Abstract
Barter and collaboration are effective methods for national and community service organizations to achieve mutual program goals. Identifying key elements of successful collaborations from a theoretical standpoint will help manifest success in your program. Susan J. Ellis authored this article, "Key Elements of Barter and Collaboration" for the Energize Volunteer Management Web Update November 2004, which elucidates how bartering is at the heart of collaboration, and how collaboration is critical for sustainability.
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Issue
Understanding, recognizing and implementing the key elements of barter and collaboration are important considerations in achieving program sustainability.
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Action
According to Susan J. Ellis in the article, "Key Elements of Barter and Collaboration," volunteer programs are already involved in barter and collaboration. Every time you recruit volunteers by pointing out
mutual benefits you have set up an
exchange -- the heart of collaborative effort.
Barter generally refers to a trade of goods or services, made as evenly as possible and in lieu of money. The parties involved, not the economic market, determine the value of what is bartered. Consciously rewording recruitment from volunteer language to bartering language can generate all sorts of unusual exchanges. For example:
- Contract a photographer to record a special event in barter for a tabletop exhibit of his/her work with contact information for prospective clients.
- Set up a babysitting co-op in which volunteers rotate caring for each other's children (or older relatives needing care), allowing each to do volunteer work as "respite."
- Offer hand-made holiday decorations to businesses that give you free materials for client craft projects (stuffing for toys, scraps of material, excess paper).
- If your program is located somewhere where parking is at a premium, barter occasional parking privileges for special donated services.
Collaboration generally implies a longer-term relationship in which two or more people/groups contribute their expertise and resources towards achieving a mutual goal. Here are key elements to success:
- Be clear as to what your organization needs or wants from a collaborative effort. Why is collaboration better than doing it alone?
- Assess what your organization is willing to give or share in order to get what it needs. (Collaboration, like "networking," only works when you start with a commitment to share resources as well as to get help from others.)
- Select collaborative partners with mutual goals relevant to the specific project, not necessarily those who are most similar to you in other ways. (It's often easier to work with groups that are different from you but share one common focused interest.)
- Establish parity among the collaborative partners: What will each of you contribute that has equal value to the effort, even if not of equal cash value?
- Agree on who is each participant's official representative and determine what level of authority is present to make commitments for the organization.
- Articulate specific goals and objectives for the collaboration and define each participant's rolein the process. Put all of this in writing!
- Before starting work, spend time determining how you want to work together, such as number and length of meetings, electronic discussions, what needs a vote, and so forth.
- Use action plans and progress reports to hold one another accountable.
- Celebrate interim achievements as well as final products.
Finally, treat one another as volunteers. Even if people are assigned by their organizations to be on the collaboration team (and paid as a representative), the project will only succeed if each team member participates wholeheartedly and performs this additional assignment above and beyond his or her regular job. Since this is the essence of volunteering anyway, acknowledging and acting accordingly helps create a positive group feeling. Make sure everyone knows what is expected, is supported in doing it, and has the tools necessary for success. Further, watch for and thank people for their efforts.
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Context
The act of collaboration can be viewed as one end of a spectrum that includes both "partnership" and "cooperation." When two or more organizations work together they can do so in the following ways:
Partnership: generally a loose association whereby the organizations work separately towards the same goal.Cooperation: acknowledged informal reciprocity between organizations working towards same goal.Collaboration: formal integration of processes and resources among organizations.
When organizations decide to work together and use the terms without agreeing on what they actually mean, misunderstandings can result when one party expects collaboration and the other was just looking for a partnership.
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Citation
Ellis, Susan J. Susan's Tip of the Month: "Key Elements of Barter and Collaboration." Energize Volunteer Management Web Update. [e-mail] 4 November 2004 [cited 12 January 2005].Energize is an international training, consulting and publishing firm specializing in volunteerism. The website includes a compilation of articles and excerpts, listing of conferences/classes, online bookstore, job bank and many other services.
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Outcome
On a practical level, cost efficiencies are made possible by addressing common issues or delivering similar services with peers, and services are more accessible and effective.Additionally, Barbara Gray notes in her book,
Collaborating (1989), that the quality of results increases due to a broader, more comprehensive analysis of issues and opportunities.
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Evidence
According to Atelia Melavilee and Martin J. Blank, researchers in the field of human service collaborations, "collaborative partnerships among human service agencies offer the ability to deliver services based on the
total needs of clients -- and the possibility of a truly integrated service system."According to research conducted by the McKnight Foundation, "the synergistic efforts of collaborating partners often result in creative ways to overcome obstacles."
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Posted On
January 12, 2005
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Related Practices
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Topic Areas
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