There are two words which are spoken at every event you attend by guest speakers or contained in presentations. No matter what the event, these words are mentioned, but very rarely is it explained what people mean by them. What are the words “Collaborative Working”?

As a practitioner for the Institute of Collaborative Working (ICW) I am always very interested in the context of which these words are quoted. Collaborative Working is very fashionable and has been sweeping through various sectors, especially Road & Rail, for a number of years. We hear it mentioned in Devo Deals, with the NHS and have even heard the DfT talk about it with Local Authorities. However, we need to be clear that two parties talking to each other is not collaborative working – that is a conversation.

The first and most crucial point is when two or more parties are looking to collaborate; they must establish and agree what collaborative working means in their agreement/arrangement. You see, collaboration means very different things to very different organisations and their people. It’s a fundamental principle that all must agree and sign up to – one definition that you are all agreed upon to move forward harmoniously. If not you are destined to fail.

Alleviate Consulting Limited are very passionate about collaboration and are strong advocates for the principles of collaborative arrangements. However, we do not support collaboration for the sake of collaboration – poor collaboration does not benefit anyone. It must work for the mutual benefits of all parties. Not all parties are best suited to collaborative working and it should not just be a tick box exercise to satisfy a client’s question on a pre-qualification document.

Collaborative working is not the easy option; it is hard work and may be alien to many parties who have worked in isolation or in a confrontational manner historically. The industry has not encouraged collaboration and now we are being asked to behave in a manner that is at odds with most organisations and people. Our business and individual objectives do not encourage or support this new behaviour; it has always been about the strongest or most commercially driven and astute who wins the prize.

Do you know there is a world standard for collaborative working? It is called BS11000!! It is the world’s first standard for collaborative working. There are three main principle components of BS11000 which are Strategic, Engagement and Management. There are eight stages in the principle components that make up the framework which are Awareness, Knowledge, Internal Assessment, Partner Selection, Working Together, Value Creation, Staying Together and the Exit Strategy. BS11000 reflects the overall life cycle of a collaborative arrangement between two or more organisations. BS11000 helps you manage and mitigate risk when working collaboratively for all parties with the process and business tools it recommends.

BS11000 and the NEC forms of contract will not make you work collaboratively, but will provide you with the environment to encourage collaboratively. You need to take the written word from the page and bring it alive to see the real benefits of BS11000 – we cannot change our behaviour overnight. There is no doubt that collaborative working, if operated within the spirit of BS11000, will provide you with a culture and working environment that will be a positive experience for all parties.