If you don’t know where to start, nothing will happen.

Understanding and respecting each other’s interests

The most important thing you have to do is to understand and respect the different interests of the parties involved. Recognise that each party has unique priorities and concerns. Analyse each other and openly discuss what is essential to each party. By showing understanding and respect for each other’s views, you lay the foundation for a collaboration in which everyone feels heard and valued.

Create a flexible, self-organising structure

When organising cooperation between parties with different interests, a flexible and self-organising structure is crucial. Involved experts and organisations should be given the space to organise themselves into teams that fit their specific expertise and goals. A flat organisational structure with no strict hierarchy allows for rapid switching and adaptation to the needs of all parties. This promotes action-oriented cooperation, which is necessary when solving complex issues.

Enabling inclusive decision-making

To ensure that all parties, regardless of their interests, agree with the decisions taken, inclusive decision-making is essential. Use the consent principle, where decisions are taken as long as there are no strenuous objections. This avoids delaying decision-making by striving for full consensus and ensures that everyone, including smaller or less influential parties, remains involved in the process.

Define clear and flexible roles

Clear role definition is key, especially in a collaboration with diverging interests. Work with roles that are specifically tailored to the mission, authority and responsibility within the project. These roles should be flexible so that they can be adjusted as the collaboration progresses and needs change. This makes it easier to manage expectations and avoid conflict.

Working in circles: teams of teams

In complex collaborations, one team is often not enough to look after all interests. Therefore, it is useful to work in ‘circles’, or teams of teams. Each circle focuses on a specific part of the issue and has its own mission. This layered structure makes it possible to coordinate and manage different interests, while the collaboration as a whole remains coherent. Switching persons within the circles ensure the necessary coordination to keep the different interests well represented.

Steering by results, not process

When different parties work together, it can be tempting to focus on processes and procedures. However, to make real progress, it is essential to be result-oriented. Set clear, common goals that give direction to the collaboration. Break these goals down into achievable short-term goals that can reconcile different interests. By focusing on achieving concrete results, parties can focus on what really matters and it becomes easier to reach agreement.

Openness and transparency

In a collaboration with divergent interests, openness and transparency is crucial. Ensure that all stakeholders have access to the relevant information and that communication is open and honest. Transparency creates trust, reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings and makes it easier to work jointly on solutions that are acceptable to all. Sharing successes and challenges also helps to keep all parties involved and motivated.

Actively support the learning process

Working together in a new way, especially with diverse parties, requires ongoing support and guidance. Start with joint training in which all stakeholders learn how to work together effectively despite different interests. Provide ongoing guidance through coaching and regular knowledge updates. This learning process is essential to ensure that all parties are comfortable with the new way of working and can effectively contribute to the common goal.

Working with agile budgeting for flexibility

Agile budgeting is an effective way of dealing with the financial constraints and needs of different parties. By working with fixed budgets for set periods of time, with no overruns, you force teams to be creative and adapt their plans flexibly. This ensures that the available budget is used efficiently and that all parties have confidence in the project’s financial planning.

Evaluate and adjust regularly

It is important to regularly evaluate how the collaboration is going and whether the different interests are still well served. Plan fixed moments to look back at the results achieved and reflect on what is going well and what could be improved. This helps to continuously improve cooperation and ensure that all parties remain satisfied and committed to the common goal.

Building knowledge sharing

Finally, setting up an expertise circle is essential to make cooperation successful in the long term. This circle gathers and shares knowledge relevant to all parties and organises learning sessions in which the latest insights are shared. By making knowledge sharing central, all parties can benefit from each other’s expertise and it becomes easier to find joint solutions to the social issues at hand.

With these steps and tips, you can organise solid and effective cooperation around complex issues, even when different interests are at stake. Combining a flexible structure, inclusive decision-making and a strong focus on results-oriented work will help unite the various parties and work towards sustainable solutions.