Building a Collaborative from the Ground Up

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• Building a Collaborative from the Ground Up
• City of Hamilton Public Works
• September 16, 2008

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Overview

• Defining Collaboration
• Convening a Collaborative
• HRPR Early Design Development
• HRPR Action, Learning Change
• Sustaining Action and Momentum

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Defining Collaboration
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Defining Collaboration

• It is a mutually beneficial relationship between
  two or more parties who work toward common goals
  by sharing responsibility, authority and
  accountability for achieving results
• The purpose of collaboration is to create a
  shared vision and joint strategies to address
  concerns that go beyond the purview of any
  particular party.
• (Source Collaborative Leadership)

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A Continuum
COLLABORATION
COORDINATION
COOPERATION
COMMUNICATE
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Defining the Problem/Issue for the Collaboration
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The Emerging Community Context

• Complex Issues Traditional models of leadership
  simply do not work in our increasingly diverse
  and complex society. Complex community issues
  are characterized as issues that have multiple
  and inter-related root causes which are not easy
  to solve and require the engagement of
  individuals across the sectors. Collaboration is
  a positive way to make conscious, inclusive
  decisions on community issues.

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Phases for Building a Collaboration (Source
Vibrant Communities)
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Implementing Community Change Jeffrey Luke
(Catalytic Leadership)

• Indicators of Successful Implementation
• Progress towards agreed upon outcomes
• Maintains or enhances relationships among key
  stakeholder
• Stimulates policy learning
• Achieves personal goals of group members
• Common Barriers to Implementation
• Turf barriers
• Communication and language barriers
• Lack of enabling structures and norms
• Leadership is limited to one champion
• Excessive pressure for immediate results

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Role of Leaders and Leadership

• The primary focus of leadership when people have
  to collaborate needs to be on the process of
  how people work together to solve problems not on
  the content of the problem itself.
• Leadership Roles challenge the process, inspire
  a shared vision, enable others to act, model the
  way, encourage the heart
• Source Collaborative Leadership

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How Collaborations Add Value
CHANGES

• FUNCTIONS
• Getting Strategic Focus
• Information sharing
• Research
• Priority setting planning
• Evaluation learning
• Supporting Local Action
• Social marketing
• Technical assistance coaching
• Access to funding
• Lobbying advocacy
• Facilitation and brokering
• Peer learning
• Direct project Management

• OUTCOMES
• Examples
• People Outcomes
• Increased income and assets
• Improved education
• Improved housing
• Reduced crime
• Stronger social networks
• Organizational Outcomes
• Improved skills and knowledge related to issue
• Expanded resources
• Stronger commitment to work on the issue
• Increased partnerships
• New programs services
• Community Outcomes
• Stronger collaboration

• New, expanded programs or services
• Improved public policies
• Adjusted practices of local organizations
• Better information sharing
• Greater-smarter investments
• Etc.

These changes often occur spontaneously
collaborative community initiatives can help them
occur smarter, bigger, better and/or faster.
Expanding Partnerships
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Key Challenges

• Balancing
• Process action.
• Short term results long term focus.
• Need local external players.
• Diversity consensus.
• Comprehensiveness depth.

• Building and maintaining a skilled, reputable and
  committed core leadership team that represents
  the system to be changed
• Securing sufficient long term resources to fund
  operations
• Engaging business sector, big system players
  (e.g. school boards) and marginalized residents.
• Useful evaluation and learning.
• Managing power imbalances among members.

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Convening a Collaborative
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Impetus for the Creation of the Hamilton
Roundtable

• At the City.
• Social Development Strategy
• SPRC Incomes and Poverty Report Presented to
  Council
• City of Hamilton Environmental Scan to Inform
  Budget Planning
• Corporate Management Team Roadmap to
  Sustainability White Paper

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Impetus for Creation of Table (cont)

• At the Hamilton Community Foundation.
• Adoption of a Social Justice Agenda
• Identification of poverty reduction as a priority
  focus
• Tackling Poverty Together Project strategic
  four year investment of 3 million
• Vibrant Communities Investment

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Reason For Partnership of Co-Conveners

• History of working together
• Recognition of each others strengths
• Collective ability to bring the right mix of
  people to the table
• Demonstration that finding solutions to poverty
  must be a shared responsibility

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Key Features that Facilitate Government

• Principle of no blame, all responsible
• Co-conveners provide servant leadership
• Key political champion the Mayor
• Involvement of local Councilor at the table and
  steering committee
• Regular reporting to Council and staff
• Flexibility in defining roles at the table

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Key Features that Facilitate Government (cont)

• Strategic decision making respectful of each
  others position or role in the community
• Alignment with existing work (i.e. Affordable
  Housing, Skills Development Flagships, Best Start
  Network)
• Support from Vibrant Communities Government
  Learning Circle, Pan-Canadian Learning Community,
  Evaluation, Living Wage Communities of Practice

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Challenges for Government Involvement

• Determining which department, or ministry best
  represents the order of government
• Letting go, not solely owning or controlling
  the work outcomes
• Complex issues require a collective approach
  across departments
• Political need for a quick fix
• Need to balance this issue with other government
  priorities

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Challenges for Government Involvement (cont)

• Alignment with other policy and budget directions
• New way of working challenge to examine internal
  community processes
• Increased community expectations of all levels of
  government
• Risk for bureaucrats at the table

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City of Hamilton Leadership

• Role and Leadership of City Council and Staff
• Alignment with Council Policies and Decisions
• Aligned with the Citys Social Development
  Strategy
• Unanimous support for submission to United
  Nations
• Established a social reserve fund
• Supported the return of the NCB claw back
• Invested in the Keith Neighbourhood
• Investigation of living wage clause in
  Purchasing policy
• Launch of affordable transit pass pilot project
  for low income wage earners
• Adoption of to be the best city in Canada to
  raise a child as part of the city vision

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Hamilton Community Foundation Leadership

• Initial investment (TPT I) of 3 million
  (2004-2007) followed by a renewed commitment of
  5 million over 5 years (2008-2013) (TPT II)
• Neighbourhood-level investment over 6 year period
  through Growing RootsStrengthening
  Neighbourhoods program
• Foundations respected roles as larger funder,
  convener, facilitator and visionary leader in the
  community

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Hamilton Community Foundation Leadership

• TPT II Building Strong Communities (2008-2013)
  aligns with HRPR
• June 2008 announced
• 14 grants totaling 597,675 to support six
  neighbourhood hubs
• 15 grants totaling 555,167 to support
  foundational grants addressing systems-level,
  policy or population specific issues
• Funds to support leadership development, capacity
  building and knowledge sharing

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Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
Design and Development
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(No Transcript)
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Hamilton Roundtable Cultural Shift Principles

• Shift emphasis from alleviation to prevention
• Think comprehensively and tackle root causes
• Work collaboratively across sectors
• Abandon blame and acknowledge we are all part of
  the problem and part of the solution
• Emphasize innovation, risk taking and long-term
  change

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Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction Roles

• Promote a Strategic Poverty Focus
• Encourage Broad Community Engagement
• Leverage Change and Action
• Ensure Learning, Communications and
  Accountability

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Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction

• Core Elements of the HRPR Starting Point
  Strategies (March 2007)
• Aspiration
• Focus on the Critical Points of Investment
• Collaboration and Partnerships
• Citizens Engagement and Action
• Policy and Structure Change
• Innovation
• Accountability and Results

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Critical Points of Investment - Initial Partners

• Quality Early Learning and Parenting Hamilton
  Best Start Network
• Skills through Education, Activity and
  Recreation School Age Solutions, School Boards
• Targeted Skills Development Skills Development
  Flagship
• Employment Hamilton Immigrant Workforce
  Integration Network
• Asset Building / Wealth Creation Affordable
  Housing Flagship
• 2008 Expanding the network of partners focused
  on change

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Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
Revised Organizational Structure (Jan 28, 2008)
Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
Organization Structure

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Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
Action, Learning and Change
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Phases for Building a Collaboration (Source
Vibrant Communities)
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Building Collective Leadership

• Breaking down silos
• Working across the community
• Creating momentum and commitment
• Building sustainable partnerships
• Capturing the attention of leadership across
  Canada

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Expanding the Table Engaging the Community

• Perception of who is at the table versus who is
  not at the table
• Community engagement goes beyond the work of the
  Roundtable through working groups, partners,
  community solutions
• Need for communications and social marketing
  strategy to carry forward key messages
• Increased role and engagement of Roundtable
  members as champions and leaders
• 2008 focus on social inclusion, neighbourhood
  engagement and transformation, continued
  engagement of partners through creative
  processes, and continued building of momentum for
  community change

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HRPR - Policy and Systems Changes

• Multiple approaches
• Regular briefings with elected officials and
  senior staff
• Policy Working Group and Government Engagement
  Working Group
• Convening around specific issue areas Ontario
  Social Assistance Rates Board, Affordable Transit
  Pass Pilot, Neighbourhood Transformation
• 8 Policy Briefs and Policy White Paper
• Caledon Government/Community Policy
  Collaborative
• Policy and system change tracking
• Documenting and reporting progress

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Evaluation and Accountability

• Evaluation and Learning Working Group
• Documentation of results weekly, quarterly,
  events, community solutions posters and then
  mining themes digging deeper
• Community indicators of change linking into
  existing resources and processes
• Report to Community, community conversations,
  engagement with community
• Engaging the academic and research communities

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Learning and Innovation

• Innovation includes regularly scanning the
  horizon for best practices which will inform the
  Roundtable policy approaches, multi-sectoral
  collaboration, poverty reduction, investment in
  children
• Co-conveners, Roundtable and community partners
  identify innovative practices
• Create and deliver a learning agenda for the
  Roundtable, partners and community 50,000
  connected through community presentations about
  poverty, partnerships with community
  organizations to co-deliver learning
  opportunities
• Connection with innovation think tanks Vibrant
  Communities, Caledon, SiG _at_ Waterloo
• 2008 looking to focus and scale selected
  activities and actions

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Maintaining Momentum in Collaborations
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Sustaining action and maintaining momentum

• Build commitment and political support
• Find multiple champions and prime movers
• Develop support from power holders
• Build constituent support and advocacy coalitions
  
• Mobilize and allocate resources
• Institutionalize cooperative behaviour
• Create enabling mechanisms and action vehicles
• Support self-organizing groups
• Develop and outcome-based information system

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Sustaining action and maintaining momentum 2

• Become a network facilitator
• Maintain focus on desired outcomes
• Develop and nurture relationships
• Seek small wins and strategic opportunities
• Maintain a commitment to learning
• Spiral back to earlier catalytic task to build
  commitment

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Collaboration Resources

• ? Distributed Resources
• ? Hamiltonpoverty.ca
• ? Tamarackcommunity.ca
• ? Catalytic Leadership Jeffrey Luke
• Collaborative Leadership David Chrislip

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Questions?

• Jane Soldera Community Services, City of
  Hamilton jane.soldera_at_hamilton.ca
• Liz Weaver Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty
  Reduction lizweaver_at_hrpr.ca
• Tom Cooper McQuesten Legal Community Services
  coopert_at_lao.on.ca