Collaboration in Advocacy

In advocacy, collaboration is key. Establishing a collaboration not only strengthens your campaign, you are also demonstrating to the community, decision-makers and funders that other stakeholders recognise that there is a need for what you are doing. This can be a powerful asset.

There are advantages and disadvantages of collaborating with other organisations.

Advantages

In a healthy collaboration there is something in it for both parties, whether it's access to skills and resources or just working towards a common aim
You will have a broader reach, as all the organisations involved in the collaboration will have different networks and mailing lists to spread the word on - which means that more sectors of the community will hear about your campaign
You'll gain access to new skills as the various organisations that have these skill sets come on board
It is a good opportunity to widen your own networks
If more organisations are involved you may increase your own credibility
More and more funding bodies like to see collaborations, so this will certainly work in your favour in grant applications - not to mention the fact that a wide range of costs for the campaign could then be shared
The other organisations will be able to provide you with in-kind resources
These sorts of collaborations tend to lead to ongoing relationships, which will help you with future campaigns

Disadvantages

There are some circumstances where you need to be careful and to put safeguards in place to overcome potential problems.

Collaborations can mean that your campaign moves more slowly, because you need to get consensus or check with the other players regarding every decision - so make sure you have a good understanding of the levels of autonomy that you have.
You will be more restricted in what you can do. Certain tactics your group might follow, or positions that your group might ordinarily take, may not be agreed on by other members of your collaboration.
In-fighting between parties may emerge, and few things could be more damaging to a cause. These squabbles may become public.

Establishing a collaboration

Sometimes collaborations are almost taken for granted, and other times they take a bit of work. They generally start with pre-existing relationships and build from there around the relevant issues.

If you have found a group that you think would make a good collaboration partner, but you have no prior relationship with them, then it is generally a good idea to contact the campaign coordinator of that group and arrange a meeting to outline your proposal.

However, no matter who is involved in the collaboration, it is important to establish from the outset the following things:

who does what
who is responsible for what parts of the project
who is responsible for paying for which part of the project.

These things are often discussed during the formation of the alliance and will be understood by all parties by the time the collaboration begins formally.

However, even the most cooperative partners can have different views about who they believe is responsible for different stages. The best advice for any community group is to produce a written agreement (or memorandum of understanding, or project plan) that sets out who will be responsible for each element of the project.

Prepare a formal written agreement that spells out all the essential information, including:

The agreed project objectives and outcomes
Assignment of responsibility for all the particular project areas
Default procedures to align the actions of both parties
Dispute resolution procedures in case things get out of synch.
Set out the broad duties of each partner, addressing the areas of:
Financial control, including a draft budget with specified estimates as well as details of the system for sign-off on any spending
Ownership or control of any product at the end of the project
Confidentiality of information gathered during the project - which groups "own" and are responsible for the personal details?
Media relations - who is to be the spokesperson for the project, and what is the approval system for any publicity?
Termination of the agreement and the project
Get final agreement between all partners to the collaborative effort before the project begins so that everyone is certain of their responsibilities and obligations.

In the vast majority of community collaborations communication is good and there's little need for any formal agreement. However, where projects do go a bit awry, a basic formal agreement can act as a dispute settler.