Transcript LJH Wilton Park - British Library

Collaboration- The Case for
Strategic Pragmatism
Lucian J. Hudson,
Adviser on Collaborative Strategies
Former Director of Communication, FCO
Why this report, and why now?
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Collaboration: an idea right for its time. When it
works, huge advantage; when difficult, Boy is it
difficult!
Set of intractable problems, and social goals,
that can’t be achieved by one organization, or
by governments, business or NGOs working
alone.
Redefining organizational fitness-for-purpose:
CSR, collaboration and innovation all go hand
in hand.
Ground covered
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What is collaboration
What makes for effective collaboration
Impact on organizations
Social collaboration
Possibilities
FCO Report: Collaboration and its
Possibilities
• More than 100 organizations
contributed globally, including
20 governments.
• More than 200 contacts,
with a core virtual group of 20.
• British Ambassadors survey
(with support from Booz & Co)
• Chevening alumni network
input
Key visits and events during
assignment:
• Mexico, New Europe (Poland,
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary)
• Shell International, Lloyds TSB,
Futerra Communications
• European Commission, NATO and
UN Geneva-based international
organizations
• Sanofi Pasteur pandemic
Preparedness symposium, Portugal;
IPRA round-table.
Support from British Library, Said Business School at Oxford University,
and London Business School
Methodology
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My experience of 25 Posts. Career experience
of collaboration. Return to classic texts.
Tavistock Institute ideal of multi-disciplinary
integration.
Interviews and sustained correspondence.
Access to governments, business and NGOs.
Key intellectual inspirations: Stamp, QinetiQ
team, Huxham, Murray, Grint, Losada, Allen,
Cull, Anholt, public diplomacy network. Key
practitioner inspirations: 19 leaders panel.
Developing one’s own approach: “suspending
assumptions while explain them to the other”.
Advocacy/inquiry mix. The “interested”
enabler. The “enterprising” public servant.
Reflection on the practice: step back to
get ahead!
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My own experience as a practitioner. Taking a
step back to be even more strategic - and
innovative about policy.
A report on collaboration was itself an exercise
in collaboration.
Conceptual approach vs. lived experience: 4
types of knowledge.
Management & business studies: relevance
and priority
Personal mastery. Dealing with the “shadow”
of Myers-Briggs scores. Translation and
transformation.
Case for strategic pragmatism
“Collaboration, by its very nature, means that
traditional means of control - market and hierarchy cannot be used to manage relations among
participating organizations. Instead, it depends on the
ongoing negotiation of relationships by individuals who
are both participants in the collaboration, and, at the
same time, accountable to and representative of the
diverse organizations and communities involved in,
and affected by, it.”
Hardy and Grant, 2005. Quoted in: Lotia and Hardy (2008) pp.
366-367
Case for optimism
“If we combine our efforts with other people’s efforts, we can make
our resources go further, and achieve more impact.”
Steven Fisher, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy, Budapest
“Companies that do not transparently communicate their
sustainability performance are running out of excuses”
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, Anglo-American
“Whether you are a manager in the public or private sector,
collaboration taps a source of value that includes, but goes so
much further than, price- the value of what people can accomplish
together if they really apply themselves, and organizations support
and develop them”.
Verna Stewart, Strategic Relationship Director, Strategic Development
Solutions, Lloyds TSB
Case for caution
“You have to be tough-minded and have enough
sensitivity to make collaboration work. It’s not just
people who have egos; organizations have egos
too.”
Diplomat in one of the NATO missions, Brussels
Challenge for Social Collaboration
Is our role as architects,
builders & interested enablers
as much as leaders?
Business can be more
strategic than
government but expects
government to deliver
on any collaboration
Business
Governments alone can't achieve social goals. Private sector
investment and responsibility & NGO expertise and networks needed.
Government
Collaboration
Corporate Social Responsibility:
not just PR but business strategy
Citizens
We are not bystanders. We
want solutions
NGO perspective: Are governments
allies, targets or partners? Issues:
independence, funding
NGOs
Different tensions in role of NGOs:
advocacy, delivering services,
enabling solutions or problem-solving,
improving governance or
transparency, harnessing new or
existing markets
Civil Society: evolution of roles
NGOs can perform one or more of the following roles,
regardless of whether they were large or small, global,
national, regional or local:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Advocacy: pursuit and promotion of policy objectives
Delivery of services: complementing or substituting for
government or other public service provision
Enabling solutions or problem-solving, working with
government or business
Improving governance, rule of law, transparency
Harnessing existing or new markets in countries where
NGO credibility and reliability helps business achieve
legitimacy and local support.
NGO waves of evolution
1. Foundation wave
NGO rethinks strategy & priorities
Investment in IT
2. Transformation wave
Organizations and sector address
entire approach
Investment in human capital/training
3. Collaboration wave
New era where governments,
businesses & NGOs work together
seamlessly
Source: Gib Bulloch, Accenture Development Partnerships
Evolution of role of business
1. Collaboration: innovation and productivity
2. Intractable problems: business opportunities
3. Shaping, not just responding to, economic
environments
4. Tapping invisible value: brand equity and
reputation
5. Civic action, not just compliance
Government/Business evolution
Coca-Cola Company
invest millions in an
alliance between
USAID and local
bottling facilities in
Africa, Asia and South
America to conserve
water resources
Starbucks Corporation
work with Verde
Ventures, Calvert
Foundation, EcoLogic
Finance, Conservation
International and
USAID to finance more
than $12m in loans for
rural entrepreneurs in
Latin & Central
America
MTV provide
technological resources
to a $13m alliance
between USAID and
MTV Europe
Foundation to increase
awareness and prevent
trafficking of women
and children for forced
labour and sexual
abuse
The reasons behind these investments are straightforward: self-interest.
Companies that rely on the natural resources and human capital of emerging
markets are investing and instituting sustainable development practices and
education initiatives in partnership with the U.S. government because both
government foreign assistance programs and companies alike are dependent
on the global economy. Because of this reliance, both the public and private
sector are motivated to act.” James Thompson, US State Department
Effective collaboration between
business, governments and regulators
• Taking a strategic, long-term view of the regulatory
framework in which business operates;
• Creating an effective dialogue between the regulator and
those regulated;
• Recognizing that the languages of business and
regulation can be different- and making the effort to
understand those differences;
• Allocating time and resources to collaborating on the codesign of regulations;
• Investing in the development of the personal
relationships and mutual trust that are necessary to
achieved shared objectives.
Source: 11th Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC
Case study: M-PESA
• Vodafone and Safaricom, Kenya, with DFID funding,
launched M-PESA, a mobile phone-based payment
service that targeted customers in Kenya who didn’t
have bank accounts.
• Lack of infrastructure in Kenya in fixed-line telephony,
and in banking, ensured growth of pre-pay mobile
telephones and a means to transfer money.
• DFID funding enabled the companies to spend more
time on ‘needs assessment’ in the product development
phase, brought expertise in the financial sector and gave
the project a high profile.
• Stakeholders (Kenyan government, NGOs, International
Organisations and private sector) have assisted with
regulatory buy-in to the M-PESA service.
• Massive customer up-take in project’s first year indicates
pent up demand for simple financial transaction services.
Case study: Tourism Industry Emergency
Response (TIER)
Following the London bombings of 7 July 2005, TIER went
into action to:
• Provide accurate, consistent information to reassure and
inform visitors
• Promote a clear ‘business as usual’ message in UK and
international media
• Ensure media worldwide and UK Government are given
consistent messages from Britain’s tourism industry
• Limit speculation as to the possible financial impact of 7
July and provide the authoritive impact assessment
• Leverage opportunities to demonstrate consumer
confidence and kickstart recovery.
The TIER campaign effectively brought together in a
collaborative arrangement Britain’s vast and fragmented
tourism industry to communicate with one voice.
Evaluation: Yes, please: more, and better
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UN Report on Partnerships (2005)
The Global Fund (2008)
PwC Annual Global CEO Survey (2008)
World Economic Forum Leaders Report (2008)
Leadership response to types of problem
Increasing
uncertainty about
solution to problem
WICKED
TAME
CRITICAL
LEADERSHIP:
Ask questions
COMMAND:
Provide answer
COERCION
MANAGEMENT:
Organize process
CALCULATIVE
Hard power
Source: Grint, K. (2005) p.1477
NORMATIVE
Soft power
Increasing
requirement for
collaborative
resolution
Drivers of effective collaboration
To be effective, experience indicates that on the whole, collaboration
builders need to:
1. Think of collaboration as part of a bigger play
Align the collaboration with strategy to deliver, if possible, the
highest common denominator - collaboration can be at the heart of
plans, or complement and reinforce other plans.
2. Achieve results with genuine, more broad-based support
Combine effectiveness with legitimacy, particularly if the
collaboration itself can’t deliver changes, but the combined effort of
others in society can, if motivated and inspired to behave differently.
3. Keep up the focus and momentum, and secure meaningful
involvement from most partners
Lead and manage with and through others, managing complexity,
uncertainty, ambiguity and difference- yet accept trade-offs to
achieve the common end.
4. Experiment, evolve and improve
Adapt to, and try to shape, immediate and wider environments- the
collaborative world is not about winning an argument, but working
together to do what’s right, now and in the future.
15 steps needed to implement a
collaborative strategy
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Clarify the purpose
Aim high
Strive for commonality of interest
Evaluate success
Create value – and demonstrate values
Understand the different contexts in which collaboration operates
Use political intelligence
Show long-term commitment
Use all four types of knowledge
Establish common principles
Decide the timing
Manage the dynamics
Exploit creative potential
Tap the undercurrents
Tap the talent
• Aim high
Aiming high in collaboration means raising the sights
of what negotiations can produce in creating and
delivering value.
• Strive for commonality of interest
All the best negotiations aspire to reaching what
economists call the Pareto optimum - the point of
agreement which favours each side equally,
maximising the gains, and minimizing the losses.
Cycle of Collaboration: 7 Steps
1. Identify, assess, and act on the opportunity - political, economic and
social dividends
2. Design collaboration, attract and select partners
3. Convene: gather information and build relationships
4. Frame challenge and opportunity; explore options and
solutions
5. Align interests, focus the choice
6. Establish and require personal and organizational commitment
7. Decide, implement, review and learn
Collaborative partnerships model
Indicator value
Upper limit
STEADY
Collaboration
complementary to
main focus of
organization
CRISIS
Collaboration
essential
UNCERTAIN
collaboration
even more of
an option
NEW STEADY
STATE?
collaboration an
option
Time
Zone 1:
“Things are going
well, and we can
always do better”
Zone 2:
“Things
look
good but
it doesn’t
feel
good”
Zone 3:
“Things are
going wrong,
and unless
decisive action
is taken they
will get worse”
Zone 4:
“Things are better,
everything feels back to
normal but can we count
on that”
Source: Hudson, Dodd, Marsay, Stamp & QinetiQ, 2008
Natural ‘floor’
Collaboration: its impact on
organizations
• Depending on context and environment,
collaboration can become even more important,
and the main way in which organizations shape
their efforts.
• Collaboration provides a way of achieving what
is not immediately possible, especially in a
turbulent environment. It can become the engine
for change and renewed growth.
• Collaboration can be seen as a temporary
organization and transitional space in which to
foster innovation and learning, essential for longterm survival.
How we can all raise our game to make
collaboration work
• In the context of achieving social goals, governments can think as
much about their role as architects and builders (shaping the
conditions in which collaboration happens, and delivering their part in
it), as about their role as leaders (taking the primary responsibility for
securing results).
• Despite evidence of increasing collaboration as a source of business
success, the full potential of collaboration has yet to be reached.
• Companies find themselves under social, as well as competitive,
pressure. They are subject to new levels of transparency, whether in
response to changes in corporate governance, or to public concerns
on environment or consumer rights.
• Corporate social responsibility is a means for companies to better
connect with their stakeholders and customers, as well as their own
employees.
• NGOs can play a crucial role in delivering on social goals, particularly
in development- but they need to better equipped for the challenges
that lie ahead.
“[If] the health of any society is only as secure as the medical conditions of the
worst-off society, whose infections can circle the globe in hours, there must be
ample reason for GlaxoSmithKline or Pfizer to join with the WHO to improve
preventive care and early warning systems in the poorest countries.”
“International NGOs do not have that basis in legitimacy that is provided by
democratic processes. What is needed is greater transparency in the
operations and funding of NGOs. Among the most important NGOs, although
we don’t think of them this way, are multinational corporations. Just as
governments in the era of the market state will have to learn the business
methods of wealth creation, so businessmen- however much they dislike it- will
have to learn the methods of winning public consent, for they have truly global
interests.”
Philip Bobbitt ‘Terror and Consent’ 2008
“Public governance is a global issue. No longer can businesses, governments
or non-governmental organizations afford to act independently of each other the stakes are just too high. Only through a combined effort can we achieve
economic growth, sustainability, and create an opportunity for a better life for
people everywhere.“
John Connolly, Chairman, Global Board, Deloitte