This article is written by Nazanin Jenkin, director and practice lead and expert facilitator of strategic collaborations and partnerships.

Though it doesn't always feel like it, humans are born collaborators.

At our best, we solve complex problems that none of us could handle alone. Over the last decade, collaboration has been pitched as the solution to some of government's most persistent challenges, an approach that has had wide-spread academic and practitioner support (and some controversy).

In 2011 the organisational scholars John Kania and Mark Kramer identified “Collective Impact” as an approach for solving complex social problems. Then, in a 2016 Harvard Business Review Article, Kramer and Marc Pfitzer explored “The Ecosystem of Shared Value” and identified the potential collective value of companies teaming up with governments, NGOs and even rivals.

We need to be “working together” and “collaborating” — across disciplines, sectors and government silos

They cited diverse examples of companies working effectively with governments e.g. helping African small-hold farmers and growing recycling infrastructure across the US. From their work, we can see that business collaboration requires a structured framework, which when implemented effectively, has the potential to add value beyond individual organisational reach or expertise. What may appear to be slow and intangible effort at the start, delivers significant tangible sustainable outcomes.

There has been much global activity across government departments to enable collaboration: policy initiatives, legislative changes, working groups, and strategy documents weaving in collaboration. However, the transformation towards a more collaborative, citizen-focused public sector has yet to materialise.

Getting to the heart of real collaboration

Mostly, these activities have treated collaboration as a buzzword, from which no real change results!

Extreme events — such as the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake and now our current global Pandemic — are burning platforms that bring specialists, service delivery providers and policy developers together. A coalition of the willing, working together intensively for a limited time. We can learn from these events, but what are the longer-term opportunities?

In this arena, the New Zealand “Wellbeing Budget”, is relevant to governments everywhere as it provides an explicit national collaboration agenda and has drawn positive attention from across the world. The New York Times wrote it is “...seen by progressives around the world as a beacon in increasingly populist times”, and an opinion piece in Bloomberg said, “New Zealand’s Wellbeing Budget is worth copying”. Focusing on society as a whole, there were just five priority areas for government departments to get new funding (previously, incremental funding adjustments). Ministers and government departments were expected to collaborate for funding proposals against these criteria. On May 14, 2020, the New Zealand government released its latest budget for the fiscal year 2020/21: “Rebuilding Together”. No surprises, this focuses on a cash injection ($NZ50 billion) to boost the economy post Covid-19, but also continues with the general wellbeing theme (e.g. with investment in community services, including a significant funding boost for family violence and service providers, as well as funding allocation for additional school lunches).

The key to unlocking untapped solutions and hope for mankind is to be willing to work collaboratively, across all kinds of differences

The common message thread appears to be we need to be “working together” and “collaborating” — across disciplines, sectors and government silos. In short, we’re going to need everyone and everything! It’s a good diving board — but that’s no use if we don’t know how to swim and the water is deep and murky, and now forever changed with a pandemic “tsunami”.

My argument is that there is little understanding of “real” collaboration. Many have an understanding of principles, but despite good intentions, with some exceptions, these tend to translate to little more than networking activities and alternative project management approaches, which are not delivering the desired outcomes. Humans revert to the familiar when under stress, favouring people and processes they know.

I believe the key to unlocking untapped solutions and hope for mankind is to be willing to work collaboratively, across all kinds of differences. I am on a mission to build a collaborative movement that delivers shared value. Based on my research at Massey University (published by the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand) and international public sector experience (including Southampton and Birmingham City Councils (UK), Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils (NZ); Severn Trent Water; Local Government New Zealand; Ministry of Social Development (NZ) as well as wider client organisations), I have identified three areas that could help shift the status quo. Focusing on these now will help us prepare for a collaborative, kinder post-pandemic future.

Why collaborate?

Collaboration requires time, effort and investment; so it’s not suited to all situations — it’s best suited to the complex opportunities that cross traditional organisational silos. These are generally systemic in nature, eg. regional economic development, women and child welfare, housing, poverty or climate change.

Everyone can add value — as we allow all voices to be heard we can explore unknown directions to develop new futures — together.

System opportunities

It’s only when we take an “ecosystem” approach that real change is possible and we are able to focus on optimising the collective impact of individual efforts to deliver shared value. Complex governance mechanisms undergirded by red-tape bureaucracies are unhelpful.

Many are still working in systems designed through the policies of New Public Management with siloed government departments and funding mechanisms, focused on performance management. Delivering collaborative public services requires a “whole of government” approach, focused on collective results and outcomes. We need to make it easier to make decisions e.g. the award-winning New Zealand SmartStart project is a positive collaborative change project, taking a system approach to connect government departments and services accessed by families at the birth of a child.

For a better, kinder, more inclusive future we urgently need public servant leaders who empower and enable collaborators across the system

Government as a system is designed for stability, but that creates tension when we look to deliver agile, citizen-focused integrated services. Doing so is complex work, and requires considerable effort.

Collaborative leadership and competencies

For decades many have been working with essentially a “competitive” approach. That’s in contrast to the “new” public sector I and others like me are advocating, where success is instead dependent on very specific competencies (e.g. listening, continuous communication, appreciative inquiry etc.). The problem is that most public servants have not been trained in these skills. But just as we never expect top athletes to just win, and just as we invest in them, we need to invest in public servants, which requires re-designing organisational development programmes.

Collaborative leadership necessitates an empowering approach, a comfort with ambiguity, and an ability to learn from failure. It’s time to move away from reliance on hierarchies, command and control. For a better, kinder, more inclusive future we urgently need public servant leaders who empower and enable collaborators across the system.

I think everyone has been part of a team where everything breaks down due to poor or untimely communication. Equally, there are individual good examples, e.g. a frontline worker, who is well connected across the systems and isn’t afraid to step out of the parapet to ensure the right outcomes for their client.

And, right now in New Zealand, we are seeing some outstanding collaborative senior leadership — namely, from our Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jacinda Arden and the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield. These are the stories we want to learn from and build on.

We have an unprecedented global opportunity to rekindle the hearts of public servants and the ethic of service. Let’s do this! — Nazanin Jenkin

(Photo credit: Death to the stock photo)