Collaboration Learning Lab

When “collabs” make you want to collapse…

In our six years of running Colabs, we have made three observations on the culture and practice of collaboration in Singapore.

First: People want to collaborate. However, they tend to rush into ad hoc projects which tend to result in duplication of efforts.

Second: Effective collaboration does not come as naturally. It is a skill that can be learned and honed through observation and experience.

Third: Collaboration ‘norms’ are vastly different across the private, people, or public sectors. This creates room for tension and misunderstanding to arise, which threatens to unravel the objective of collaboration.

It’s a Learning Lab on Systems Collaboration

In 2021, we piloted a Systems Collaboration Learning Lab with 23 participants specially selected from the public and people sectors. Over six months, the cohort learned, shared, practised, and developed an understanding of how collaboration is approached in different sectors and explored collaboration strategies. With their insights and collective wisdom, we put together the Systems Collaboration Learning Guide, which you can find below.

Furthermore, we saw how conversations among trusted friends led to potential collaborative projects. Some of our participants came out of the Learning Lab sessions finding interested and available partners and getting actual collaborations off the ground! Check out their Capstone Projects here.

The Systems Collaboration Learning Guide

The Systems Collaboration Learning Guide summarises the challenges, processes, insights and case studies of tri-sector collaborations. Think of this as your not-so-secret guide, curated by trusted been-there-done-that friends, to help you in your collaboration journey!

Be inspired by insights into successful collaborations and gain an appreciation of how each sector approaches collaboration differently. Complementing this is our DIY Collaboration Toolkit, which includes a virtual templates and simple instructions so that you can start collaborating within your organisation, or with other partners.