Worksheet2 Get the core group


Get the core group | 2.3

 

Each Collaborate project is run by a “Core Group” consisting of one person from each organisation in the cluster. The Core Group is responsible for driving the project forward, taking key decisions such as what priority areas the project should focus on, and for making sure that the momentum which has been built up is continued beyond the initial pilot phase.

real commitment, real authority

Experience has shown that members of the Core Group need to be able to commit their organisation’s resources and knowledge, manage the difficult balance between collaboration and competition, identify potential conflicts and have the authority to resolve them through compromise, and be able to see beyond their own organisation’s immediate sectional interest to the longer-term benefits.

In practice this means the Chief Executive (or if not, someone with a very high degree of delegated authority) needs to commit to attending the Core Group in person. Nothing destroys the momentum of a project quicker than having people on the Core Group who have to check back with their organisations before they can offer to do something or commit to a course of action.

The Size Issue

The fact that the cluster development phase requires the involvement of the Chief Executive tends to impose restrictions at both ends of the spectrum on the size of organisation which can successfully take part in a cluster.

Payback takes time

Whilst clustering requires a substantial commitment of high level time, the sorts of gains which are likely to accrue are relatively small-scale — at least in the early stages of a cluster’s life. The potential payback needs to be sufficiently valuable to the organisation to justify the investment of the Chief Executive’s time. Larger organisations are less likely to find that the investment/reward balance works for them, and may therefore be less likely to be prepared to commit enough of their Chief Executive’s time to the process to make it work. This makes life difficult for their partners in the cluster.

Smaller organisations might struggle

At the other end of the scale, the experience of the pilot programme was that, the smaller the organisation, the greater the likelihood that the Chief Executive would be forced to miss meetings of the Core Group as a result of unforeseen problems in the organisation (e.g. need to cover for a key member of staff).

A high level of attendance by a consistent core of people is a critical success factor; without this, it is difficult to build and sustain momentum in the project, and the sense of mutual commitment and respect between those involved. For these reasons, clusters which contain a high proportion of people from very small organisations (where the risks of non-attendance are higher) are much less likely to succeed.

This model of clustering therefore tends to work best for small/medium-sized organisations which are not at the “micro” end of the spectrum.