CTG Guide Outlines Key Success Factors for Government Collaborations
Online resource guides managers responsible for service delivery partnerships
By Mark LaVigne
Center for Technology in Government

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Governments around the world are building partnerships across agencies and with private sector and non profit partners to improve the services they deliver to citizens and businesses.

These partnerships, which often make use of advanced technology, are the focus of a new online resource launched by the Center for Technology in Government from the University at Albany, SUNY.

New Models of Collaboration: A Guide for Managers is based on a multinational, longitudinal research project designed to understand how these relationships work. It includes case studies, success factors, and lessons learned compiled by a network of field researchers, who studied 15 collaboration case studies across two continents, four countries, and three different languages.

"Our research uncovered critical success factors and lessons learned about the design, management and performance of a range of collaborative relationships," said Sharon Dawes, director of the Center for Technology in Government. "When we all stood back and analyzed all the cases, we identified four critical success factors that transcend national boundaries: leadership, trust, risk management, and communication. These elements were crucial to the development and outcomes of every project."

Each of these four critical success factors are further developed as comparative essays in the New Models Management Guide.

"Because this broad-based research project studied a range of different collaborative relationships in different political environments, the lessons and success factors can be applied in many different settings in the future," Dawes said.

The Management Guide incorporates two years of learning, the results of an international colloquium, and a number of other resources designed to support today's public manager.

"Over the course of the two year research project, New Models researchers delivered presentations across the United States and Canada," said Ophelia Eglene, CTG's project manager for the study. "The multinational research teams also collaborated in producing white papers and articles, all of which are available in the New Models Guide."

The U.S. portion of this collaborative research project was funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Centre Francophone d'Informatisation des Organisations (CEFRIO), a Canadian research organization based in Quebec. It included researchers from the University of Quebec at Montreal, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Syracuse University, the University of Bremen in Germany, and the Cellule Interfacultaire Technology Assessment in Belgium.

The Center for Technology in Government is an applied research center devoted to improving government and public services through policy, management and technology innovation. The center works with government to develop information strategies that foster innovation and enhance the quality and coordination of public services.