How-Tos
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files. To download a free copy, please visit the Adobe web site. Assessing Your Collaboration: A Self-Evaluation Tool
L. Borden and D. Perkins, Journal of Extension, Volume 37, Number 2, April 1999
Reviews significant research on effective collaborations and highlights essential components for existing and new partnerships. Presents a brief, easy-to-use checklist that is designed to assess the successes and weaknesses of a particular collaboration.
http://www.joe.org/joe/1999april/tt1.html Buildliteracy.org
Interactive Website for building and sustaining literacy coalitions. Provides information and resources on adult literacy, libraries and coalitions. Also includes profiles of successful literacy coalitions, a menu of activities, and suggestions on how to build partnerships with local libraries.
http://www.buildliteracy.org/ Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey
M. Winer and K. Ray, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1994
Guide to establishing and maintaining collaborations for all types of organizations. Outlines the stages of collaboration and provides valuable information for all partners, including tools for initial meetings, program evaluation, statement writing, and conflict resolution. Features a case study that describes the development of collaboration.
Available for purchase from
http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=4 The Community Development Handbook: A Tool to Build Community Capacity
F. Frank and A. Smith, Human Resources Development Canada, 1999
Offers a participatory approach to community development. Describes the various components of community development and capacity building. Identifies the conditions that support community development and offers guidance on how to address common issues facing communities, such as insufficient financial resources and failure to incorporate evaluation results in a strategic plan.
Download/view: PDF (200KB) | HTML Community ToolBox
Kansas University Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development
A large, detailed resource that offers guidance on how to build and develop healthier communities. Areas of focus include leadership, strategic planning, community assessment, advocacy, grant writing, and evaluation. Links to helpful Web pages and listservs addressing community issues such as funding, health and education.
http://ctb.ku.edu/ CTC Start-up Manual
Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet), 2003
A tool designed for establishing a community technology center, although general principals may be useful to adult education programs and their partners. Explains how to: identify and recruit key representatives from the community to serve on a steering committee; collect information about the community's resources and population; develop and maintain partnerships; and provide various services at the center, including a comprehensive adult education program. Other topics include staffing, software selection, outreach, funding, and preparing a business plan.
http://www.ctcnet.org/resources/toc.htm Developing Collaborative Partnerships
S. Kerka, Practice Application Briefs, ERIC Clearinghouse for Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 1997
Brief includes profiles of effective collaborations in the areas of workforce development, family literacy, and welfare reform. Also describes necessary ingredients and required steps to developing effective collaborations.
http://www.calpro-online.org/ERIC/textonly/docgen.asp?tbl=pab&ID=71 Echoes from the Field: Proven Capacity-Building Principles for Nonprofits
The Environmental Support Center and Innovation Network, Inc.
Offers nine principles for nonprofit organizations, funders, and providers that want to collaborate in order to build their capacity to serve clients.
Download/view: PDF (186KB) Filling America's Jobs: How to Turn Employers into Partners
A Guide for Public Workforce Professionals
The Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success, 2004
Designed to help public workforce professionals work more closely with U.S. manufacturers. Explains what motivates employers to become partners with workforce development agencies, how to create partnership opportunities that attract businesses and improve the effectiveness of workforce investment boards and One-Stop Career Centers, and how to market public workforce development systems to businesses. Features tools useful for workforce development agencies and other organizations wanting to collaborate with employers. Tools address: identifying challenges in involving business, making the best use of business partnerships, and creating promotional materials targeting business, among other topics.
For more information about the guide and its availability, contact the Center for Workforce Success (CWS) at
pwalton@nam.org Filling America's Jobs: How You Can Benefit from the Public Workforce Development System
A Guide for Employers
The Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success, 2004
Describes for employers how public/private partnerships can help them find and keep skilled workers. Introduces employers to the programs and services available through the public workforce development system and explains how they can shape these to meet their needs. Highlights the information and services available through the One-Stop Career Centers. Explains how employer associations functioning as workforce intermediaries have partnered with One-Stops, workforce investment boards, and educators to help resolve the skill shortages faced by member companies.
For more information about the guide and its availability, contact the Center for Workforce Success (CWS) at
pwalton@nam.org Guide to Performance Management for Community Literacy Coalitions
National Institute for Literacy, 2008
Enables community literacy coalitions and their partners to develop a community literacy outcome measurement process to assess literacy across the community, as well as activities of direct-service providers. Contains outcome indicators and data collection sources for common literacy activities and sample survey questions. Describes how to analyze data and use the analysis for program improvement.
Download/view: PDF (KB) | HTML Meeting the Collaboration Challenge Workbook: Developing Strategic Alliances Between Nonprofit Organizations and Businesses
The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, 2002
Step-by-step instructions for nonprofit groups to build alliances with businesses. Strategies are also relevant to other organizations interested in collaborating with businesses. Suggests a four-phase process to help organizations prepare, plan, develop, or renew business alliances. Workbook was designed to be used in conjunction with the James Austin book, The Collaboration Challenge and a related video.
Download/view: PDF (616KB) | HTML National Network for Collaboration: Training Manual
A guide and diagnostic tool for those starting or strengthening a collaboration. Divided into four sections—Collaboration Framework, Training Manual, Standards of Practice, and Evaluation Toolkit. Describes the key elements of collaboration; suggests activities to help train players in the collaboration process; provides research-based standards of good practice for building and maintaining effective community collaborations; and offers a series of modules, including a progress checklist, to help users assess their community needs and the partnerships they build to address them.
http://crs.uvm.edu/nnco/cd/tablecon.htm Pathways: A Primer for Family Literacy Program Design and Development
National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), 2000
Written for those who want to start family literacy programs in their communities, this guide covers a lot of ground, including background on the potential benefits of family literacy, assessing the need for such programs in a community, establishing partnerships, designing programs around specific outcomes, and various strategies for helping families improve their literacy. Provides case studies and answers to commonly asked questions.
Available for purchase from
http://www.famlit.org/ncfl-news-and-information/shop Planning for Change: A Coalition Building Technical Assistance System Coalition Building Basics
S. Sherow and J. Weinberger, 2002
Gives step-by-step instructions for how to organize a coalition, offers advice on handling change and planning strategically, and suggests several group management techniques to generate ideas and solutions.
Download/view: PDF (303KB) Sustaining Community-Based Initiatives
A collaboration between the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The Healthcare Forum
Three capacity-building modules are designed to help sustain community-based initiatives: "Developing Community Capacity," "Communicating with Policy Makers," and "Community and Economic Development." Sections of relevance to partnerships in adult education discuss issues of leadership, multiculturalism, mobilizing the community, policy goals, working with partners, and creating a business plan. Module 3 profiles organizations that have successfully implemented these tools. Resources can be accessed individually, by chapter, or as one document.
http://www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=101&CID=287&CatID=287&Item
ID=10658&NID=20&LanguageID=0 Together We Can
Initiative involving the Institute for Educational Leadership, California Tomorrow, The Child and Family Policy and others. Step-by-step toolkit describes five stages of community building and offers profiles of partnerships in action. Site offers other resources such as a database of community collaborations throughout the nation, technical assistance networks, a newsletter, and a list of "resource organizations" that can assist community-building efforts.
http://www.togetherwecan.org/ W. K. Kellogg Foundation?s Community Partnerships Toolkit
Describes 10 tools, from neighborhood priorities to accountability, that were developed and tested by 10 communities. Offers observations from the participants as well as an overview on the steps involved in developing each tool.
http://ww2.wkkf.org/Pubs/CustomPubs/CPtoolkit/CPToolkit/default.htm Sample State How-To'sAdult Education at Work: A Collaborative Resource Addressing the Changing World of Work and Learning
D. Davis, Tennessee Department of Education, Division of Adult and Community Education
A step-by-step guide for adult education program administrators interested in creating or improving workplace education programs through partnerships with employers and other educators. Describes the history of and current trends in workplace education and offers information, ideas for activities, resources, and sample forms to help develop a program's infrastructure, goals, partnerships, content, recruiting techniques, and methods for assessment, evaluation, and reporting.
Download/view: PDF (599KB) Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Community Planning 2002 - 2003: A Collection of the Experiences of Program Community Planning Coordinators and Partnership Members
SABES West, 2003
Highlights efforts in Massachusetts to form community partnerships among adult education programs, businesses, social service and government agencies, and other community organizations to improve services for adult learners. Useful resources include descriptions of local partnership experiences and tools and resources for community planning, such as book reviews, print, video and online resources, and sample surveys.
Download/view: PDF (424KB) |
