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 In the Collaborative Leadership Fieldbook: A Guide for Citizens and Civic Leaders, David Chrislip expands upon Collaborative Leadership (1994) by offering practitioners tools that can be easily applied to their own efforts. The Fieldbook is organized in four parts: The Importance of Collaboration, Premises and Principles of Successful Collaboration, Practices of Successful Collaboration, Stories and Examples of Successful Collaboration and Civic Leadership Development. The central points presented in these sections are summarized below.
Part I Meta: The Importance of Collaboration. In Part One, Chrislip discusses the civic challenges in America. He stresses that there must be new standards for civic engagement, and suggests a number of standards. He then looks at various responses to these civic challenges, such as campaign reform, reinventing government, and the communitarian movement.
Next, Chrislip examines the historic context of collaboration. He illustrates how democracy and civil society are intertwined, and how democracy evolves either with or without civil society. He provides a number of actions that can be taken to build a civic community, including developing civic leadership in colleges and universities, holding forums for civic engagement, and developing networks of responsibility.
Part II Macro: Premises and Principles of Successful Collaboration. In Part Two, Chrislip defines collaboration as a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more parties to achieve common goals by sharing responsibility, authority, and accountability for achieving common goals. He goes on to state that collaboration is more than simply sharing knowledge and information and more than a relationship that helps each party achieve its own goals, and that the purpose of collaboration is to create a shared vision and joint strategies to address concerns that go beyond the purview of any particular party. He provides eight assumptions surrounding collaboration, and outlines a number of basic concepts about collaboration, such as facilitation and consensus-based decision making.
Next, Chrislip provides a framework for collaboration. He offers the collaborative premise: if you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization or community. He then outlines the four critical requirements for collaboration: constituency for change, process expertise, availability of content experts, and strong, facilitative leadership.
Chrislip then outlines the four phases of the collaborative process, which include (1) getting started, (2) setting up for success, (3) working together, and (4) moving to action.
Part III Micro: Practices of Successful Collaboration. Part Three expands upon the four phases of the collaborative process: getting started; setting up for success; working together; and moving to action. For each of these phases, Chrislip supplies precise steps that must be taken to complete these phases and identifies tools that can be used in the process. He then describes how communities can design civic leadership development programs, including such topics as program outcomes, how to select faculty, and evaluating the program.
Part IV Stories and Examples of Successful Collaboration and Civic Leadership Development. Part Four is a collection of case studies that demonstrate successful collaboration and civic leadership development. Highlighted regions include Silicon Valley; Portland, Maine; and Sitka, Alaska. These case studies, many written by individuals who were directly involved, reveal the process, partners, lessons learned, and impacts of the collaborative process. These case studies cover a variety of regional demographics and address a number of issues.
One such case study featured Joint Venture Silicon Valley (JVSV), a highly active participant in the ARS network. Christopher Wilson, who authors this chapter, presents the historic setting that leads to the need for collaborative initiatives and how the case was made for organizations and associations to collaborate. Wilson outlines the steps taken by JVSV, from the founding of the organization through the results that have been realized from the organizations collaborative efforts. He also describes how JVSV has worked to ensure that these efforts continue even though the framework and purpose of the organization may change.
This book, with its combination of academic theory, history, and practical case studies, is a highly useful resource for any individual, organization, or region that is involved in collaboration, regardless of what stage they are at. Chrislip provides useful insights into the collaborative process, and does so in a clear, straightforward manner. The Collaborative Leadership Fieldbook is a must-have for anyone who is serious about collaboration and creating effective regional initiatives.
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