COLLABORATION / COALITION SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL

Ó  Beth B. Rosenthal, M.S. 1990, 1994

COALITION NAME _____________________________ YEAR ESTABLISHED_______

WHO STARTED THE COALITION AND WHY

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

Who can become a member?

Who is excluded?

Strategically, who do you NEED as members and what can they bring to the coalition effort?

What is required of members? Does your coalition utilize membership agreements?

GOALS

What is the primary purpose of your coalition or collaboration?

Which other additional goals is your group pursuing?

Does your coalition have a primary target of change?

q legislative body

q elected public official

q public adminstrator  or regulatory agency

q general public

q specific constituency or  community

q corporate or private entity

q other: _______________________________________________

How would you categorize your coalition's goals?   Check (Ö )  whichever categories apply .

TYPE	Proactive	Defensive	Social Change	Resource Enhancement	Service Coordination	Other
Long Term/ single goal
Long Term / general goal
Short Term/ single goal
Short Term / general goal

WHAT WILL CONSTITUTE SUCCESS?

STRATEGIES

Which strategies do you or will you use to address your collaboration’s goals  ( as identified on the previous page)  Check all that apply.

Consensus Strategies:       Planning       Research         Information and Education         Persuasion       Exchange       Pilot projects	Conflict Strategies:       Negotiation                         Bargaining        Lobbying       Demonstrations & Marches       Public Accountability Confrontations     Civil Disobedience
Other:

ACTIVITIES

Which activities do you / will you implement?

ACTIVITIES	ACTIVITIES
Social Change / Political Action Advocacy for common concerns  Boycotts Collective mass organizing Demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, vigils Guerilla or street theater Interagency/inter-sector task forces or work groups on specific issues Letterwriting campaign Lobbying	Outreach and mobilization Position papers / public testimony Public information and education Public meetings, community-wide forums Promotion of an issue or cause Publishing newsletters or studies Running or supporting candidates for political office Study groups; invited speakers
ACTIVITIES	ACTIVITIES
Conflict Resolution /Problem-Solving: Conflict resolution sessions Consensus problem-solving processes “Futures Searches” and other “visioning” processes that involve many participants Mediation (use of a third party) Negotiation throguh caucuse which represent specific issues or constitutencies Presentation of different positions at public forums Public information and planning forums Town Hall-type meetings	Service Integration or Coordination An umbrella for different activities and approaches occurring at multiple sites Case coordination/ management Co-location of services Common data base for shared clients Common service/program implemented in different sites Information referral and assistance Joint sponsorship of special events - e.g. service fairs, conferences Program coordination Service providers' networks/ coordinating councils Shared resources - e.g. program or administrative staff, computer, consultants, space Shared/pooled mailing lists and other data
ACTIVITIES	ACTIVITIES
Planning Comprehensive planningprocesses involving many participants at different levels Focus groups and forums Interviews Needs and Assets Assessments Participant observation Public information and planning events Research through surveys, questionnaires Statistical research / data analysis
ACTIVITIES	ACTIVITIES
Organizational Development, Resource Enhancement, or Recognition for Collaboration Members Collective buying and cost containment Exchange in-kind resources Group benefits - e.g. insurance,  loans Joint  training workshops and technical assistance Joint fundraising and program development Joint publicity and outreach Leadership and Skills Development Provision of information and contacts to collaboration participants Provision of letters of support for individual projects Public information on collaboration projects and members Shared research data / library	OTHER:

STRUCTURE AND PROCESS

In what way can Members or Member organizations  participate in your collaboration/ coalition?     Check all that apply.    If you have different categories of membership, list these in the third column according to the level of activity allowed.

MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION LEVELS

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY (e.g. individual, organization, institution, coalition)

Receive information/mail from the collaboration Participate occasionally in collaboration events or activities Attend general meetings Provide volunteer and other in-kind contributions (resources) Have voting privileges in the collaboration Send one representative to one committee Send several representatives to several committees Do some of the actual work of the collaboration  Partiipcate in the leadership and decision-making body of the collaboration

DIVISION OF LABOR

Complete this chart in order to clarify who does what, and how your coalition handles these necessary functions.

First, fill in the top row with the different divisions/ levels of your collaboration structure -- for example, Steering Committee, Board, etc.   Then place a checkmark in the box of the level which is primarily responsible for each of the functions listed in the left-hand column.    

                                                                                                            L E V E L S    in our  S T R U C T U R E

FUNCTIONS

Organizing and Outreach

Membership Recruitment and Development

Governance

Fundraising

Fiscal Management and Reporting

Communication

Personnel - Hiring and Supervision

Program Development and Reporting

Program Implementation and Evaluation 

Planning

Leadership Development

Public Relations and Public Information

Committee Development

OTHER:

DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURE

How does the coalition make decisions about:

· ADMINISTRATION - How to operate effectively

· DOMAIN - Purpose and scope of coalition activity

· STRATEGY - What specific actions the coalition will take

· EVALUATION - Assessment about how thing are going in each area

Who are the decision-makers in your collaboration, and how are they accountable to the full group?

OFFICERS	FUNCTIONS	HOW THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COALITION
STAFF:	FUNCTIONS	HOW THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COALITION

STAFF

If your collaboration has staff, answer the following:

1. Staff is paid by ________________________________________.

2. Staff is located ________________________________________.

3. Staff is held accountable to the full collaboration in this way: ________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which activities/ tasks are staff  handling?  Would you propose that they focus on other activities or tasks that would better serve the needs of your coalition / collaboration?     If your collaboration does not have staff, or has insufficient staff, consider who could handle the relevant tasks listed below.

STAFF ACTIVITIES 1.        Leadership development 2.        Follow-up on implementation of tasks.  Assist where needed. 3.        Trouble-shoot and mediate in disputes in the community helping system, or among the membership of the coalition. 4.        Organizational maintenance:  e.g. scheduling and planning meetings,  membership involvement, filing, record-keeping, correspondence 5.        Organize celebrations and special events. 6.        Publicize the achievements of the coalition. 7.        Assist committees with research and policy efforts. 8.      Attend meetings and take minutes. 9.        Provide assistance in scheduling meetings and making calls to confirm attendance.     10.      Handle all project typing, word processing, correspondence,  and  telephone work. 11.      Regularly update the coalition's mailing list/data base. 12.      Centralize communication between collaboration members. 13.      Handle record-keeping and program reporting. 14.      Help identify community resources and needs, using focus groups, futures searches. interviews, surveys, and statistical research. 15.      Involve a broad spectrum of the community in the planning and problem-solving process. 16.      Develop planning tools and lead/coordinate planning approaches. 17.      Develop specific and comprehensive plans. 18.      Assist groups in integrating services and implementing plans. 19.      Assist collaboration in targeting and accessing outside resources. 20.      Develop measures of project effectiveness, as part of the planning process. 21.      Develop evaluation instruments to measure project progress and achievements. 22.      Help the coalition participants to understand and utilize the evaluation reports as tools for project enhancement.      23.  OTHER: ___________________________________

Current

Proposed

LEADERSHIP

What kinds of leadership roles exist in your collaboration?  Name the people who fill them.

POSITION	WHO FILLS IT?
President, Co-President
Chairperson/Co-Chair
Officers
Director/Co-Director Coordinator / Co-Coordinator
Steering Comittee Members
Board Members
Executive Committee Members
Team Leader / Committee Chairperson
Other

LEADERSHIP FUNCTIONS

Identify which level of leadership handles the following tasks.  Rank these leaders from 1-5 on their ability to handle their respective tasks:  1 = high, 5 = low.  If low, how else can these functions be handled?  If high, how can these functions be taught to others?

TASK	LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBLE	RANK
Task -Oriented Work:
defending against attacks and setbacks
educating the public
implementing coalition strategy
influencing or educating the social change target
moving toward the social change goal
organizing and conducting meetings
outreach                to the community and to member organizations
planning
reporting and documentation
Process-Oriented Work:
building consensus and managing conflict
consciousness-raising/educating membership
coordinating with other elements of the collaboration
creating a positive climate
keeping membership involved (mobilizing members)
keeping outside supporters involved/informed
leadership development
maintaining internal coalition operations
sustaining participation

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

How long have the current leaders of your collaboration been in their positions? 

What mechanism do you have for leadership succession?

What mechanisms do you have for leadership development in your collaboration?  If none, what might be feasible to develop?

q providing opportunities to practice new skills and tasks q providing training to strengthen leadership skills q mentoring q pairing established and new leaders to perform specific tasks such as running meetings, giving speeches,  delegating and following up on tasks q co-chairing committees or task groups q developing clear job descriptions and evaluations for different leadership positions, so that participants know what is expected and have some measure of their effectiveness

q providing emerging leaders with group or individual feedback and constructive criticism q structuring second line leadership roles with opportunities for growth - for example committee co-chairpersons may be eligible to become board members or officers