Collaboration in practice

Are you on board with the benefits of collaboration? If so, what is the next step in your journey?

Collaborative working in practice – the ‘how’

These steps aren’t revolutionary, they probably won’t cover anything you don’t know. But as collaborative working is easier as a concept and much harder to put into practice, we thought it was important to include a basic framework for action. This is based on the experience of our case example areas.

These steps are scalable, from senior executives across sectors working on whole system strategy, to team leaders across health and social care making changes to a particular support pathway.

1. Pick your problem. Be realistic – keep it deliverable. Starting small is very sensible if this is a new venture with new partners. But if you go small, think of something that is scalable.
   
2. Identify stakeholders. Not just those you are used to working with, but everyone involved in the process, as well as those who will be impacted by it. This includes the people accessing support. If you don’t already have established relationships with key partners, build in lots of time for this bit – it’s the beginning of your relationship so you want to start on the right foot. Look for opportunities to strengthen existing relationships.
   
3. Link to new partners. Set up an initial meeting that is separate to the usual day to day discussions and pressures. Find out as much as you can about your new partner. What are their pressures, priorities, expectations and concerns? Work out together what you have in common.
   
4. Confirm drivers for each stakeholder. Gains don’t have to be equal, but they do have to be of interest to each partner. They could range from improving the experience of the people using a service, to finance, to freeing up staff time.
   
5. Create a dream team of deliverers. It’s not always about seniority. It’s often about individuals with drive, passion and influence. Never under estimate the importance of finding the right people to effect change.
   
6. Make it happen. Work out together what you will do, how you will do it and how you will stop the inevitable barriers distracting you from your aim. Then take steps to make things happen.
   
7. Be honest with yourself about how collaborative the work is. Ask yourself whether the key people really are around the table and whether they have an equal voice.
   
8. Don’t forget to deliver. The system needs change, it needs to try doing things differently with different people involved. If you haven’t solved the problem then it’s still there, impacting on the lives of the people we are all here to support. Evaluate what you've done to see whether it works. If it hasn't quite solved your problem, work out with partners what to try next.
   
9. Pick your next problem. Once you’ve proven that you can work collaboratively to solve a problem, the scene is set for you to pick your next problem – maybe a bigger or a more complex one, possibly involving new partners. The sky is the limit!

If you need some help on your journey, there is a lot of practical advice to hand. Find out more about our offer to you.