Communities for children: Evaluating an implementation of the facilitating partner model

ABSTRACT

Community development activities and some social service delivery have been progressively shifting toward networked collaborative models over recent years, contributing to increasing interest in the conditions which support organizations working together effectively. One such condition is a coordinating organization acting to build relationships, ensure program cohesion, and develop shared goals. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a collaborative model delivering programs for families and children in an area experiencing complex social issues and socioeconomic disadvantage. It illustrates how the right coordinating organization, in this case a not-for-profit with deep links to the local area; a relational approach to coordination; and a commitment to fostering a collaborative culture can support partnerships and improve outcomes for communities. The findings suggest that not-for-profits can be ideally placed to act as coordinating organizations, bridging the divide between government funders and communities and effectively acting as the “friendly” local face of collaborative activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Human services
• collaboration
• partnership
• evaluation
• collective impact
• children’s services

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge and thank the Playford Communities for Children staff, Community Partners and other community members who assisted with this study. We are grateful to AnglicareSA, and especially project team members Sue Christophers and Samantha Haskard, for partnering with us in this study. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not AnglicareSA. The authors also appreciate the very helpful comments made by the anonymous reviewers of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper draws on the data and findings of an independent evaluation of the Facilitating Partner model at the Playford Communities for Children initiative in northern metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. The work was funded by AnglicareSA.