Understanding a Backbone Organisation

Transcription

1 Understanding a Backbone Organisation Dawn O Neill AM President, Dawn O Neill & Associates Linked in dawnoneill

2 Backbone Organisation Guide Vision and Strategy Support Aligned Activities Establish Shared Measurement Practices Build Public Will Advance Policy Mobilise Funding Backbones must balance the tension between coordinating and maintaining accountability, while staying behind the scenes to establish collective ownership. Source: FSG Interviews and Analysis

3 FSG.ORG Backbone Effectiveness: 27 Indicators Guide Vision and Strategy Support Aligned Activities Establish Shared Measurement Practices Partners accurately describe the common agenda Partners publicly discuss / advocate for common agenda goals Partners individual work is increasingly aligned with common agenda Board members and key leaders increasingly look to backbone organization for initiative support, strategic guidance and leadership Partners articulate their role in the initiative Relevant stakeholders are engaged in the initiative Partners communicate and coordinate efforts regularly, with, and independently of, backbone Partners report increasing levels of trust with one another Partners increase scope / type of collaborative work Partners improve quality of their work Partners improve efficiency of their work Partners feel supported and recognized in their work Shared data system is in development Partners understand the value of shared data Partners have robust / shared data capacity Partners make decisions based on data Partners utilize data in a meaningful way Build Public Will Community members are increasingly aware of the issue(s) Community members express support for the initiative Community members feel empowered to engage in the issue(s) Community members increasingly take action Advance Policy Target audience (e.g., influencers and policymakers) is increasingly aware of the initiative Target audiences advocate for changes to the system aligned with initiative goals Public policy is increasingly aligned with initiative goals Mobilize Funding Funders are asking nonprofits to align to initiative goals Funders are redirecting funds to support initiative goals New resources from public and private sources are being contributed to partners and initiative Source: FSG and Greater Cincinnati Foundation FSG

4 Skills needed to do this work Skills Convening Leadership Crucial for success energy & vision mobilizes others to par;cipate who can get everyone in the room, adap;ve leadership skills Inclusion Stakeholder communica;on and engagement Process Experts Content Experts Strong Facilita;ve Leaders Broad based and cross- sectoral involvement; all 3 ;ers of government; business; community services; NGO; emergency services, people with a lived experience of the issue addressing all parts of the system Communicate effec;vely with parts of including business, government (all 3 levels), NGO s and service providers, people with a lived experience etc. Are commised to collabora;ve governance, want to reach consensus and take ownership of delivering outcomes Supply good credible informa;on and data, can make decisions based on data and research Crucial group lead at all levels adap;ve : collabora;ve : transforma;onal leadership appropriate level of authority for the process; s;cking with the task when there is disagreement; confusion or frustra;on. Disciplined systems and Willingness to apply proven best prac;ce management and other systems processes & process good prac;ce & disciplines 4 Adapted from: The Collabora;ve Leadership Fieldbook by David D Chrislip

5 Investing in trust building pays off a key function of backbone work! TRUST = + + TRUST =