Like many funders, we want to encourage our nonprofit partners to work together, since we believe they can exponentially increase their impact by doing so. Collaboration (especially for organizations in the same geographic area working toward the same goal) helps ensure that multiple organizations aren’t tackling the same problem and re-inventing the wheel each time a challenge arises. In foundation speak, it creates efficiencies.

We’ve been exploring the questions: Are there ways for funders to enhance or improve collaborative processes? And how do we know if collaboration is working?

The directors are encouraged to solicit input from their staff. Bonus points if they consult with their partner organizations beforehand, as this saves time during the in-person meeting.

Next, for each strategy, the executive directors must agree which organization is the R, A, C, or I for each strategy:

  • Responsible (R) "The Doer"
  • Accountable (A) “The Buck Stops Here”
  • Consult (C) “In the Loop”
  • Inform (I) “Keep in the Picture”

As a funder, the RACI process has been invaluable in helping us understand how our grantee partners collaborate and how we can best support them.  This level of trust and understanding goes a long way and we recommend building this baseline before introducing a tool like this.

Read the source article at Practical Wisdom for Funders