Useful Tools and Resources
Suggested Tools Included in the Primer
Communications Planning
The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants has a number of communications resources, including a strategic communication planning document created by the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society for the Centre for Community Organizations. This document has excellent communications guidelines, and features in its appendices “How to facilitate a creative brainstorm” and an “audience profiling” table. For a list of communications resources : Visit Website
Evaluation
The Collaborative Assessment Tool is one example of a short activity that can be completed by members of a collaborative and discussed as a group. It is intended to help identify (as a baseline) areas that can be strengthened as well as provide a gauge of progress. This tool is freely available online here: Visit Website
The Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory is another free online tool that includes 42 questions. Responses to these questions are used to calculate scores on 20 factors (such as leadership) that research has indicated are important for collaborative success. This inventory could be used periodically to assess how these factors are changing in the collaborative over time. Access the online inventory here: Visit Website
At Innovation Network tools, the Evaluation Plan Builder guides the creation of flexible questions to fit real-life evaluation needs. Free online registration is required. Visit Website
Sustainability
Tools for Sustainability is a document that reviews several approaches for reaching sustainability and includes tools to help readers discern how they might sustain their efforts. This document, along with the appended worksheets and tools, is available here: Visit Website
The sustainability section of the University of Kansas Community Toolbox includes many additional questions and resources to assist in the development of a sustainability plan, including how to create a business plan, and how to write an annual budget. Access the sustainability section of this toolbox here: Visit Website
The Program Sustainability Assessment Tool can be used to take baseline and follow-up ‘snapshot assessments’ of a collaborative program’s sustainability. These can be used to help inform sustainability planning discussions. This tool is available at: Visit Website
Community Engagement
A webinar with a wealth of information about maximizing community engagement, including strategies for involving stakeholders in project planning is available here: Visit Website
Conflict Resolution
The University of Kansas Community Toolbox, has many strategies for conflict resolution. Visit Website
Memorandum of Understanding
The CDC developed a sample Memorandum of Understanding template as part of its Collaboration Guide for Pacific Island Cancer and Chronic Disease Programs available here: Visit Website
Readiness Assessment
The Partnerships Analysis Tool and Checklist is an online resource available from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation. The interactive checklist allows users to generate aggregate scores on 7 subscales (e.g., determining the need for the partnership) by responding to a series of questions. Access the tool online here: Visit Website
The Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory is a free online tool that includes 42 questions. Responses to these questions are used to calculate scores on 20 factors (such as leadership) that research has indicated are important for collaborative success. Access the online inventory here: Visit Website
Resource Mapping
The USAID Collaboration Mapping Tool is an interactive tool for visually mapping relationships between stakeholders. To access this tool and the guide, go to: Visit Website
The Assessing Community Needs and Resources section of the University of Kansas Community Toolbox offers guidance for conducting an assessment of community resources. Access this Community Toolbox here: Visit Website
Additional Tools
Collaboration Assessment
The Collaboration Multiplier is an interactive tool for strengthening collaborative efforts on complex social challenges. The tool is designed to be used in a variety of different stages of collaboration and is available here: Visit Website
Policy Development
The BC Healthy Communities Stakeholder guide supports collaboratives in drafting and developing public policy and is available here: Visit Website
Sustainability
The Sustaining Comprehensive Community Initiatives: Key Elements for Success is a sustainability analysis tool to support long term sustainability planning for community initiatives. It identifies eight critical elements for success that constitute a sustainability framework and examines each of these elements in detail. Visit Website