Nonprofits are exploring collaboration in record numbers. Not just informal cooperation but long-term, structural changes that link organizations together such as mergers, shared programs and services, and establishing new networks or alliances. What is often missing is a clear roadmap for executives and boards about how to approach each phase of the process. This 75-minute, interactive session will pull back the veil of secrecy on how collaborations actually form, from early conversations and quiet exploration to the collaborations that come together and the ones that don’t.

We’ll introduce participants to a human-centered and intentional process called the Collaboration Compass, a step-by-step guide for senior leaders to decide if and when collaboration is right for their organization, with clear decision points and elegant off ramps at each stage. Participants will complete the Collaboration Compass Readiness Assessment and leave the session knowing when and how to explore collaboration and when to walk away. We’ll cover early-stage exploration, feasibility and readiness assessments, due diligence and negotiations, implementation, integration, and sustaining long term collaborations, plus how to wind down or exit a collaboration. Participants will leave with a snapshot of their own organization’s readiness for collaboration and which types of collaboration best fit their mission.

Learning Outcomes:

• A deeper understanding of collaboration as one of many tools to move your mission forward and how to recognize when it might be the right move for your organization.
• How to apply the Collaboration Compass: a navigational tool for any collaboration opportunity, with clear decision points and graceful off-ramps that protect your mission while keeping you open to the benefits of potential partnerships.
• Confidence about when to say yes or no to a potential collaboration opportunity, grounded in an honest read of your own organizational readiness.
• A behind-the-scenes look at how this process actually works in practice drawn from real collaborations, including the messy middle and the ones that didn’t happen.

Speaker:

Kate Harris, KHG | Nonprofit Strategy + Collaboration

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