Strategic Collaboration in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Collective Impact Model Implementation: Promise and Reality

“…This may thwart sustainable results, such as forging strong and confident relationships, strengthening relationships and advancing teamwork among the partners. Moreover, the willingness to partner in the future may be diminished (Norris-Tirrell & Clay, 2010). At the same time, the competitive environment facing nonprofit social services agencies is fierce.…”

“…Addressing the multidimensional and interconnected systems outlined above thus requires a coordinated effort that is grounded in knowledge obtained from dynamic social science study (Nutley, Walter, & Davies, 2008;Weiss, 1979), purposeful implementation of shared governance structures and processes (Goldsmith 2010;Norris-Tirrell & Clay, 2010), and authentic and inclusive engagement of citizens/local knowledge (Welsh, 2004). Practitioners engaged in collaborative service delivery must navigate the demands of a multi-tier system, as national, state, and local governments face their own specific issues (Mayhew, 2012).…”

“…Although promising in theory, CI implementation can be complicated by barriers operating across the interconnected levels of an ecological system. For example, building a meaningful collaboration with a strong foundation of open communication, shared power, mutual trust, and understanding is vital to create a shared agenda, yet this process can be time intensive and requires strong yet balanced leadership to work through difficult power dynamics (Norris-Tirrell & Clay, 2010;Warm, 2011).…”

“…Collaborative activities require attention to both informal and formal dynamics and a recognition that processes tend to be inherently cyclical and iterative (Bryson, Crosby, & Stone, 2006;Thomson & Perry, 2006;Agranoff, 2005). Attention to collaboration capacity building is important to lend participants the opportunity to build a shared problem definition, goals, expectations, and the trust that is so important to sustainable relationships (Norris-Tirrell & Clay, 2010). Managing stakeholder involvement also requires intentional attention to the members' agency-specific goals and mission (Proenca, 2003).…”

The Changing Role of Private, Nonprofit Organizations in the Development and Delivery of Human Services in the United States

“…Too often the primary focus of related research and political discussion has been on the financial relationship. Even as public and nonprofit managers have agreed in both theory and practice to move from a Principal-Agent perspective to collective stewardship (Mayhew, 2012), the continued emphasis on monitoring and reporting often stymies the development of internal and external trust required for optimal collaboration (Norris-Tirrell and Clay, 2010). Attention to integral communication patterns and the shared understanding of problem definition and collaborative goals can result in a shift in how agencies across all three sectors connect to each other, moving to cooperation and problem solving (Norris-Tirrell, 2012).…”