The Rise of Collaboration

By Joe Sammen, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved

There are few things in my work at the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU) that I am as passionate about as bringing people together to catalyze change. Whether as a youth on the soccer field or as leader in health systems change today, throughout my life, I’ve always lived by the old adage that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” To me, collaboration is a winning strategy in nearly every situation. As you might expect, the idea of Collective Impact is right up my alley.

In the Winter 2011 edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), the social impact consultancy FSG published a landmark article that gave a name to this concept. Since then, Collective Impact has skyrocketed to superstar status among social change innovators across the globe. It is defined as “the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving specific social problems.”

As the momentum around Collective Impact continues to grow, it’s important to note that collaboration doesn’t happen by accident. Anyone who has been involved in a collaboration or coalition can tell you that not all collaborations are equally effective. In short, there are tried and true methods and best practices for working together. Authorities on collaboration have sprung up across the country and are eager to share their expertise: In SSIR’s Fall 2014 edition, nine new articles were published about best practices for Collective Impact.

Here at CCMU, we are in constant communication with formal health collaboratives and Collective Impact strategies around the state. Since 2012, we’ve convened the Colorado Network of Health Alliances, a statewide network that fosters strategic shared learning, networking and collaboration between local health efforts across the state. Not surprisingly, there is a lot to be learned from how these 28 health alliances work together to achieve their goals. This week, we published The Rise of Collaboration: A Case Study Analysis of Colorado’s Health Alliances. This report provides examples of alliances at three different stages along a collaboration spectrum and highlights keys to success and lessons learned.

The three case studies in the document were aggregated from interviews with 26 members of the Colorado Network of Health Alliances, in which they shared what has made their collaborative work successful and what they’ve learned through the process. Looking across all the alliances, there are four core contributors to their success:

• Strong leadership: Alliances are guided by people in leadership roles at their institutions and were led in their formation by strong facilitators.
• Strong relationships: In addition to achieving programmatic goals, alliances are convened to build relationships among key players in the health system.
• Action-oriented: With or without dedicated staff, health alliances rely on project- or subject-specific task teams to fulfill the alliance’s goals and work plans.
• Neutral convener: Alliances are an impartial convener in their communities.

At CCMU, we’re thrilled to be a part of sharing and developing best practices around Collective Impact and collaboration in communities across our state. We are continually impressed by the work of Colorado’s health alliances, and hope their experiences can inform the work of other groups just getting started on their own collaborative efforts. Download the report to learn more, or contact me for additional information.