaborative planning process in the direction they want. Sure, I have seen this before, but usually the faux “collaborative” process is not nearly as extensive as this one is.

As you might expect, people who think they are participating in a real collaborative process are beginning to bristle at the not-so-subtle control being wielded by those at the top.

What does this mean for the grant writing process?  It will be slow.  It will be contentious at times.  It certainly is not the best way to plan a program.

Real collaboration has many benefits beyond being able to write that you went through a collaborative process.  It helps leverage community resources and it builds relationships that will pay off far into the future.

Short circuiting the process so you can maintain some extra control is really not worth it in the long run.  In fact, your collaborative partners would be grateful if you were upfront about your intentions at the beginning.  If the collaborative process is not going to be real, they have better things to do, just like you do.

——————–
Related Posts:


Trust the Grant Writing Process


When Partnerships Go Bad

The Importance of Respect When Working Collaboratively with Others

Visit GrantGoddess.com for more grant writing help!

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Control or Collaboration? You Can’t Have It Both Ways

I’m working with a client on a grant writing process for a project that is due in about 2 weeks. I am accustomed to working with multiple project partners in a collabortaive planning and program development process, but I have also worked with clients who had more of a “top down” approach through which an administrator or small group of administrators developed a program design, made the decsions, and passed their decisions on to me.

However, this grant process is a bit different because the client is trying to use both approaches.  Well, they are trying to walk through a collaborative planning process, while doing their own planning behind the scenes and trying to steer the collaborative planning process in the direction they want. Sure, I have seen this before, but usually the faux “collaborative” process is not nearly as extensive as this one is.

As you might expect, people who think they are participating in a real collaborative process are beginning to bristle at the not-so-subtle control being wielded by those at the top.

What does this mean for the grant writing process?  It will be slow.  It will be contentious at times.  It certainly is not the best way to plan a program.

Real collaboration has many benefits beyond being able to write that you went through a collaborative process.  It helps leverage community resources and it builds relationships that will pay off far into the future.

Short circuiting the process so you can maintain some extra control is really not worth it in the long run.  In fact, your collaborative partners would be grateful if you were upfront about your intentions at the beginning.  If the collaborative process is not going to be real, they have better things to do, just like you do.

——————–
Related Posts:


Trust the Grant Writing Process


When Partnerships Go Bad

The Importance of Respect When Working Collaboratively with Others

Visit GrantGoddess.com for more grant writing help!

When Partnerships Go Bad

It happens. Because partnerships between agencies are based on relationships between people, sometimes things take a negative turn – just like personal relationships sometimes do.

So, what can you do to keep your collaborative relationships from going bad, and how can you recoup a relationship that has already taken a turn for the worse?

  1. Communicate. Yeah, I know. Everybody talks about communication like it is the panacea for whatever ails you. However, when it comes to relationships, it really is important. The problem is that when relationships are strained, talking it out is exactly what we don’t want to do. There is an agency I volunteer with that I am having some trouble with right now. The last thing I want to do is pick up the phone and talk to the person who is annoying me, but my relationship with that organization depends on it. Ask yourself, how valuable is the relationship to me? If it’s a valuable relationship, suck it up. Start talking.
  2. Focus on the positive. Even when people don’t agree on everything, it’s likely that they do agree on some fundamental principles. Focus on those. Release your emotional grip on the details that don’t really matter and focus on common sense of purpose.
  3. Express your appreciation. Everybody wants and needs to know that they are valued and appreciated. It may be hard to express your appreciation when things are strained, but that is when it is needed most. Send a heartfelt card or a handwritten note expressing your gratitude for the collaboration or something special the individual involved has done to make your work easier.
  4. Keep the problem to yourself. You may be tempted to tell the story about what went wrong to others. Don’t. No good can come from that, and you could cause permanent damage to the collaborative relationship if you do.
  5. Don’t over-analyze the problem. Sometimes it’s easier to get over a bump in the road by just driving over it. If you stop, get out and start analyzing why there is a bump in the road, and detailing all of the possible ways around it, you may end up stuck there at that bump forever. In the same way, sometimes the best and most productive and respectful way around a problem with a collaborative partner is to acknowledge that there has been an issue and keep working together anyway. Not all problems in relationships need to be defined and fully resolved before you move forward. Agreeing to disagree and moving on can be a very good thing.

Don’t be discouraged when a wonderful collaborative relationship hits a bumpy spot. Remember that it’s normal for highly committed individuals to disagree sometimes. Not all people communicate perfectly all the time. A temporary disagreement doesn’t have to turn into a permanent rift.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

When Partnerships Go Bad

It happens. Because partnerships between agencies are based on relationships between people, sometimes things take a negative turn – just like personal relationships sometimes do.

So, what can you do to keep your collaborative relationships from going bad, and how can you recoup a relationship that has already taken a turn for the worse?

  1. Communicate. Yeah, I know. Everybody talks about communication like it is the panacea for whatever ails you. However, when it comes to relationships, it really is important. The problem is that when relationships are strained, talking it out is exactly what we don’t want to do. There is an agency I volunteer with that I am having some trouble with right now. The last thing I want to do is pick up the phone and talk to the person who is annoying me, but my relationship with that organization depends on it. Ask yourself, how valuable is the relationship to me? If it’s a valuable relationship, suck it up. Start talking.
  2. Focus on the positive. Even when people don’t agree on everything, it’s likely that they do agree on some fundamental principles. Focus on those. Release your emotional grip on the details that don’t really matter and focus on common sense of purpose.
  3. Express your appreciation. Everybody wants and needs to know that they are valued and appreciated. It may be hard to express your appreciation when things are strained, but that is when it is needed most. Send a heartfelt card or a handwritten note expressing your gratitude for the collaboration or something special the individual involved has done to make your work easier.
  4. Keep the problem to yourself. You may be tempted to tell the story about what went wrong to others. Don’t. No good can come from that, and you could cause permanent damage to the collaborative relationship if you do.
  5. Don’t over-analyze the problem. Sometimes it’s easier to get over a bump in the road by just driving over it. If you stop, get out and start analyzing why there is a bump in the road, and detailing all of the possible ways around it, you may end up stuck there at that bump forever. In the same way, sometimes the best and most productive and respectful way around a problem with a collaborative partner is to acknowledge that there has been an issue and keep working together anyway. Not all problems in relationships need to be defined and fully resolved before you move forward. Agreeing to disagree and moving on can be a very good thing.

Don’t be discouraged when a wonderful collaborative relationship hits a bumpy spot. Remember that it’s normal for highly committed individuals to disagree sometimes. Not all people communicate perfectly all the time. A temporary disagreement doesn’t have to turn into a permanent rift.

The Importance of Respect When Working Collaboratively with Others

Several years, I visited a new church. It was an inviting place to be – the people were nice, the chairs were comfortable. Then the minister began to talk. He spent 30 minutes or so chastising the congregation because there weren’t more people there. I remember thinking, “Does he realize that he’s upset with the wrong crowd?” Needless to say, I never returned to that church.

This weekend, I had a similar experience at a Youth Substance Abuse Summit I attended. I was invited to attend, as were there other 80 – 100 people who were there representing 6 or 7 different communities. We were there to explore ways we could collaborate to decrease youth substance abuse.

We heard some good speakers who shared some excellent information. Then we were sent off to work in community groups to come up with action plans for addressing the issue that we would continue to implement long after the summit activities ended.

In my community group, we had some good discussions. We went back and forth on several issues, and we struggled with finding a good starting point. Many of group left early (it was a Saturday, after all!). Our facilitator was a bit inexperienced, but she did her best to keep us moving forward. I admire her efforts because keeping us on track was probably a little like herding kittens. As we approached the end of the day, we had a plan to meet again and a priority list of issues we would address. Not bad.

Then, with 30 minutes left to go, a new facilitator came in the room and starting chastising us for all that we had not accomplished on that day. He said some rather inappropriate and untrue things about our community. He spoke to the group harshly and cruelly. In the end, all of the good will and excitement that had been built up over the past 24 hours was gone.

As you can imagine, I was angry. I was a bit upset about some of the things he said about our community that were not true (clearly, he has not been involved with the work in our community in recent years and months), but I was most upset about the way he treated those dedicated and hardworking people who were volunteering their time on a Saturday to do something good for their community.

The people he was most upset with were all the people who were not in room, but he took it out on the dedicated folks who were hanging in and working to the end of the day.

We expressed our frustration about what had happened with the organizers of the summit, but in the end, we have decided to let it go. We know that we are planning to move forward with the work in our community. We know we have done good work thus far. We know the really hard work lays ahead.

Here’s the lesson I pulled from this experience —Organizations are working collaboratively with other organizations more than ever. Not only is a collaborative approach the best way to leverage the most existing resources within a community, but most state and federal grants (and many private grants) now require inter-agency collaboration as a condition of funding.

How are we treating our collaborative parnters?

Are we showing them the respect they deserve for giving of their time and energy to help the effort?

Are we showing respect for their dedication to their community?

If not, it’s time for an attitude adjustment. Remember, working with groups of people and agency representatives is not easy. Tasks that seem like they should be simple can take much longer than we expect. The discussions we have with our partners as we negotiate details and ideas are extremely important in paving the way for future progress.

Now, I could choose not to go back to that church were I was chastised years ago, but I cannot (I will not) choose to walk away from my own community. Collaborative partners simply must find a way to work together. We must get passed the petty hurts and offenses and keep moving forward – together. The stakes for our children are too high to let someone who is ill-informed and rude throw us off track.

The gift I got this weekend was a reminder about the importance of treating my fellow community members with respect.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

The Importance of Respect When Working Collaboratively with Others

Several years, I visited a new church. It was an inviting place to be – the people were nice, the chairs were comfortable. Then the minister began to talk. He spent 30 minutes or so chastising the congregation because there weren’t more people there. I remember thinking, “Does he realize that he’s upset with the wrong crowd?” Needless to say, I never returned to that church.

This weekend, I had a similar experience at a Youth Substance Abuse Summit I attended. I was invited to attend, as were there other 80 – 100 people who were there representing 6 or 7 different communities. We were there to explore ways we could collaborate to decrease youth substance abuse.

We heard some good speakers who shared some excellent information. Then we were sent off to work in community groups to come up with action plans for addressing the issue that we would continue to implement long after the summit activities ended.

In my community group, we had some good discussions. We went back and forth on several issues, and we struggled with finding a good starting point. Many of group left early (it was a Saturday, after all!). Our facilitator was a bit inexperienced, but she did her best to keep us moving forward. I admire her efforts because keeping us on track was probably a little like herding kittens. As we approached the end of the day, we had a plan to meet again and a priority list of issues we would address. Not bad.

Then, with 30 minutes left to go, a new facilitator came in the room and starting chastising us for all that we had not accomplished on that day. He said some rather inappropriate and untrue things about our community. He spoke to the group harshly and cruelly. In the end, all of the good will and excitement that had been built up over the past 24 hours was gone.

As you can imagine, I was angry. I was a bit upset about some of the things he said about our community that were not true (clearly, he has not been involved with the work in our community in recent years and months), but I was most upset about the way he treated those dedicated and hardworking people who were volunteering their time on a Saturday to do something good for their community.

The people he was most upset with were all the people who were not in room, but he took it out on the dedicated folks who were hanging in and working to the end of the day.

We expressed our frustration about what had happened with the organizers of the summit, but in the end, we have decided to let it go. We know that we are planning to move forward with the work in our community. We know we have done good work thus far. We know the really hard work lays ahead.

Here’s the lesson I pulled from this experience —Organizations are working collaboratively with other organizations more than ever. Not only is a collaborative approach the best way to leverage the most existing resources within a community, but most state and federal grants (and many private grants) now require inter-agency collaboration as a condition of funding.

How are we treating our collaborative parnters?

Are we showing them the respect they deserve for giving of their time and energy to help the effort?

Are we showing respect for their dedication to their community?

If not, it’s time for an attitude adjustment. Remember, working with groups of people and agency representatives is not easy. Tasks that seem like they should be simple can take much longer than we expect. The discussions we have with our partners as we negotiate details and ideas are extremely important in paving the way for future progress.

Now, I could choose not to go back to that church were I was chastised years ago, but I cannot (I will not) choose to walk away from my own community. Collaborative partners simply must find a way to work together. We must get passed the petty hurts and offenses and keep moving forward – together. The stakes for our children are too high to let someone who is ill-informed and rude throw us off track.

The gift I got this weekend was a reminder about the importance of treating my fellow community members with respect.

Collaboration Between Organizations – Why It Often Fails

Many grant funding sources now require collaboration between organizations for good reasons. Collaboration helps stretch scarce resources and it dramatically increases the likelihood of sustainability after the grant funding period.

Unfortunately, collaboration between organizations in a community is not easy. Collaboration between organizations with large bureaucracies is extremely difficult.

So, why does it often fail?

Changing personnel – Collaboration relies heavily on relationships and trust. In large organizations, it is not uncommon for people to move in and out of positions within the organization frequently. If the person who developed the collaborative relationship leaves the organization or changes positions within the organization, the relationship is at risk. Sometimes it falls apart completely.

Lack of experience and bureaucratic requirements – Face it, large bureaucracies are designed to be self-sufficient. They are not designed to work and play well with others. People within them are not trained or encourage to collaborate with others. Here’s an example. There’s a collaborative grant that requires representatives of the partner agencies to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to document their partnership and the commitments that each agency is making as part of the grant effort. The lead agency drafts the MOU and negotiates the details with the representatives from the other agencies attending the meeting. Agreement is reached. Then, as the MOU is being sent around for signatures, the business departments in the other organizations all start to object because they each have their own required template for MOUs that includes their own legalese. Even though the language in the MOU is very similar to the language in each of the different templates, an entirely new level of compromise and negotiation is required because the different agencies simply cannot just accept a template that is not their own.

Self-preservation – The tighter the budgets, the worse this is. Collaboration requires that partners look out for both the best interests of the group and the best interests of each of the partners. organizations that can’t see passed their own needs often sabotage an entire collaborative effort.

So, what do organizations need to do to make it work?

  • Focus on the common good;

  • Ensure that there is something “in it” for every partner;

  • Send multiple representatives to represent the organization so personnel shifts will not alter the collaborative’s progress;

  • Be willing to step aside and let others get a little more sometimes (a little more money, a little more publicity, a little more whatever); In short, be more of a giver than a getter–and you’ll get more;

  • Negotiate a common MOU template when you are not facing a grant deadline – then you’ll have it when you need it;

  • Learn more about your partner agencies so you know where they’re coming from

You’ll see more detail on these strategies in future posts.

“Seeing difference is ignorance. We are all one.” – Sankara

“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” – Horace Mann

Collaboration Between Organizations – Why It Often Fails

Many grant funding sources now require collaboration between organizations for good reasons. Collaboration helps stretch scarce resources and it dramatically increases the likelihood of sustainability after the grant funding period.

Unfortunately, collaboration between organizations in a community is not easy. Collaboration between organizations with large bureaucracies is extremely difficult.

So, why does it often fail?

Changing personnel – Collaboration relies heavily on relationships and trust. In large organizations, it is not uncommon for people to move in and out of positions within the organization frequently. If the person who developed the collaborative relationship leaves the organization or changes positions within the organization, the relationship is at risk. Sometimes it falls apart completely.

Lack of experience and bureaucratic requirements – Face it, large bureaucracies are designed to be self-sufficient. They are not designed to work and play well with others. People within them are not trained or encourage to collaborate with others. Here’s an example. There’s a collaborative grant that requires representatives of the partner agencies to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to document their partnership and the commitments that each agency is making as part of the grant effort. The lead agency drafts the MOU and negotiates the details with the representatives from the other agencies attending the meeting. Agreement is reached. Then, as the MOU is being sent around for signatures, the business departments in the other organizations all start to object because they each have their own required template for MOUs that includes their own legalese. Even though the language in the MOU is very similar to the language in each of the different templates, an entirely new level of compromise and negotiation is required because the different agencies simply cannot just accept a template that is not their own.

Self-preservation – The tighter the budgets, the worse this is. Collaboration requires that partners look out for both the best interests of the group and the best interests of each of the partners. organizations that can’t see passed their own needs often sabotage an entire collaborative effort.

So, what do organizations need to do to make it work?

  • Focus on the common good;

  • Ensure that there is something “in it” for every partner;

  • Send multiple representatives to represent the organization so personnel shifts will not alter the collaborative’s progress;

  • Be willing to step aside and let others get a little more sometimes (a little more money, a little more publicity, a little more whatever); In short, be more of a giver than a getter–and you’ll get more;

  • Negotiate a common MOU template when you are not facing a grant deadline – then you’ll have it when you need it;

  • Learn more about your partner agencies so you know where they’re coming from

You’ll see more detail on these strategies in future posts.

“Seeing difference is ignorance. We are all one.” – Sankara

“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” – Horace Mann

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com