Innovation and collaboration

This document summarises a number of issues raised by NGOs about the barriers to, and opportunities for, innovation and collaboration within the health and disability NGO sector.

• Barriers and Opportunities for Innovation and Collaboration in the Health and Disability NGO Sector (pdf, 326 kb)

One informative article on this subject is ‘Merging Wisely’.
Published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review in 2010, it suggests a wide variety of partnership options for non-profits.

Some other links that may be useful if you want to collaborate:

• Partnership Analysis Tool website with checklist (vichealth.vic.gov.au)
• Canterbury Health Best Practice Guidelines for Collaborative Working - March 2012 (cph.co.nz) (pdf, 122 kb)
• Waitakere Wellbeing Collaboration (communitywaitakere.org.nz)
• The Working Together More fund (workingtogether.org.nz) - You can apply for funding to help you change the way you work with others!

Please share your own collaborative experiences with us.

2012/13 Regional collaboration workshops

The NGO Council hosted workshops to explore the challenges and benefits of collaboration, and what incentives might help with this.

South Island Engagement & Collaboration workshop in Christchurch on 12 March 2013
Fifty seven people from 42 South Island NGOs and providers attended this workshop in Christchurch.
Presentations (available top right) included:

• Overview on collaboration – Alison Molloy (Chief Executive, Autism NZ)
• South Island DHB Alliance – Dr Sharon Kletchko, General Manager Strategy & Planning at Nelson Marlborough DHB and Chair of the South Island region DHBs funding and planning General Managers network
• Collaboration case studies from Tony Milne and Sara Epperson of Problem Gambling Foundation NZ and Dr Sue Bagshaw and Peter Young from Youth Hub Barbadoes
• Policy engagement with John Wilkinson, Principal Policy Analyst, Population Business Unit, Ministry of Health
• Outcomes-focused Contracting by Aimee Rensford, National Services Purchasing, National Health Board
• The Working Together More Fund – Bede Martin, Director, Interact Canterbury

Watch for workshop dates for Wellington, Palmerston North and Auckland during 2013.

Incentivising Collaboration workshop notes from Midlands (12 Nov 2012)

Sixty-five people from 51 organisations attended this event in Hamilton and made new connections for potential collaboration.
Presentations included:

• An overview of collaboration by Alison Molloy, Chief Executive of Autism NZ
• The DHB perspective by Sandra Boardman, General Manager Planning Funding and Population Health at Taranaki DHB and Chair of the Midlands region DHBs funding and planning general managers’ network
• A Relationships Aotearoa case study – presented by Jane Kerr-Bell with Colleen and Nambruka
• Group discussion on potential opportunities.

You can download a copy of these presentations/discussion notes in the right-hand column of this webpage.