What

How

Step 1. Create a shared vision.

Review the team’s description of quality early care & education & culture.

Review what is, and isn’t, collaboration.

Identify the team’s ideals for quality care & education in the community.

Summarize ideals that everyone can support.

Step 2. Learn about the community’s needs, resources and services.

Review resource directories, databases & other sources to broadly identify the community’s current early care & education resources and services.

Focus the review & gather in-depth information on areas of greatest interest & concern.

Summarize & share findings of the team’s broad & in-depth efforts.

Identify how the team will periodically disseminate & update this information.

Step 3. Develop goals for the team and identify potential strategies to address goals.

Discuss how findings from the review of resources & services will influence the team’s goals.

Identify connections between the team’s vision & its priority concerns for children & families.

Develop the broad goals the team will pursue.

For each goal, discuss what needs to change to accomplish the goal.

Brainstorm actions and steps that address the things that need to change.

Review brainstorming results and use them to identify potential strategies.

Create a summary of goals and potential strategies.

Step 4. Learn about innovative strategies.

Learn how other communities use strategies being considered by the team.

Review findings with the team.

Identify strategies to consider implementing.

Step 5. Build support for new working relationships.

Identify where support for collaboration is strong in the community.

Assess the feasibility of drawing on this support for each potential strategy.

Where potential strategies need additional support, brainstorm ways the team can increase support.

What

How

Step 6. Select feasible strategies.

Discuss the feasibility of each potential strategy.  Consider the fit with the team’s vision, required resources, sensitivity to children & families of the community, support from agencies & the community, and interests of the team.

Select two or three strategies as starting points for the team.

Keep additional strategies, if desired, but develop longer timelines & devote fewer resources.

Step 7. Identify tasks, responsibilities, and time lines to achieve strategies.

For each strategy, identify who will benefit and which changes are expected.

Identify the tasks that will lead to these benefits and expected changes.

For each task, identify the resources needed, the team’s roles and responsibilities, and a time line.

Review and refine the description of tasks, responsibilities, and time lines across goals.

Step 8. Draft written agreements.

Use the work of the team to date to draft the written agreement.

Gather feedback and secure support for the written agreement.

Revise and finalize the written agreement.

Celebrate and publicize the signing of the written agreement.

Step 9. Monitor progress and revise written agreement on a regular basis.

Review progress on the written agreement at each team meeting.

Revise the written agreement, as needed.

Share successes and accomplishments of the team frequently.

Disseminate information about the team’s progress to decision makers, parents and others in the community.