Key issues for funders of collaborative projects

This document has been written for funders who are considering supporting collaborative projects.

Collaborative working offers opportunities for organisations to explore different approaches to addressing complex, multi-faceted issues, and can help the sector make a real and lasting difference to beneficiaries.

Funders want to maximise the impact of their grants, and many voluntary and community organisations struggle with capacity issues. Collaborative working presents one way of addressing these challenges.

Funders can act as a driver for collaboration in the voluntary and community sector: some funders are encouraging collaborative working through specific programmes, whereas others are making it a condition of grant.

But funder-led collaboration can be problematic for organisations, and even be an obstacle to real and effective collaborative working. The demands placed on a lead organisation in a consortium, for example, may act as a deterrent. If the vision to work collaboratively doesn't come from the partners themselves - for instance if forming a partnership is a condition of grant - then the added value of joint working may not be realised.

Types of collaborative working

Almost any voluntary or community sector activity can be done in collaboration. Organisations can undertake activities such as:

One element of organisational strategic planning can be a review of an organisation's structure to ensure that what it's doing is best for its beneficiaries. This could involve becoming part of a federal or branch structure, or exploring merger.

What opportunities does collaboration offer?

For organisations with compatible aims, collaborative working can provide significant benefits, such as improved services or reduced duplication. However, collaborative working is not right for everyone. Careful consideration should be given to whether collaborative working is right for the organisation and in the best interests of its beneficiaries.

For an analysis of the benefits and risks, see An introduction to collaborative working.
Should you collaborate? Key questions provides a checklist to help organisations decide whether to embark on collaborative working.

Deciding whether it is right to embark on a collaborative project can take time, and funders might consider financing the initial exploratory or feasibility stages, or the due diligence exercise in the case of merger.

Preparing for collaborative work

Having a formal joint working agreement is recommended. A written agreement can help maximise likelihood of success through minimising risk, preventing misunderstandings, and giving clarity and focus to collaborative work. It can also be invaluable in ensuring continuity if changes occur, for example if staff and trustees leave.

Joint working agreements provides information on developing formal written agreements for organisations choosing to work collaboratively.

Issues for funding collaborative projects

There are particular considerations from a funder's perspective when dealing with collaborative projects, such as the importance of investing time at the early stages. Funders should be aware of the issues involved. Some useful questions to ask are:

What is the added value through collaboration?
Will there be one lead body for a collaborative project?
What can you expect from the lead body? E.g. will the lead be responsible for reporting both financial management and project delivery? Is there a capacity building role?
How will the partners be accountable for their work?
Do the partners share a joint working agreement?
Has enough set-up time been scheduled?
Has the applicant demonstrated an awareness of the complexities of collaborative working?
Are the organisations new to each other, or do they have a history of working together? The latter might allow for speedier progress through the early stages of a collaboration.
Are there any quick wins? This is helpful for the funder and project workers to demonstrate project progress to other stakeholders.
Have the partners considered how to handle conflict, or a partner not fulfilling its role?
Have staffing arrangements been considered? (See Staffing a collaborative project)
Are the partners fully committed to working together?
How will collaborating impact on the long term sustainability of the organisations?

Collaborative advantage

In their exploration of the nature of collaboration in practice, Huxham and Vangen state, "to gain real advantage from collaboration, something has to be achieved that could not have been achieved by any one of the organisations acting alone."

However, they conclude that "Unless potential for real collaborative advantage is clear, it is generally best, if there is a choice, to avoid collaboration."^[1]

Organisations therefore need to be very clear about the benefits of collaborating.

Further information

See the Collaborative Working Team's information and tools, and models of collaborative working.

Contact NCVO's Collaborative Working Team for advice and support on funding collaborative projects. Please email us or call 020 7520 2440.

[1] Huxham, C & Vangen, S. Doing Things Collaboratively: Realizing the Advantage or Succumbing to Inertia? Organizational Dynamics (2004), Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 190-201