From Handshake to Compact: Guidance to Foster Collaborative, Multimodal Decision Making (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Although each has a specific meaning, these terms have often been used interchangeably. In this handbook, collaboration is defined as follows: Col·lab´o·ra´tion: A purposeful process of working together to plan, to create, and to solve problems and/or manage activities Several of the terms in this definition are important in understanding the different aspects of collaboration for multimodal decision making.
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7"If we are to engage successfully in collaboration, we need to identify clearly what we are trying to accomplish at the end of the day." -- Gloria Jeff, Michigan Department of Transportation Collaboration Competition Top leaders support collaboration versus Top leaders foster competition Open communications versus Withholding of information Common language and terminology versus Different language and terminology designed to foster communications designed to guard competitive advantage Concern for mutual benefit and gain versus Focus on own interests Emphasis on trust among participants versus Distrust of others Respect for the interests of those versus Suspicion of the motives of others collaborating Easy access to other partners versus Little interaction with others Staff assigned to foster collaborative versus Staff assigned to encourage and attain activities competitive advantage Readiness to be helpful versus Use of threats and coercion Focus on joint problem solving versus Individual action to beat other competitors Institutional mechanisms for joint action versus Separate structures for individual action Reward staff who are successful in versus Reward staff who are able to beat collaborative activities the competition Possible evolutionary growth into versus Little chance for cooperative partnership full partnership on many issues Source: Based in part on M Issenhart and M
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8Benefits of Collaboration What are the benefits of collaboration? The answer to this question relates directly to why collaboration occurs in the first place.
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9Note: More detailed descriptions of these case studies can be found in the enclosed CD-ROM. Why has Collaboration Occurred?
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10 Challenges to Successful Collaboration Although the benefits of collaboration are many, there are often important challenges that can hinder success. These challenges relate to such things as the characteristics of the organizations involved, the historical context of previous attempts at collaborative efforts, poor interpersonal relations among the major participants, and insufficient dollar or personnel resources.
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11 Organizational Characteristics Organizational mission Narrowly defined roles can be major impediments to working with other organizations that do not share the same mission. For major transportation functions -- transit operations, traffic operations, infrastructure planning, design and construction -- agencies have different perceived missions, priorities, and legal requirements.
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12 Interpersonal Relationships Personal dynamics Collaboration depends primarily on establishing trust among the participants involved in the effort. Organizational barriers might stand in the way, but on a personal basis, collaboration can still occur within these boundaries as long as everyone trusts the other actors.
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Collaboration as a Process of Climbing a Ladder This research began with a goal of developing guidance for the transportation profession on how to form successful collaborations. As the case studies progressed, however, it became clear that there were two important contexts for collaboration that deserved attention in this handbook.
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needed to work together in times of stress led many to ask, "Why can't we work together in normal times as well? " This second context for collaboration leads to the need for guidance that focuses on the more dynamic nature of the evolution of collaborative efforts over time.
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15 The following sections present a method of assessment that examines both collaboration contexts mentioned above. The next section describes a self-assessment tool that can be used for those currently in a collaboration who want to know what steps can be taken to improve its overall effectiveness.
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16 Assessing an Existing Collaboration -- How Steady Is the Collaboration's Position on the Ladder? The case studies found in the Compendium illustrate four major characteristics of a collaboration that become important evaluation criteria categories for the assessment of an existing collaboration: • A successful collaboration must have a basic foundation in terms of the stated need, goals and resulting benefits; • There should be strong leadership from some members of the collaboration; • An effective process of collaboration must be in place in terms of participant responsibilities and the level of trust engendered; and • Organizational support should be provided by those participating in the collaboration.
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17 Factors for a Healthy Collaboration Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Basic Foundations 1. The need for the collaboration has been clearly established X 2.
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18 Factors for a Healthy Collaboration Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Organizational Support 17. Participating organizations and/or groups have contributed their fair share X 18.
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19 The ranges in scores shown in Table 3 for classifying the health of the collaboration (that is, ≤ 50, 51 ≤ Score ≤ 74, and 75 ≤ Score ≤ 100) assume that all 20 questions are answered.
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