Resources

Chris Thompson, president of Civic Collaboration Consultants, LLC, regularly writes, presents and facilitates workshops on collaboration, collaborative leadership and collective impact.

Handbook

Collaboration — A handbook on key lessons in cross-sector collaboration published in October 2016 by the Fund for Our Economic Future

Articles & Case Studies

The 3 Essentials of Civic Collaboration — An essay published in March 2024 as part of a special section of Crain’s Cleveland Business focused on collaboration.

Three Lessons from Rereading “Collective Impact” — Published by Stanford Social Innovation Review

Collaborative Leadership Mindset and Skills

Case Study: Cuyahoga Workforce Funders Group

Presentations & Podcasts

Building System Leadership Skills: Chris joins with members and supporters of the Advance Together Leadership Academy to talk about the five skills required to support a collective impact collaborative on the Collective Impact Forum Podcast.

Essential Mindset & Skillsets of Backbone Leaders: Chris joins Liz Weaver of Tamarack Institute for a webinar to discuss the unusual mindset and the five skills required to lead a backbone entity that supports a collective impact effort.

Beyond CoBLABoration: Watch Chris’ webinar with the Tamarack Institute on how to get beyond coblaboration and achieve enduring, positive change through effective collaboration.

Transformation Through Collaboration: Watch Chris share key lessons in how to use cross sector collaboration to transform our communities during the kickoff of the Fireland Forward effort.

Tools & Tactics

Collaboration Disruptors: How to work with members of a collaborative who are more disruptive than supportive.

Building While Flying: Three essential elements to building and sustaining an effective civic collaborative.

Getting Good at the Unusual: Sustaining effective collaboratives requires unusual behaviors, skills and structures that are different from those that are needed for organizational success.

5 Skills for Supporting a Collaborative: Staff charged with supporting a community collaborative use five specific skills to navigate through the collaboration cycle and help the partners achieve their shared goals

Navigating the Collaboration Cycle: Civic collaboration is a journey we take with others. The collaboration cycle is a map of that journey that can help us make progress on our journey.

The Super Power of Inquiry: Cross-sector collaborations begin when leaders start asking new questions and listen deeply to the answers that emerge from those questions.

Tools for Facilitation: Cross-sector collaborations require skilled facilitation. Chris shares several tools and techniques to help facilitators avoid “Ground Hog Day Meetings,” build momentum and catalyze enduring, positive community change.

Measuring Trust: Collaborations move at the speed of trust. But how do we measure the level of trust that has been built within our collaboration? Chris provides practical tools and tips on how to better assess trust within your collaboration.

Bibliography for Collaborative Leaders: Exercising leadership within a collaborative environment is demanding, difficult work. Thankfully there are a lot of smart people for us to learn from. Chris provides a list of articles and books that he relies on often to support his coaching and design work.