“Blackmail, Bribery and Arm-Twisting on the Road to Charitable Collaboration”
A Research Study by Mark Bentley, Chief Executive, Auckland Communities Foundation
With over 25,000 charities currently registered nationally, New Zealand has one of the highest ratios of charities per person in the world, prompting fears of unnecessary competition and duplication of activity. The aim of this research was to identify and test a range of incentives that might be successful in encouraging effective collaboration when applied by philanthropic trusts to their work with charities in New Zealand and to specifically test the hypothesis that “in the long term, non-financial incentives have the potential to be more effective than financial incentives in encouraging collaboration between New Zealand charities”.
The academic literature was reviewed for features of good collaboration, barriers to collaboration and identification of specific incentives. A range of financial and non-financial incentives was identified which was then tested in field research with leaders in the New Zealand philanthropy and charity fields.
The results revealed important differences of emphasis between foundations and charities, yet are consistent enough to allow the creation of a proposed portfolio of incentives for use with charities in New Zealand. The study concludes that whilst financial incentives have an important stimulus role, skilful and thoughtful application of non-financial incentives is critical for the long term embedment of effective collaboration.
You can download the full report here or view it online section by section:
2. Literature Review on Collaboration
3. Potential Incentives to Develop Effective Collaboration
6. Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A – Incentives Grouped by Type
Appendix B – The Characteristics of Successful Collaboration
Appendix C – Analysis of Interview Feedback on Individual Incentives