• Mackinac, Collaboration and Getting Real

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    The Detroit Chamber of Commerce's annual policy shindig on Mackinac Island had a clear theme, collaboration is essential to Detroit and Michigan's intertwined futures.

    According to the Chamber webside, regional collaboration was emphasized:

    One of the most exciting features of the 2011 Mackinac Policy Conference was bringing together the “Fab Five” regional leaders to discuss the collaboration needed to strengthen Southeast Michigan.

    The "Fab Five" featured Conan Smith, the chairman of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, who joined the discussion featuring regional leaders previously known as the "Big Four" – Detroit Mayor Dave Bing; Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

    Harvard's Michael Porter, according to the Chamber's report, said the state has spent too much time fighting internally and needs to collaborate to drive economic development and productivity by building on our strengths and assets. He called for the state to develop a strategy for success that Michigan can achieve using its unique assets and create a business environment where emerging growth companies can thrive.

    And bestselling author and business guru, Jim Collins said in an interview with Daniel Howe from the Detroit News that Daniel Howes, emphasised the importance of collaboration in Michigan.
    So collaboration matters and Michiganders need to do more. Easy to say and hard to do. And when there is a legacy of mistrust, collaboration is harder. Raising the bar, I would suggest is that collaboration alone is not enough.

    Leaders in the environmental world have created a triple bottom line, asserting the positive progress must encompass economic (profit), environmental, and equity issues. Or as Shell put it "people, planet, profit." Said harshly, it is easy to create a profit when one ignores environmental and people issues, harder when one wants to make a profit and protect the environment and even more difficult when wants to address all three. Despite the inherent difficulty of working toward the triple bottom line, companies and communities are doing this work every day.
    Collaboration can also be seen as a part of a triple bottom line. I would suggest that if efforts in a community are not inclusive, they are not likely to build broad consensus and heal historic divisions. Most importantly, community work has to be about results, about effectiveness. Too much time is spent in unproductive meetings and citizens are too cynical about government for collaboration to be about anything but results.
    Leaders in Southeastern Michigan should contemplate not only what it means to be more collaborative, but factor in how to be more inclusive and more effective. When all three are attended to, real synergy can happen.

  • A Prize for Collaboration!

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    Why should nonprofits compete when they can do more through collaboration?

    That's the question the Lodestar Foundation hopes nonprofits answer as they compete for The Collaboration Prize.  The Collaboration Prize recognizes collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources and staff. The Prize also seeks to build an information base of effective practice models that can be studied and used by academics, nonprofit leaders and grantmakers to inspire and advance their work. The deadline for nominations is July 21, 2008.

    Visit www.thecollaborationprize.org for details.