Home Campus-Community Connection Tools & Resources Partnerships Characteristics of Successful Collaborations

Characteristics of Successful Collaborations

Does Your Collaboration Check All the Boxes?

  • Common purpose and clear understanding
  • Agreement on mission, values and goals
  • Variety of stakeholder groups in the planning stages
  • Significant and differing contributions from each partner
  • Share in the risks, liabilities and responsibilities as well rewards and successes
  • Agree on population in need and shared geographic area
  • Autonomy and ethics of each professional are maintained
  • Shared governance structure for coordination decision making
  • Clearly defined roles & responsibilities
  • Clear communication processes
  • Collaborative data and tracking information
  • Open, inclusive, transparent, accessible, and tailored to need
  • Easy to access and navigate services for service users not providers
  • Common definitions, processes, protocols and assessments
  • Resource lists are shared and regularly updated
  • Educational resources are shared amongst the partners
  • Conflict resolution process in place – solution focused, positive
  • Compatible organizational cultures that support collaboration and cooperation
  • Diversity is honored and respected – operates within an anti-oppression, anti-racism framework
  • Clear understanding of the expectations, norms, culture and traditions of the various partners
  • Power differentials are identified, acknowledged and negotiated
  • Meetings are safe and opportunity for all to have a voice
  • Conversations and deliberations amongst partners are reflective, honest, and never rushed
  • Trust has been built on commitments and agreements
  • Partners share successes and failures to create improvement and spread innovation