Working in government or public service is tough. The problems are complicated, there's a lot at stake, and things move fast.

One of the critical elements for delivering excellent public service is effective collaboration among various departments, agencies, or even international partners. When people across government work well together, it's not just good for them — it's good for everyone they serve.

But how do you know if you're really working well with others? That's where this tool comes in to help.

The 'Highly Effective Collaborations’ diagnostic aims to help you figure out how well you're working with your collaborators. By following this process, you can find out what's going well and what needs to be improved.

This guide is part of a set of four documents designed to help you understand, assess and improve the effectiveness of your collaborations. Here's a quick breakdown of what each document does:

  • The Characteristics of Highly Effective Collaborations article: Breaks down 8 characteristics of highly effective collaborations why they’re important and why they’re included in this assessment process
  • This Guide: Provides step-by-step instructions on how to carry out a thorough ‘Highly Effective Collaborations’ diagnostic process, including information on how to use the other two resources effectively.
  • The Characteristics of Highly Effective Teams Diagnostic Tool: This document dives into 8 important characteristics that make collaborations effective. For each trait, you'll find a list of questions to ask your stakeholders.
  • Data Analysis Spreadsheet: This is where you can enter the data you've collected from the Diagnostic Tool. The spreadsheet will automatically calculate an average score for each of the 8 traits, helping you understand where your collaboration stands.

Together, these three documents give you a comprehensive way to understand, measure and improve your collaboration.

Step 1: Deciding when to do the assessment

The initial step in assessing the effectiveness of collaborations is to establish the specific timing and context in which the assessment is being conducted. Assessments can generally be categorised into two types based on their timing: formative and summative.

  • A formative assessment is conducted at the start or early stages of a collaboration to inform its development, set benchmarks, and provide actionable insights for immediate improvement. This is particularly useful for newly formed collaborations.
  • A summative assessment is carried out midway through or at the conclusion of a collaboration to evaluate its overall effectiveness, outcomes and impact.

The questions found in our Characteristics of Effective Collaborations template can be used for both formative and summative assessments. However, first considering when you are carrying out this assessment will help when selecting / or designing the most relevant questions to your context — see step 4 for more information on this.

Step 2: Understand your stakeholders

If your collaboration is complex, with multiple stakeholders, you should consider carrying out a stakeholder mapping exercise. This will help you to spot any issues that could arise with stakeholders, help tackle any potential issues and head off any risks.

Step 3: Establishing ownership

Establishing a core team - of one or more people - to take ownership of the assessment (and subsequent steps) is essential to ensuring the process is structured, consistent and effective. Conducting the assessment itself requires planning, execution, and analysis. Without a designated lead, these tasks can become fragmented, leading to potential oversights or misinterpretations.

If your organisation has a dedicated people team, they may wish to lead the assessment.

Whoever decides to take the reins, having buy-in from senior leadership is likely to help you roll out the assessment, and take action based on the findings.

It's also important that those who are being asked to engage with the assessment have protected time to do so.

To make the most out of using this diagnostic tool, engagement from your key stakeholders is essential. Before carrying out the assessment, the implementing team should communicate the purpose of this assessment to all stakeholders involved and what their participation might look like in this process, see step 5 (preparation) for some example text.

Step 4: Setting up the assessment

The questions found within the Characteristics of Effective Collaborations template, should serve as inspiration for the kinds of questions you might want to ask your collaborators. We suggest a survey-style format, using a 5-point Likert scale.

  1. Customise based on your collaboration: This is not a ‘one size fits all’ assessment tool, it provides a blueprint that we recommend you change based on your needs and context, in collaboration with your stakeholders. Please take a look at the indicators, questions, and even the characteristics themselves — decide which ones work best for your organisation and your context.
  2. Select your assessment tool / survey software: You may wish to set up the assessment using existing survey software (copy and pasting the questions into your software of choice). Alternatively, you could circulate copies of the Characteristics of Effective Collaborations template.
  3. Access Data Analysis Spreadsheet: If you decide to circulate copies of this document to stakeholders, we have provided a data analysis spreadsheet which gives you the opportunity to input your combined data and receive an average score for each characteristic. Ensure you have access to this data analysis spreadsheet.

Step 5: Carry out the assessment

This process aims to be as participatory as possible, aiming to embrace inclusivity and diversity and ensuring the representation of varied perspectives. It is highly recommended that all stakeholders involved in the collaboration are afforded the opportunity to complete this assessment.

  1. Preparation:

  • Communicate the purpose and importance of the assessment to all participants.

  • Clearly define the scope and objectives of the assessment.

      _Hi all, we're launching a tool to measure the effectiveness of our collaboration. The first step is the completion of a diagnostic tool (or survey), which is a quick way for us to see what's working and what needs a tweak. We're aiming for top-notch collaboration, and this diagnostic tool is our roadmap. Your input will guide us toward improvements, so don't hold back!_

  _We will be in touch at a later date to discuss the results of this diagnostic and will provide a forum through which we can reflect on the findings as a partnership and set out actions for improvement. _
  1. Distribution
  1. Data Collection:
  • Encourage all members of your collaboration to answer honestly and thoughtfully.
  • Ensure that all responses will be kept confidential (not attributable to individuals).
  • Set a clear deadline for data submission.
  1. Data Input:

Step 6: Analysing and reporting your data

After you have completed the assessment phase, your results will need to be consolidated into a database. If you’re using a survey software it will do this for you, and, depending on your level of subscription, may also provide reporting templates.

If you decide to circulate hard copies of the diagnostic, or forward copies of the Characteristics of Effective Collaborations template, we have provided a data analysis spreadsheet which gives you the opportunity to input your combined data and receive an average score for each characteristic. Ensure you have access to this data analysis spreadsheet.

If you’d like to analyse results (and differences) within your partnership, you’ll need to make sure you’re capturing that information somewhere within your dataset (it’s easiest to do this by building them into the questions). E.g. Seniority, gender, ethnicity. You can then assess if there are differences in experiences.

Maintaining confidentiality in data collection, especially regarding sensitive topics like gender, ethnicity, and seniority, is crucial. It builds trust and encourages honest responses. On the other hand, disaggregated data, which breaks down information into categories like seniority, gender, and ethnicity, is highly valuable. It helps you analyse differences within your partnership, uncovering disparities and informing better decision-making. Ensuring respondents’ privacy while collecting this data is vital for obtaining useful insights and promoting inclusivity and equality.

To understand people's attitudes from the survey results, we use a scale ranging from 1 to 5, where 1 shows a very negative attitude, and 5 shows a very positive attitude. We then find the average score to determine the general attitude.

Here is how you can interpret the average score:

  • 1.0-2.4 = Negative attitude
  • 2.5-3.4 = Neutral attitude
  • 3.5-5.0 = Positive attitude

It’s important that results are communicated to the entire partnership soon after the assessment has been completed. We recommend a short, accessible report that highlights areas where your collaboration performed well and opportunities for improvement. You may wish to outline ways forward, however it is important for remedial actions to be co-produced with the partnership as a whole.

Our next section outlines key steps in providing the collaboration an opportunity to reflect on the assessment findings, with an emphasis on action planning.

Step 7: Providing the opportunity for reflection

After the assessment phase, and once you have consolidated your findings, offering the opportunity for your partners to reflect on these findings can be a powerful step in bringing about positive change. These sessions can be a chance to celebrate areas of strength as well as to collaboratively discuss areas for improvement. Taking the time to celebrate strengths within your partnership is pivotal in this reflection phase. When partners feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to be engaged, and committed to working on areas of improvement.

It’s important that these sessions are designed to promote inclusivity, creating a space that facilitates open and participatory discussion. This collective introspection can unearth hidden challenges, highlight strengths, and pave the way for actionable solutions. You may wish to provide an online form, or box, where team members can share reflections anonymously.

** TBC on link to running inclusive participatory sessions. **

You may want to divide these sections into two parts:

  1. Collective reflection: Feedback session with your collaboration stakeholders, to gather their insights - encouraging open dialogue to understand diverse perspectives.
  2. **How to action insights: **Co-produce steps to address identified areas for improvement.

The goal of these sessions is to construct a transformation plan, with clearly measurable targets, so the whole partnership can work together to become more effective.

Step 8: Following up and measuring progress

Once areas of improvement have been identified, it's time to make a plan for how progress will be measured. Consistent monitoring of your team’s journey means that blockers can be solved as they happen, and that positive changes become tangible results.

Several key steps should be considered when measuring your progress:

  1. A core team (most likely the same team that carried out the assessment process) should manage the monitoring process for your improvement targets. You could consider the following approaches:
  • Pulse Surveys: Implement regular pulse surveys to collect ongoing feedback and insights from the participants in the collaboration. These concise and focused surveys are valuable tools for assessing progress, identifying emerging challenges, and obtaining qualitative data on how collaborators perceive the changes.
  • Periodic Assessments: Depending on the length of your partnership, you could conduct diagnostic assessments at predefined intervals during the collaboration. These assessments involve revisiting the initial evaluation process to gauge progress and pinpoint areas that require further attention. Comparing the results of these assessments over time provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your collaborative improvement efforts.
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define and monitor specific KPIs related to your collaborative improvement targets. KPIs offer quantitative data to measure success and detect any deviations from desired outcomes. Regularly review and analyse these KPIs to inform decision-making and refine your collaboration strategy.
  • Feedback Mechanisms: Establish transparent and open feedback mechanisms within the collaborative team. Encourage participants to share their observations, concerns, and suggestions regarding the improvement targets. This can be achieved through regular meetings, suggestion platforms, or dedicated communication channels.
  • Action Plans: Develop and maintain clear action plans that outline the necessary steps to achieve your collaborative improvement targets. Assign responsibilities and establish timelines to ensure accountability within the core team. Regularly review and update these action plans as needed to adapt to the evolving needs of the collaboration.

  1. Identify the frequency that you would like to evaluate (or discuss) progress against your targets, this could be in regular meetings that you hold throughout the course of your collaboration.

  2. Encourage collective ownership in regards to hitting your targets, and celebrate successes and improvements where they occur. You could consider the following approaches:

    • Establish clear goals and targets: Begin by setting clear and measurable goals. Make sure these targets are specific, relevant, and time-bound.
  • Communicate the significance of collective ownership: Effectively convey to all participants and stakeholders the critical importance of collective ownership in the collaborative venture. Emphasise that every individual's contribution plays a pivotal role in achieving these shared objectives. Use real-world illustrations of successful collaborations to illustrate the benefits. For example, share case studies demonstrating how diverse partnerships have led to innovative solutions in the past.
  • Create accountability structures within your collaboration: Establish robust accountability structures within the collaboration or partnership to ensure that everyone takes responsibility for their role in achieving the defined targets. Assign specific roles and responsibilities to individual collaborators or partner organisations, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment.
  • Regularly monitor progress: Implement a tracking system to monitor progress toward the targets. This could involve regular check-ins, reporting mechanisms, or software tools. Provide a dashboard that visually represents progress.

  1. Recognise and celebrate achievements: Celebrate milestones and noteworthy accomplishments within the collaborative effort. Recognition can take various forms, including:

    • Collaborative awards: Recognise outstanding teams or individuals who have made substantial contributions.
  • Public acknowledgment: Share success stories and achievements through internal newsletters or partnership-wide communications. Celebrate not only the ultimate results but also the initiatives and collaborative endeavours that have led to these positive outcomes.
  1. For long-term partnerships, it's advisable to revisit the full assessment process. This allows you to compare the current scores with those from previous rounds, enabling a thorough evaluation of areas where improvements have been successfully implemented and pinpointing areas that require further attention.

Download the Key Characteristics of Effective Collaborations template.

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