Bruce MacDonald is a visionary. President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada (BBBSC), he’s looking ahead to the year 2013 with deep contemplation. That’s the year the organization celebrates its 100th anniversary, and exciting as that milestone may be, its imminent arrival prompts MacDonald to think seriously about the future. “We want to make sure our service is well-positioned to serve the next 100 years,” he offers. “And in some cases it may require making some fundamental changes in order to do that.”

Meanwhile, what started out as an internally focused exercise grew into something bigger. “We fundamentally believe that the voluntary sector needs to evolve and change,” MacDonald explains. Still reverberating from an economic shock to its system, the sector is searching for strategic implements to pull it out of the crisis-fuelled debris and help reestablish a sustainable terra firma upon which to move forward. It’s not easy. But like their for-profit neighbours, some in the voluntary sector are considering more innovative approaches, particularly collaborative ones.

A much-needed guide

In their consideration, however, MacDonald discovered it was difficult to find guidance. “One thing we noticed is a gap in information,” he explains. “While there is a ton of literature written on governance, there is very little written around structure.” The realization was profound. If local agencies want to evolve and create different structures, that often requires the participation of other organizations to be successful. “And if there was nothing that other organizations or even our own members can talk about or have as a reference point to guide them in their discussion, then the idea of evolving would hit a brick wall pretty quick because there’s no expertise in the field,” he explains.

Enter Sue Dallhoff and Grace Bugg of Strategic Leverage Partners Inc., who were commissioned to research sustainability models that would allow BBBS to scale out while still maintaining their eye on the mission, and to provide some viable options. Through the use of a literature review, focus groups, and interviews with organizations that have been successful in scaling out, the report, Local Business Structures within a Federated Model and its resource supplement, are fascinating how-to guides for organizations deliberating collaborative change. “We hope that this report will provide nonprofit organizations with some new options and ideas for more effectively leveraging their resources as they move forward,” echoes Dallhoff.

The lingo

The report focuses particularly on strategic alliances and restructuring. Strategic alliance is the “overarching term that describes relationships that run the gamut from alliances and collaborations at the less structured end of the spectrum, to mergers and consolidations at the more structured end of the spectrum.” Strategic restructuring, meanwhile, refers to mergers and consolidations.

Dallhoff points out one very important caveat to the discussion. While collaborations among nonprofits aren’t new, many we hear about are short-term and funding-dependent. This report is focused on relationship-centric not grant-based strategic alliances, those that involve active work on substantial issues, on an ongoing basis.

Approaches galore

“It isn’t one size fits all,” explains Dallhoff, when asked about the different partnership possibilities available. Some approaches are vertical, others horizontal, some require a lesser or greater degree of autonomy, others varying degrees of integration. Some are loosely aligned, while others, like mergers, need a complete restructure of one’s corporate foundation. One approach may only be concerned with a singular community, while another can extend to an entire region or province. One alliance may involve a partnership with related organizations, while another requires affiliations with a number of non-related organizations (diagram p. 39).

But, Dallhoff cautions, approaches are not mutually exclusive. What’s more, some of the most successful organizations keep themselves small but create impact through an alignment with like-minded long-term partners. So, rather than scaling out by adopting the approaches listed above, the organization establishes a more lateral relationship with organizations, enabling increased capacity.

In the supplementary resource you’ll find a chart comparing the various approaches and describing the key benefits and drawbacks of each as well as the conditions under which each approach works best (p.11) and another one that delineates different organizational structures and the pros and cons of each according to the approaches listed (p. 18).

Of particular interest is a newly emergent partnership model put forth by professor Jane Wei-Skillern called the network approach, allowing organizations to, “focus on their own areas of expertise and proactively engage, and at times even support, others that have strengths in related areas, to achieve a common goal.” (p. 24). Wei-Skillern views these partnerships as some of the most effective in the world.

An example of a successful networked integrated partnership is Habitat for Humanity Egypt (HFHE). Eschewing the traditional US model, HFHE focused on their own expertise and found local partners to contribute skills, resulting in a mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, the approach led to the HFHE becoming one of the top performers in the Habitat for Humanity organization and the 5th most productive program globally.

Key considerations

Prior to embarking on any of the approaches, serious self-reflection, assessments and questions are necessary. Does the organization have enough resources to implement these changes? “The organization doesn’t need all the resources right at the beginning but they do need to have a plan as to how they’re going to acquire them and a resource model that can be scaled to support the structure they’re doing,” Dallhoff explains.

Is the board supportive and can it provide additional resources and expertise? Are your funders at the discussion table? “Even how you choose your partner is important and can determine failure or success,” says Dallhoff. If their culture is similar to yours, there’s a better chance of making it work. Some organizations have collaborative cultures, she offers, others are more protective in nature, making alliances more challenging.

Success also depends on the organization’s leadership. On a basic level, with so many overburdened enough as it is, does the ED have enough time to contemplate change? Leaders need to be passionate and boast specific expertise or else look for elsewhere. “We have some fabulous EDs with expertise in how to run organizations but knowing how to form strategic alliances is a very different type of expertise, requiring different kinds of skills,” says Dallhoff. Skills such as, communication, negotiation and openness can certainly go a long way in these complex processes.

What’s more, a risk-reward assessment is always necessary. Organizations have to consider the impact on their community, stakeholders, clients and their reputation should things not go as planned in order to find the most effective ways to balance that risk with reward.

Challenges

Strategic alliances carry their fair share of challenges. “Fear of the unknown,” is one of the primary obstacles for the BBBC,” says Macdonald. “Hopefully the report can help address that.” Even more importantly, though, he adds, is finding visionary leaders to lead the way.

Not surprisingly the report cites a number of human-related challenges organizations face as they struggle with the, “fear of losing what they see as their uniqueness and the cost to their organizations in terms of time, energy and resources.” The absence of tools can be problematic too as can be the lack of time on the part of leaders, a point alluded to above.

Lessons learned

BBBC and other organizations contemplating alliances can gain incredible insight from those who’ve already made structural change. Interestingly, the factor most often credited with success is ensuring one’s mission remains front and centre. Other factors include: a collaborative and inclusive approach to change, the building of trusting relationships and ensuring leaders play key roles.

Having a communication plan in place is also essential. As the report says, “Not only is it important to get the message out, but it is important to pay attention to how people are responding and listen to their concerns.” Having a strategic and business plan is also vital, as is the constant review and evaluation of your progress against the plan. Due diligence, timing, patience, flexibility are all cited as significant assets.

And whatever you do, make sure your board is leading the way. They can best assess if you’ll meet your goals given the resources and skills on the table. “If not, you may have to change goals or figure out a way of acquiring them [resources],” says Dallhoff. Boards can also help identify and facilitate partnerships, alleviating a measure of risk in the process.

The approach you choose depends on your unique organization but taking the first step is typically the toughest part. As for BBBC, they’re in the “creation of conversations phase,” says Macondald. “We have a number of different conversations going on across the country with our member agencies about the idea of a new possibility.” It’s not a top-down driven process, he adds. “We’re trying to use the report as a catalyst for discussions and conversation.”

And though every organization approaches change differently, overall it seems the climate is ripe for these conversations. Last year’s economic meltdown has established a common narrative on one very important level, says MacDonald. A lot of charities are realizing that if they hang onto outdated ways of operating, they’ll be in trouble. “So we really do have to revolutionize the sector in terms of how we do business.”

[Editor’s note: SLP is looking for partners to help roll out a series of workshops across Canada on the subject. Please contact them if you’re interested.]

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.

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