Collaborative working

What is collaborative working?

Collaborative working covers a spectrum of ways that two or more organisations can work together, from informal networks and alliances, through joint delivery of projects to full merger.

Collaborative working can last for a fixed length of time or can form a permanent arrangement. What these options have in common is that they involve some sort of exchange, for mutual advantage, that ultimately benefits end users.
Working collaboratively is a hot topic for many voluntary organisations as they look for ways to:

• Develop a stronger, more united voice.
• Share knowledge and information.
• Deliver new, improved or more integrated services.
• Make efficiency savings through sharing costs.

We have a range of resources across NCVO’s websites to support your collaborative working

In this section: 

• Find out more about what collaborative working involves.
• Good practice guides and models of collaborative working.
• FAQs on the most commonly asked questions.
• Mergers in the voluntary sector and due diligence.
• Case studies joint working for public sector delivery.

iKnowHow collaborative working

For the latest thinking on collaborative working head over to KnowHow NonProfit's iKnowHow collaboration wiki where we have moved all of the information from our free guides. Share your experiences and insight on everything about working with other organisations - from formal mergers to sharing back office staff. You can edit existing content, add new information, case studies or FAQs – or just read through each guide.

Go to KnowHow NonProfit's collaboration resources. Including information on:

• About collaborative working
• Ways of working collaboratively

Looking for partners to collaborative with?

Are you looking for other organisations to work with to deliver a particular project, or to put in joint bids for funding and contract opportunities? The Partner Zone on our free website Funding Central can help you discover organisations to collaborate and discuss opportunities with.

Funding Central is the site for the whole voluntary and community sector, including social enterprise, to access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and resources supporting organisations to develop sustainable income strategies.

Sign up to the Partner Zone on Funding Central.