Decision Support Tool Overview
This online book resource outlines the Decision Support Tool. You can use the navigation to access the different chapters.
4. How to use the tool
The tool is divided into three sections, the Collaborative Readiness Self Assessment Questionnaire, the Organisational Assessment Questionnaire, and the Sector Assessment Questionnaire. All three questionnaires can be filled out individually or in facilitated groups, the latter option is preferred as working through the questionnaire with partners provides opportunities to discuss issues around collaborative partnerships.
At the end of each questionnaire are directions to either continue to the next questionnaire, or to consider a particular model of networking. Due to the cumulative nature of the resources necessary for collaboration, if you are not able to clearly identify the existence of these resources in your organisation it may be important to consider a less demanding form of networking. It is important to take time at the end of each of questionnaire to assess whether your organisation considers it necessary to proceed.
It is important to remember that collaborative structures evolve over time, growing and receding, depending on numerous factors. Your organisation’s place in the sector may not begin as part of a collaborative core, but rather form part of the broader periphery of organisations, building the relationships and resources necessary to become collaborative partners. Similarly, the organisational culture required for collaboration takes time to develop; it should not be assumed that your organisation can adopt these practices immediately. This is a perfectly reasonable conclusion to reach following this questionnaire, and is the reason we encourage re-examining the tool every 12 to 18 months.
The central questions are formatted for “yes” and “no” answers, with a number of prompt questions to help you decide the appropriate response. It is reasonable to expect that your initial response is more likely to be “maybe” or “sometimes” for many of the questions. In that event, take the time to work through the prompt questions, and discuss with others in your organisation/facilitated group. If at the end of that discussion you are not comfortable giving a clear yes or no answer, the answer is probably no, but you should be better able to identify what needs to occur in order to answer yes in future iterations.
Collaborative Readiness Self Assessment Questionnaire
This is the first of three questionnaires, to find out if you are ready to start the process.