Initiating Collaborations

The best way to ensure a successful collaboration is to start it off on the right foot. Involve the right people at the right time and ask yourself: what is the best role for the most prominent stakeholders? Who will initiate the collaboration? Who will convene meetings? Who will staff your partnership? If you aren’t sure of the meanings of these roles, or if they affect our partnership, you need to talk to Karen.

The first meetings set the tone. A collaboration establishes its culture during the first four hours of its life together….have you planned for a dynamic and fruitful first four hours? Karen has ideas that can help.

During the last 25 years Karen has consulted with or staffed new, start-up collaborations in these areas and many others:

Adult literacy, corrections, juvenile justice, child care, after-school programs, 21st Century Learning Centers, health, adolescenty health, public health, mental health, public nursing, AIDS / HIV awareness, HIV prevention, rural health, economic development, civil discourse, regional municipal development, police and fire department partnerships, foundation and donor development, housing, neighborhood redevelopment, urban development, services for deaf people and people with disabilities….

What collaboration are you starting? Ask Karen how to ‘hit the ground running.’