Networking Types

1. Cooperative Networking

Cooperation: In cooperative endeavours the focus is primarily on sharing information and expertise. In this type of relationship participants are loosely connected so their contribution to the relationship is low. Each participant remains completely independent from the others. There are only minor changes in how each participant does business, but they have the advantage of learning from others and being able to modify the way they work. Cooperation is characterised by low levels of risk and reward since it emphasises reaching agreement to adjust specific actions rather than making changes to the organisation’s operations.

Examples of forms of Cooperative Linkages include:

Interagency meetings, conferences, newsletters and internet forums. For more information read the case study on cooperative networking.

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2. Coordinative Networking

Coordination is based on a greater sense of interdependence between organisations. In coordinated approaches, the parties realise the need to work together to meet a set goal. This process requires participants to tightly align resources and effort. Although involved in set joint policies and programs, organisations retain control over their own operations. Coordination requires a higher level of contribution and commitment as well as stronger relationships between participants. These stronger relationships are often based on prior relationships and experiences between participants.

Building Collaborative Capacity in your Organisation and across the Sector
Although we often think of collaborative efforts as discrete activities, the reality is that participants are part of a broader system of organisations and/or groups. This system operates very differently from the way collaborative efforts need to operate. Therefore the organisations and/or groups in this broader system will have to make adjustments to accommodate the operations of collaborative networks, such as:

• establishing flexible recruitment and hiring processes that encourage cross-boundary working
• changing organisational norms and culture to support collaboration, in particular gearing reward systems toward collaboration
• including the requirement for collaborative behaviour in job descriptions, setting goals related to cross-boundary work, and acknowledging those who exhibit collaborative behaviours
• introducing arrangements that facilitate the work of the collaboration—for example, open access to funding and resource supports
• developing accountability and reporting regimes that reflect shared effort and responsibility, including performance indicators for collaborative behaviour and actions, the formation of shared revenue streams and establishing agreed reporting criteria.

These system-wide changes will be needed to legitimise and sustain the efforts of individuals working in collaborative networks. Formation of collaboration necessitates changes within and among participating organisations including:

• shifting emphasis from completing tasks to building and nurturing the relationships needed to facilitate joint work;
• altering the structure and operation of the participating groups to reflect collaborative ideas; and encouraging shared decision making.

Finally, it should be remembered that any collaboration is as complex as the issues that it deals with; there is no one-size-fits-all model. Instead, successful collaboration rests on the ability of members and administrators to be aware of the key elements of collaboration provided here as a basis for responses that best fit their problem context.

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3. Collaborative Networking

Collaboration is characterised by strong and highly interdependent relationships. Participants realise that to achieve outcomes they have to agree to radically alter the way that they think, behave and operate. Collaboration is not about making adjustments at the periphery; it is about systems change and as such participants are involved in a high-risk, high-stakes and volatile environment that can produce results significantly different from those originally intended. This requires a high level of trust and extensive dialogue between participants, however it can be highly rewarding for those willing to take the risks. For a collaboration to work there can no longer be ‘business as usual’. Collaboration demands participants forge new relationships and learn new ways of dealing with each other.

Key advantages of the collaborative approach include:

• a focused application of knowledge and expertise
• more effective use of resources
• a higher level of commitment to action
• more relevant and effective solutions.

Collaboration is a promising means of developing effective responses to many of the problems confronting our communities. Taking the first steps forward requires people and organisations to adjust their ways of thinking and behaving. It also means establishing new systems and processes within our organisations to facilitate and sustain collaborative efforts. We have reached a critical point in how we address the wellbeing of children and young people and a critical mass of knowledge has been established to shape action. The question is whether we are willing to make the changes necessary to establish collaborative practice as a legitimate reform goal and process.

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