Collaboration – Cooperation or Fraternizing?
Collaboration – noun
- The action of working with someone to produce something – cooperation
- Traitorous cooperation with an enemy -fraternizing
Collaboration is a word that that is used frequently in these times of partnership working. Talking to colleagues across Scotland both meanings of the word seem to be in play across Partnerships where some have embraced the notion of working cooperatively whereas others seem to have a notion that working with the independent sector is a form of fraternization. Within independent sector organisations a similar dichotomy is at play with some people willing to work together whilst others will not share ideas and good practice with similar organisations.
Luckily for me I work in an area – Angus – where cooperation has the upper hand over fraternization, it is uneven but spaces are opening up for cooperation between people at different levels in different organisations to bring about service innovation and change. This became clear at a recent meeting of one of our locality care home improvement groups. Sitting round the table were Care Home Managers -Corporate and Independent, a GP, Practice Managers, Pharmacist, Health Service Manager, Care Manager. During this time participants agreed to setting up two tests of change relating to improving medication systems across Care Homes, Health Practices and Community Pharmacy. Discussions were positive and people were listening to each other as they discovered the systems and limitations of how people work in different parts of the Partnership. People left the meeting commenting on how it had been useful and helpful to their own work. I then caught myself thinking back to previous meetings of the same group where attendance had been low and I was having to sell the idea of positive collaboration to various people. It has not been an easy process and I am sure that the progress of the group will be uneven but I am hoping that the positivity of this last meeting will continue and people will realise that collaborative working is good for all of us and the people who use our services.
