Understanding Collaboration

These days most nonprofits are involved in some form of collaboration. But collaborations can be hard to understand and manage. Even the language is unclear. The word collaboration is used interchangeably with partnerships, coalitions, alliances, networks and mergers. Organizations can find themselves getting involved in collaborations without a real understanding about what’s involved. A good starting point is to get clear about what it means to be a good collaboration partner and to map your own collaborations.