Collaboration is the action of working with someone to attain a specific goal. There are various components in collaborations that can indicate the success or failure of the relationship. Right opportunity, right people, alignment, agreed procedure, joint accountability, cultural calibration, relationship, trust, shared knowledge, and shared emerging understanding are the components. In this article, a case study of collaboration between Ubi Caritas International (UCI) and four corporate partners (BestNets collaboration) is presented in terms of the examination of the collaboration components' strengths and shortcomings.
The partnership benefited from the presence of the right personnel.
According to VanHilst and Notkin right people is a key component for the success of any collaboration since it is people who deliver the services as per the terms of reference (362). UCI having realized that the fight against malaria could not be approached by one organization, the faith-based organization went for collaboration with partners who could finance the programs.
Application
The main reason as to why this component was a success is that UCI did not only find the collaboration partners who were able to sponsor the project but also those who shared the interest of reducing deaths caused by malaria that were reported before the collaboration. For instance, the charitable foundation of Mining Company (Mining Co) sent a representative to the Oversight Committee who had a personal interest in malaria prevention and hence wanted the collaboration to work.
Conclusion
The partners were capable of providing assistance to the UCI in the BestNets collaboration. For instance, Mining Co. was instrumental in creating the robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system which was key in the success of the BestNets collaboration.
Component: Cultural Calibration
Bold assertion
Cultural calibration was also considered as a strength in the BestNets collaboration.
Rule
In the words of VanHilst and Notkin cultural calibration is the ability of an individual to understand different cultures regarding theory, research, and application of specific activities in different cultures (367).
Application
UCI used a tested and measurable strategy in the fight against malaria. Having noted that malaria was prone to rural areas which were deemed inaccessible by other charitable organizations, UCI determined a working cultural strategy within the organization of recruiting local volunteers who then went to the villages and helped the communities in distribution of the Insecticide –Treated –Nets (ITNs), and also trained the locals to identify signs of malaria. Besides, the BestNets collaboration brought a new culture to prevention of the malaria infection.
BestNets did not stop at the malaria infection prevention but also helped different cultures with other problems such as forming agricultural cooperatives and getting clean water by sinking bore holes in the villages. An example of the cultural calibration was the invention of green and blue ITNs to the cultures which used color white for mourning.
Conclusion
This ability to understand different cultures and serve them was a key to success of BestNets.
Component: Trust
Bold assertion
Trust, as a component of collaboration, was a weakness in BestNets.
Rule
Austin defines trust as the ability to consider another party as honest and reliable (89). On business terms, trust means a fiduciary duty in which one party entrusts the other with his assets.
Application
UCI was perplexed by a comment of an Oversight Committee who said that UCI was a social responsibility vendor. UCI entered the collaboration with the goal to fight malaria and hoped that other partners would have the same goal, it turned out the other partners were keen on publicity than the primary goal of BestNets.
The corporate partners’ dwindling trust became clear when they started requesting for detailed information despite the fact that UCI had met its commitments. One of the partners brought out trust issue by micromanaging the operations of BestNets in spite of the earlier agreement that daily operations were to be left entirely to UCI. In fact, the partner asked the staff members to directly deal with the local partners.
Another example of the trust problem was evident when Cell Company suggested for its employees to wear BestNets logo-emblazoned t-shirts while distributing ITNs. This sent missed signals within BestNets since it was clear that malaria was to be threated in the rural areas and it was the duty of the volunteers of UCI to do so, not of the partners.
Conclusion
According to UCI, there was no need for ITNs in the big cities in which Cell Co. had its offices. The difference in understanding brought mistrust among the partners at BestNets.
Component: Best Opportunity
Bold assertion
The component of best opportunity was a success in the collaboration.
Rule
Best opportunity in collaboration, as defined by Attaran et al. means that a partner takes the best use of the valuable chances to meet the goals of an organization (250).
Application
UCI took the opportunity of a summit by President George W. Bush on December 6 2006 to approach partners as highlighted by the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). This initiative cost $1.2 billion and challenged the private sector to join the government in fighting against the spread of malaria. This opportunity led to the formation of BestNets collaboration.
Secondly, BestNets partners took advantage of their finances to fight against malaria through the distribution of ITNs in many countries.
Conclusion
The partners did find this as an opportunity to reach many rural areas that had been most affected, yet less targeted by medical organizations. In the end, the ability of BestNets to see and use the opportunities led to reduction of malaria death cases by 45 percent.
Components: Agreed process and Relationship
Bold assertion
Agreed process and relationship as components of collaboration were a weakness in BestNets.
Rule
According to Austin it is a process followed by both partners in collaboration to reach the specific goal as agreed and therefore, a dispute in the agreed process automatically causes a difference in the mutual relationship between partners (210).
Application
In BestNets, UCI had a different process from that of the partners. UCI used the Asset Based-Community Development Approach (ABCD). This approach took into consideration that: relationship builds community, everyone has gifts ,and citizens to be at the center of development programs (Reback et al., 846). In the agreed relationship and process of service delivery, UCI was to obtain and transport ITNs to the target areas, develop educational content, mobilize local partners to provide education in the affected areas, provide on-the-ground support, and follow up with careful M&E to confirm the continuity of proper usage and to measure the result of the campaign. The corporate partners, on the other hand, were to assist in the financial donations.
However, it later emerged that some partners were interested in the roles of the UCI especially the daily operation which they deemed as an opportunity for publicity. This disagreement in the agreed process and relationship brought about three main issues. One, the corporate partners wanted UCI to raise or give more money to BestNets. Two, UCI was to make the available funds go further by reducing the cost per net. And three, UCI was not to charge the program of any of its administrative costs.
Conclusion
This lack of an agreed process of operation and difficulty in finding a common ground of relations worked against the BestNets collaboration.
Components: Shared information and emergent understanding
Bold assertion
The BestNets collaboration succeeded in the shared information and emergent understanding components.
Rule
Sharing information and ability to fathom the way in which collaboration is to be run is important for the success of any collaboration (Barratt, 30).
Application
BestNets succeeded in enhancing understanding among all the partners and ability to share information by creating a working formula which they termed as the terms of reference. In this agreement, the collaboration managed to come up with a division of roles scheme in which UCI was to be in charge of the day-to-day running of the operations while the corporate partners focused on the financial aid.
The ability of UCI to successfully take the Oversight Committee through the Monitoring and Evaluation system is an example of success in the shared component of collaboration. Besides, the success of the collaboration through the two main faces is a testament to a great level of understandability between UCI and the corporate partners. In conclusion, therefore, the phases of collaboration succeeded due to success in the shared information and emergent understanding.
Component: Mutual Accountability
Bold assertion
Mutual accountability was a weakness in the BestNets collaboration.
Rule
Accountability is the transparency that exists in collaboration regarding terms and conditions of the agreement such as financial disclosure (Barratt, 31).
Application
In as much as UCI and BestNets were regularly audited and no financial impropriety found, the second phase of the collaboration faced a challenge of mutual accountability. As the program became big and the stakes rose, the corporate partners focused on the risks of their organizations which they did not disclose to UCI.
Conclusion
The evidence of the failure of mutual accountability became clear when the corporate partners began asking detailed information without specifying their intentions. The information could not help then anyway since they lacked the requisite expertise which UCI had.
Component: Alignment
Bold assertion
Alignment is arguably a major determinant of the success of the collaboration.
Rule
In the specific case of BestNets, alignment is one of the great success components of the collaboration. Alignment is, according to Barratt the relationship between strategy and execution (31).
Application
UCI aligned itself with major partners who were not only reputable but were also able to offer adequate financial support. The other area of success in the alignment component was the choice of UCI to use the ABCD methodology in the distribution of ITNs and generally in the fight against malaria (Reback et al., 844). The method allowed UCI and BestNets as a whole to successfully beat their target and achieve their mission. However, alignment faced a challenge in phase three due to change in the leadership of the corporate partners and a consequent change in preferences.
Conclusion
Despite the slight challenge, it can be concluded that alignment as a component of collaboration was a success.
Works Cited
Attaran, Amir, et al. "The World Bank: false financial and statistical accounts and medical malpractice in malaria treatment." The Lancet vol. 368, no. 9531, 2006, pp. 247-252.
Austin, James E. The collaboration challenge: How nonprofits and businesses succeed through strategic alliances. Vol. 109. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
Barratt, Mark. "Understanding the meaning of collaboration in the supply chain." Supply Chain Management: an international journal vol. 9, no. 1, 2004, pp. 30-42.
Reback, Cathy J., et al. "Making collaboration work: Key components of practice/research partnerships." Journal of Drug Issues vol.32, no. 3, 2002, pp. 837-848.
VanHilst, Michael, and David Notkin. "Using role components in implement collaboration-based designs." ACM SIGPLAN Notices vol. 31, no. 10, 1996, pp. 359-369.
