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 .
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TYPE |
Proactive |
Defensive |
Social Change |
Resource Enhancement |
Service Coordination |
Other |
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Long Term/ single goal
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Long Term / general goal
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Short Term/ single goal
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Short Term / general goal
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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.
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Consensus Strategies: Planning Research Information and Education Persuasion Exchange Pilot projects |
Conflict Strategies: Negotiation Bargaining Lobbying Demonstrations & Marches Public Accountability Confrontations Civil Disobedience |
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Other:
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ACTIVITIES
Which activities do you / will you implement?
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ACTIVITIES |
ACTIVITIES |
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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
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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 |
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ACTIVITIES |
ACTIVITIES |
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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 |
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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 |
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ACTIVITIES |
ACTIVITIES |
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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 |
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ACTIVITIES |
ACTIVITIES |
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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 |
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OTHER:
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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.
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MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION LEVELS |
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY (e.g. individual, organization, institution, coalition) |
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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 |
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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
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FUNCTIONS |
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Organizing and Outreach |
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Membership Recruitment and Development |
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Governance |
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Fundraising |
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Fiscal Management and Reporting |
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Communication |
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Personnel - Hiring and Supervision |
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Program Development and Reporting |
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Program Implementation and Evaluation |
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Planning |
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Leadership Development |
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Public Relations and Public Information |
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Committee Development |
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OTHER: |
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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?
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OFFICERS |
FUNCTIONS |
HOW THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COALITION |
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STAFF: |
FUNCTIONS
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HOW THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COALITION |
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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.
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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: ___________________________________
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Current |
Proposed
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LEADERSHIP
What kinds of leadership roles exist in your collaboration? Name the people who fill them.
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POSITION |
WHO FILLS IT? |
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President, Co-President |
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Chairperson/Co-Chair |
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Officers |
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Director/Co-Director Coordinator / Co-Coordinator |
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Steering Comittee Members |
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Board Members |
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Executive Committee Members |
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Team Leader / Committee Chairperson |
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Other |
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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?
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TASK |
LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBLE |
RANK |
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Task -Oriented Work: |
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defending against attacks and setbacks |
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educating the public |
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implementing coalition strategy |
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influencing or educating the social change target |
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moving toward the social change goal |
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organizing and conducting meetings |
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outreach to the community and to member organizations |
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planning |
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reporting and documentation
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Process-Oriented Work: |
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building consensus and managing conflict |
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consciousness-raising/educating membership |
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coordinating with other elements of the collaboration |
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creating a positive climate |
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keeping membership involved (mobilizing members) |
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keeping outside supporters involved/informed |
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leadership development |
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maintaining internal coalition operations |
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sustaining participation |
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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?
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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 q rotating leadership positions on a regular basis, to ensure that new talent has a chance to emerge q OTHER: |
COLLABORATION DEVELOPMENT
In what phase of development is your collaboration? Use the following chart to check off the outcomes that you have accomplished to date. Add other achievements that are relevant for your group. Make sure to distinguish between outcomes pertaining to collaboration functioning (Process) and those related to achievement of externally-oriented projects and goals (Product).
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PHASE I: FORMATION |
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PROCESS OUTCOMES |
PRODUCT OUTCOMES |
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Ground Rules Membership List Membership Agreements Collaborative Agreements Statement of Purpose/Mission Steering Committee Decision-making structure Management structure By-laws or Operating Procedures Established Office Site Stationery |
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Publicity material re: purpose and goals of the collaboration Service directory Contact/alert sheets and systems to activate membership around tasks Information on targets and likely points of access. Mutually agreed-upon strategies and activities |
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PHASE II: IMPLEMENTATION |
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PROCESS OUTCOMES |
PRODUCT OUTCOMES |
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Activity and research reports Increased number of people and organizations involved in the core and extended collaboration network Funding proposals are developed and sent. Evaluation measures and a process is determined. Application for tax exempt status, if relevant.
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Action Plan Needs assessment and analysis is conducted or updated. Needs assessment is disseminated for reactions, and then revised and finalized. Committee work makes steady progress toward meeting goals and implementing strategies. |
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Planning Community involvement in identifying service needs and evaluating service operations. A mechanism to systematically involve consumers/clients in planning and implementing services |
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PROCESS OUTCOMES |
PRODUCT OUTCOMES |
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Service Integration New service systems to make services more sensitive, comprehensive or targeted. Increased services, as measured by either units of service or numbers of clients served, or additional dollars for service delivery. Procedures for consumer monitoring of joint services |
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Advocacy / Social Change A new advocacy campaign Public education and outreach Resource development strategies and plans Increased resources for community needs |
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PHASE III: MAINTENANCE |
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PROCESS OUTCOMES |
PRODUCT OUTCOMES |
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Evaluation of outcomes of collaboration Regular meetings or special events Updated membership and mailing lists The Collaboration provides concrete benefits (information, resources, contacts) for its members. |
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Results continue to be produced from ongoing projects. Collaboration focuses on a new issue. Regular communication / information-sharing mechanism. i.e. a newsletter
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PHASE IV: TERMINATION |
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PROCESS OUTCOMES |
PRODUCT OUTCOMES |
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Collaboration ceases, or group is transformed. Time limited projects are completed and collaboration convenes as needed.
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Projects are completed and goals met. Power is transferred. Projects are spun off. The need for this collaboration no longer exists. |
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RESOURCES
Project Annual Budget:
Annual Income:
Cash In-Kind donations, volunteers______________
Source of Resources (in %) :
Membership Dues_______ Sponsorship ________
Grants _______ Volunteers & In-Kind ________
ONGOING PARTICIPATION:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
BENEFITS COALITION OFFERS TO ITS MEMBERS
PROBLEMS THE COALITION EXPERIENCES OR ANTICIPATES, and POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
INTERNAL PROBLEMS
SOLUTIONS
_________________________________________________________________
EXTERNAL PROBLEMS
SOLUTIONS
FOR CONSULTATION OR TRAINING ON COALITION EFFECTIVENESS, CONTACT:
BETH ROSENTHAL TERRY MIZRAHI
105 First Avenue, #3 Education Center for
New York, NY 10003 Community Organizing
(212) 995-9686 Hunter School of Social Work
129 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021
(212) 452-7112