Collaborating for Youth Development in Hartford

Introduction

This case tells the story of an ambitious but troubled collaboration in Hartford, Connecticut, that was awarded a high-profile US Department of Labor (DOL) “Youth Opportunity” (YO) grant in 2000. The promise of $28 million in youth program funding over five years brought together many stakeholders, but not without the roadblocks and missteps that all too often hamper complex, high-stakes collaborations.

As the case opens, Hartford’s civic leaders are scrambling to improve the lives of hard-pressed young people in the city and, to do so, have won a lucrative grant. As the group turns from grant-writing to implementation, however, tensions mount and dissension grips the coalition. A key decision—selecting the program’s director—became a critical turning point.

The case explores themes such as the vast difference between collaborating in word and collaborating in deed; the importance and challenge of building trust early; the importance of clearly allocating decision rights; the dangers of kicking hard decisions down the road; and the dark side of having resources.

Guides for using this case are forthcoming.

 Learning Objectives

• Understand the Strategic Triangle for Collaborative Solutions as a tool for diagnosing the effectiveness of cross-sector collaborations.
  • Use the Triangle to explore what can go wrong in cross-sector collaborations and, conversely, what must be done for cross-sector collaborations to succeed.
  • Appreciate the central role played by organizations’ coalitions, and individuals, in a collaboration.
• Appreciate that they must sequence their actions carefully as they build cross-sector collaborations.
• Reflect on their own reasoning and decision-making around creating and leading strong, effective collaborations.