Collaboration: What makes it work,
2nd Edition
By Paul Mattessich, Marta Murray-Close, and Barbara R. Monsey; 82 pages; published
by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
In the past two decades, collaboration between nonprofits, governments, and
other community organizations has been on the rise, in part because they are
looking to address social issues in new and different ways, but also because
it can increase a community's capacity to accomplish more. Often times, collaboration
may be the most effective method of pooling talents and resources to solve
a problem or fill a need in the community. However, as this book points out,
it is not always effective, nor is it always appropriate. Thus, in this second
edition of Collaboration: What makes it work the authors identify and
discuss twenty key factors of successful collaboration based on their research
of 281 studies on the subject.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about collaboration or is considering
it as an option for their organization will find the explanations of the key
factors most helpful. The authors group the factors into six categories: environment,
membership characteristics, process and structure, communication, purpose,
and resources. Each factor is described, its implications are outlined, and
an actual case study is used to illustrate the factor in real terms. Beyond
these detailed descriptions, the book provides a reproducible Wilder Collaboration
Factors Inventory to help groups in examining where they stand on the various
factors that influence successful collaboration. In addition, there is a true
case example to illustrate how one set of four organizations used the inventory,
and how the results were interpreted so they could take action and improve
the likelihood that their collaboration would be successful.
Although the case studies and examples are predominantly American, they include
a wide range of organizations, issues, and types of collaboration. There is
also an extensive bibliography so that readers can further investigate certain
studies that may be particularly relevant to their situation. The authors
do stress, however, that this book is not a how-to guide to specific actions
that should be taken in a collaboration. Rather, they hope it will be "a source
that illuminates the principles behind success and therefore provides insight
into your specific challenges." Collaboration: What makes it work is
informative, thorough, and easy to understand. Any organization considering
a collaboration will find it most useful, both as an introduction to the topic
and as an assessment tool to help them increase their chances of success.
Buy the book:
Canada: buy through Amazon.ca: CDN$30.77
International: buy through Amazon.com: US$30.00
