Collaboration Network

Open Minds have established a Collaboration learning and policy network.  We have been identifying collaboration as a key capability gap with increasing frequency and wanted to use our skills and the experiences of our partners to maximum advantage.

We differentiate collaboration from straightforward partnership working.  Partnership, in our view, tends to involve people consulting with one another and then going to work in their own area to their own performance targets.  Collaboration involves working to common goals and generally requires a deeper level of commitment and changes in culture.

• Internal and external collaboration - what are the drivers?
• Potential benefits of collaboration and when is it appropriate?
• Enablers and barriers to effective collaboration
• Are there some generic guiding principles that support positive outcomes?
• What might we do when collaboration isn’t working?

We have an advisory group of 12 board members and senior level officers from a range of organisations including: For further details, please see the attached documents: