Worksheet6 Tip 7-12
Tips 7—12 | 6.2
7 Keep it flexible
Be responsive to learning and feedback, and review and change things as you go along. It’s a pilot project, and you’re bound to discover things – and . . .
8 Keep your antennae twitching
Don’t get so wrapped up in the project that you miss out on opportunities. Resource investigation is an ongoing task, and if initiatives like The Modernisation Fund are announced midway through your project, who is better placed to benefit from them than you?
9 Publicise what you’re doing
Get the brownie points; people – particularly commissioners and funders – will be interested. There aren’t that many success stories where collaboration is concerned, so make the most of yours.
10 Recognise the inter-personal dimension
Collaboration isn’t a love-in, but it’s far more than just a business relationship; a business-like approach is important, but trust, and a sense of common values and mutual support, are what make it work.
11 Generosity
It’s not about everybody getting equal shares of everything – collaboration depends on participants being prepared to adopt a “swings and roundabouts” approach; the key thing is that there should be enough overall benefit to make it worth your organisation’s taking part.
12 Do it with cake!
A tip from the Bolton Collaborate group, one of whose members brings homemade ones to their meetings. It has been suggested that a sense of “playfulness” is a powerful aid to generative thinking. Certainly, some of the most effective clusters are those where the members enjoy their time together, and where the barriers to discussion and brainstorming have been lowered.