Charities wanting to collaborate can now take advantage of a new report that aims to highlight effective partnership approaches.

Published by the Children’s Centre Project (CCP), The Cooperate Sector looks at nine different types of collaborative working undertaken by a range of voluntary and community sector organisations.

The research found that that there was a widespread demand for information on best practice, and as a result, key learning points have been compiled into a checklist for use by those thinking of collaborating. Tips include setting specific, realistic goals, identifying appropriate partners, recognising risks and monitoring performance.

Dominic Fox, director of CCP, said: “While the idea of joined up approaches is currently fashionable in the voluntary sector, there appears to be little information or understanding among organisations about how to make this concept a successful reality. We hope that this research will foster a greater knowledge of the different models of collaboration and alert the voluntary sector to the benefits of partnership working.”

The Collaborative Working Unit (CWU) at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has also published a tool to help managers and trustees decide if their organisation could benefit from partnership work.

Should you collaborate identifies the major considerations and aims to enable charities to make an informed decision on whether and how to collaborate.

Kate Aldous, CWU manager, said: “Collaborative working is not right for everyone and making that decision can be daunting, especially when organisations lack information about how to get started.”

CCP’s report, The Cooperate Sector, can be downloaded from www.childrenscentre.org.uk, while the CWU’s checklist is available from 0800 2 798 798.