Successful collaborations require a great deal of effort to begin and continuous attention to sustain. Before embarking on the process, collaborators should consider how the following elements might be developed in their situation. These environmental elements often create the impetus for getting started and provide clues to gauging the degree of difficulty that might be encountered. It is important to make a start. Manageable collaborations strike a balance between breadth and depth of membership.
Diversity means that both providers and consumers of services are represented.
Collaborating groups are cautioned not to create new bureaucracies. Instead, structures should be designed to facilitate information exchange, decision making, and resource allocation. Good communication is a key to building trust. Winer and Ray describe collaboration as a journey in which travelers encounter and acknowledge diverse customs, use of language, preferred ways of working, and types of power. Collaborative partners should have a shared vision of what they are trying to achieve, with agreed-upon mission, objectives, and strategies.