THE COLLABORATORY FOR STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS AND APPLIED RESEARCH
TheCollaboratory’s
Best Practice Guide
THE COLLABORATORY FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND APPLIED RESEARCH
A Leader’s Best Practice Guide
The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research
1 College Avenue • Suite 3034
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 (U.S.A.)
Phone: 717-796-1800 (ext. 7226) • Email: [email protected]
Download The Collaboratory’s Best Practice Guide (BPG) here:
http://www.thecollaboratoryonline.org/wiki/EX:Collaboratory_Downloads
The Collaboratory’s Best Practice Guide 2012-08-19
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1
Setting Your Project Up for Success .................................................................. 2
Planning Successful Projects................................................................................... 2
Setting Attainable Milestones ................................................................................. 2
Assigning Manageable Tasks .................................................................................. 3
Conducting Exciting Meetings ............................................................................... 4
Creating Meaningful Documentation .................................................................... 4
Obtaining Necessary Funds .................................................................................... 6
Building Meaningful Lasting Relationships ..................................................... 7
Establishing Good Client Relations....................................................................... 7
Making the Most of Your Advisor ........................................................................ 8
Building Team Commitment .................................................................................. 9
Traveling Done Right ............................................................................................ 10
The Collaboratory’s Best Practice Guide 2012-08-19
Introduction
Definition: A best practice guide is a short guide of practical tips from
people who have gone before you. It doesn’t contain definitions or theory –
it is comprised of tried and true methods.
List of Contributors
Alex Brubaker ‘11, Disability Resources
Sandy Dzielak ‘12, Staff
Sarah Finney ‘12, Disability Resources
Jaime Gerhart ‘12, Disability Resources
Hope Hess ‘12, Micro-Economic Development
Erik Hornberger ‘12, Transportation
Charlie Kimpel ‘12, Disability Resources
Pam Kirkpatrick ‘13, Education
Kevin Manieri ‘12, Energy
Trevor Smith ‘12, Energy
Dena Steiner ‘12, Disability Resources
Jean Zipagan ‘13, Disability Resources
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1
Chapter
Setting Your Project Up for Success
Planning Successful Projects


With every team, include at least one experienced member among newer
members, i.e. do not put together teams comprised of just first-year
students.
Project leadership transitions should start at early (e.g. mid-year) to
provide time for training from the current leader.
Setting Attainable Milestones

Set a milestone that challenges your members to work, but not a milestone
that overwhelms prevents them from getting anything done. One way to
do this would be to conduct weekly check-ups with members/teams to
monitor their progress and develop accountability.

Allowing team members to think about and create their own SMART
goals with mentoring help from upperclassmen can greatly improve the
team’s success rate in meeting their goals. As team members create their
own goals, they feel more ownership and incentive to complete the tasks
assigned to them, while also decreasing the administrative load of the
project leader.
2

As you set goals, make sure there are benchmarks and due dates along
with them. It’s helpful to have these goals in a place for the entire group to
see. That way, you stay accountable as the leader and the group can know
if they are coming close to meeting that goal or have quite a bit of work to
do.

Set goals that are achievable according to the skill sets of the group
members. Do not expect or assume each individual has the same skillset or
passion as another member just because they may have the major.

Set goals with some cushion. We all want everything to happen as soon as
it can, but if we don't allow for a couple days (or weeks depending on the
task) of cushion time then things will fall behind quickly and people will
become disappointed that they couldn't finish even just a simple task,
primarily because not enough time was given.
Assigning Manageable Tasks

To improve team member commitment and investment in the project,
provide members with tasks that are meaningful and that they are
interested in doing. Give members a list of the team’s SMART goals and
allow them to choose their tasks.

When sending out emails to members requesting any form of feedback or
response, always be as specific as possible about when you'd like for them
to respond by. Even going as far as saying, for example, to respond by
Wednesday, May 16, before midnight, can prove to be helpful for
recipients to have an exact deadline.

In any email to a peer, client, or advisor, ensure it is clear what you want
them to do with the email. Let them know if it is purely information you
want them to know but not necessarily act on (FYI - For Your
Information), if you want approval (Yes/No), if you want their thoughts
on it, or if you would like them to do something.

In assigning tasks, I have found it most efficient to write down a list of
tasks, print them off and hand them out in a meeting, then have members
take a couple minutes to look at them and see if there is anything that
peaks their interest. If members are a part of a project that they enjoy, the
project as a whole will benefit greatly. Whereas, if a member is forced into
something they can't stand, especially in regard to something they could
have been doing for the group, they will likely leave and go where they feel
more accepted and less pressured.
3
Conducting Exciting Meetings

To create an meeting environment that members enjoy:
1. Use positive reinforcement and recognition
2. Allow time to socialize
3. Provide snacks

At the beginning of meetings, ask all the members to write their name,
hours worked, and chapel attendance on the whiteboard. The visibility
provides accountability and members who put in a lot of work to receive
recognition from their friends. It also serves as a gentle reminder to
members who are falling down on the job. As a bonus, it provides data for
the group leader to enter into MAP more easily.

Update your group on everything project-related. Formal meetings and
detailed emails are great, but don't underestimate the effectiveness of
giving small updates with something like a text message.

Schedule occasional milestone or major meetings at your advisors' houses.
For example, the KWHR team had an 8-hour marathon meeting at Dr.
Fish's house. This kind of thing helps to focus the team's efforts and
builds relationships.

Schedule members ahead of time to demonstrate completed tasks, and
then celebrate their successes at project meetings.

For students who already have a vested interest in their project, allow them
time to manage themselves. For example, rather than meeting with them
every week, meet them every two weeks, giving them more responsibility
in managing themselves.

Regularly involve your members in allowing them to provide feedback
about how meetings are being run.
Creating Meaningful Documentation

Document anything and everything—not just the things that worked but
also the things that didn’t work.

Encourage your members to take photos of their work along the way. This
will save them time and hassle as they complete their reports.
4

When naming documents, put the date in your document title. This is
incredibly important because it allows people to find the latest version at a
glance. For example: "SP12_Project Outcomes_Document_2012Feb06"

The key to keeping files organized is consistency, consistency, consistency.
It may vary between different groups or projects, but at least within your
project, decide on a file and folder naming scheme and stick with it.
o Good example:
 trainingmanual_20120612.doc
 trainingmanual_20110511.doc
 projectoutcomesdocument_20110112.doc
o
Bad example:
 training manual_06-12-12.doc
 training manual_rev1.doc
 DVader_projectoutcomesdocument_20110112.doc

Though keeping records of old files can be useful, keep your folders easy
to navigate and documents easy to look up by keeping only the most
recent (or 2-3 most recent) versions of the same document. If you do not
want to delete them, setup an archive folder to dump these old files in, as
to only keep the most recent documents in the most obvious places.

Be a good example in how you handle your documents, i.e. keep your
documents updated on the server--don’t just wait to transfer all your files
from your personal computer/flash drive at the end of the year.

Write everything down!! Keep a [detailed] notebook from meetings. It
can be as detailed as you make it, but as long as you write down the key
points of the meeting and anything your brain tells you, "Oh, I should
probably write this down." It's not going to hurt. In fact, you may get
moments where someone asks you a question and you say, "Hold on, let
me go get my notebook. I know I wrote it down somewhere!" It's better
than saying, “Hmmmm...I'm not really sure, go ask someone else.”
5
Obtaining Necessary Funds

For small purchases under $100, you can make the purchase then just get
reimbursed. Purchases greater than $100 will need to be pre-approved by
Tony Caito.
o Purchases $0 - $50 needs signed approval from the group leader
o Purchases $51 - $999 needs signed approval from the group or
project advisor

Always keep your receipts! It is easier to track down discrepancies in our
financial system this way.
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2
Chapter
Building Meaningful Lasting
Relationships
Establishing Good Client Relations

Work early to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and joint
partnership between your client and the Collaboratory project team. Make
a sustained effort to help the client know you value their input that you are
working with them not for them or in any position that you may be
perceived as superior to them.

Allow team members to introduce themselves to the clients by sending a
video saying hi. This will allow clients to reconnect with previous site team
members as well as get to know other members who do not have
opportunities to go on trips but still deserve credit for the work they do.

Be aware when multiple groups and people are involved with your project.
It is important to identify the right “go to” contact person within the client
base and when applicable exterior partner organizations to make important
decisions. When in doubt, keep asking people until you find the person
who stands out with the best advice and decision-making authority.
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
Never take it for granted that everyone is on the same page. Get all the
key people together when important plans and needs are reviewed to
ensure everyone hears the same thing, has a chance to ask clarifying
questions, and hears and understands the final agreements and next steps.

Network! Talk to people who know more about the area, people, culture,
needs, etc. than you do. Their input will shape what your project and goals
look like and their advice is crucial to the success and relevance of your
work. You never know when those relationships could come in handy.
Making the Most of Your Advisor

Invite your advisors and their families to Collaboratory events, i.e.
important chapels, prayer breakfasts, service day lunch picnic, etc.

Copy (cc:) advisors on emails to group members without expecting them
to be involved with every situation. Advisors are busy but you need to
keep them informed.

As a group leader, you should debrief your advisor about what happened
in each Leaders Committee Meeting (LCM). You are their only tie to
Collaboratory leadership, so any concerns they have must come to the
LCM through you.
8
Building Team Commitment

Memorize the names of your team members as soon as possible and use
them regularly. Addressing members by name builds candor and trust.

To build team commitment, integrate social activities to provide members
and advisors opportunities to get to know each other. Some examples
include having weekly icebreakers (random question of the week),
spontaneous fun activities like longboarding, Nerf gun wars, taco night,
barbecues, baking, high ropes course, longboarding, sushi night, frisbee,
etc.

Get people personally involved with the project as quickly as possible. As
new people come in, it is more likely they will remain committed if they
have a personal interest in the project. Focusing efforts on getting new
members up to speed and giving them meaningful tasks is essential.

It is important to provide miniature project updates to the entire group so
that all teams and/or projects are familiar with the work being done by
their fellow group members. It serves as a good reminder of why their
work is important and how the success or failure of their work affects the
rest of the team’s efforts.

Take the time with your team to get to know your client and the people
you're helping. Put faces to your clients. It helps improve commitment to
the project by emphasizing the genuine need.
9
Traveling Done Right

On a site team trip, if possible, take a video of clients thanking or saying
hi. For example with long term clients, they often ask us to say hi to
Messiah College, John Meyer, etc. Let them interface with us directly and
address those people via video.

It's really important to make sure you take the time beforehand to do
things that make the team feel like a family, especially if you have people
from different groups going on the same site team trip. It makes a better
atmosphere and lets everyone know that you can trust each member and
rely on them if you have a question or just need to talk to someone. This
is greatly needed as site team trips are first time endeavors for some
students, and even some faculty.

During pre-trip training, start encouraging members to prepare mentally
for the trip. There is often a lot of uncertainty in site team trips and
anything can happen, so good mental preparation will help keep the team
together.

After a site team trip, it is important to debrief the entire project
concerning the outcomes of the trip and include personal stories, photos,
videos of clients, etc.
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