by Iman Bibars, Leadership Group Member, Ashoka Vice President and the Regional Director of Ashoka Arab World

Collaboration is the key to making large-scale and profound change. At Ashoka we have something called collaborative platforms. We bring together people working in the same field who can complement each other. We start by bringing Ashoka fellows together and then we expand out. We want to include everyone working in a particular sector.

This is one way we are advancing the idea of “Everyone a Changemaker.” Collaboration is how we will achieve that vision.

Right now in Egypt, we have collaborative platforms in housing, disability rights, and education. And we are bringing together as many innovators working in each of these sectors as possible. But that’s just the beginning.

To encourage and advance collaboration, you cannot just make an introduction. You can’t simply say to a social innovator, “You know, I want to put you in touch with someone else doing great things in your field. I think you could really help each other achieve your goals.” That won’t work.

Instead, we enable them. And it’s a process. I spend time with them, and observe them. And I write up a treatment of their program. I identify the element of their work that will complement the other efforts in the field.

And I ask each of them, “What is it that separates you, that makes your work unique?” I then document their unique idea, put it down on paper with their name on it, and copywrite it, so they have ownership of that idea.

Because they are entrepreneurs, the ownership of their idea is very important to them. And if you start talking about collaborating, you need to assure them that their idea – what makes their work unique – remains their own. People want to work together and they are certainly not selfish, but you do have to convince them that, “yes, there is something in this for you.”

Then I begin putting together these people that complement one another.

And this way, when they come together for the first time, the framework is there for them to begin collaborating right away and in a very effective way. They each present that unique idea – that’s been documented as their own – and the others comment on it.

We’ve all been to meetings where it’s a very open-ended discussion, and a lot of “blah, blah, blah.” Because social innovators are so bright and so quick, and have so many ideas, there is a risk of that. You don’t want that. Nothing will happen if you don’t give them a framework for collaboration.

Another way I shape that framework is to have them work together to choose one significant goal, as a group, per year. They all have many things they want to achieve individually, but if they choose one main goal as a group, they will have a big impact for their entire sector.

So, for example, with our collaborative platform on disability, the group has chosen an ambitious plan to significantly strengthen a key law regarding the employment of people with disabilities. This gives them a focus, which as a group they are both passionate about and well equipped to achieve.

Part of that is because collaboration also results in much more powerful lobbying. If each person working in the sector is lobbying on his or her own and bringing two or three advocates to a meeting, of course that’s not going to work. But when they collaborate – when large groups of activists are lobbying together – that’s how they change the sector. That’s how they change the world.

The main thing that prevents collaboration, without question, is time. If I say to someone, “You’ve got a great project. I know some other people working on the same goal and I think you should work together,” most people will say, “great!” and then nothing happens.

This is especially true for women. Women don’t have the time. They have a job and a husband and kids.

So if you want to foster collaboration, you have to lay the groundwork: creating a framework, doing the work ahead of time that will make their collaboration effective, being an enabler.

Once you enable them, they immediately see the value of collaboration and it takes off on its own, very quickly.

And we women business owners, activists, and social entrepreneurs in Egypt, who are older, are mentoring the younger women, training them, visiting with them so that they are not afraid. We tell them: if men can, they can.

(via Ashoka Changemakers)

Ashoka’s Changemakers is looking for innovative solutions that engage communities, entrepreneurs, and key institutions in collaborating to integrate and develop affordable, inclusive, and sustainable urban housing that respects the environment, local cultures, and practices.

This competition is being launched in anticipation of the 2012 Summit of the Americas, and in support of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA). It is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of State, and the American Planning Association.

Submit your solutions, or nominate a project, in this competition to collaborate on sustainable urban housing for liveable and inclusive cities.

From November 5 through February 2, 2011, you can nominate or submit a solution for sustainable urban housing. The entry form is also available for download.

Early Entry Prize: The two best entries submitted by 5PM EST, December 12, 2010 will each be eligible to win a prize of US $500.

Online Winners Prizes: The top three entries submitted by 5pm EST, February 2, 2011 will win US $10,000 each.

The most competitive entrants will be showcased and reviewed at an event that closes the competition in June 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. where they will be viewed by public and private partners, including prospective funders.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to receive regular updates and to give us your feedback.

Check out the website for more details about the competition and to find out how to enter!

An interesting article by Sarah Murray in the Financial Times featuring Ashoka’s Housing For All Program

Published: September 7 2010 18:33 | Last updated: September 7 2010 18:33

When a group of specialists from Tata Group was developing low-income homes for Indian city dwellers, its designers did something unusual – they went to look at the very houses they sought to replace.

“In the slums, people live in one room,” says Rajeeb Dash, head of marketing and product development at Tata Housing, part of the Indian conglomerate that last year began selling the Nano, the world’s cheapest car. “But we saw that at night they use a wooden platform to create a mezzanine floor, so a 150-square-foot room suddenly becomes two rooms. It is very creative.”…………….

“Business needs the citizen sector,” says Valeria Budinich, director of the Housing for All programme at Ashoka. “Most business teams in building material companies have no clue about the specific needs in communities that build homes one room at a time.”

You can read the whole article on the Financial Times Website.