A Collaboration Maturity Model
A CMM for collaborative networks
Over the last year months a group of cluster facilitators and network coaches in Northern Ireland, including myself, have been working under the auspices of the Cluster Facilitators Forum, to try and develop a non-proprietary open model to guide how collaboration can develop between businesses through clusters and networks.
The ambition is partly inspired by the hugely influential CMM framework for software capability originally developed by the Software Engineering Institute at CMU.
Below is a diagram which summarises the current state of the CFF collaborative network maturity model:
Like all models this one needs to be viewed in the light of Einstein's famous quote:
"All models are wrong but some are useful"
The model is intended to help place a network or cluster on the spectrum of collaboration and to assist in identification of priorities and supporting interventions.
Of course it is an over-simplification and should not be taken to imply that real networks develop in such tidy and linear stages!
For further information on the model contact Ian McAuley at the CFF.
Digg | 
del.icio.us | 
Reddit | 
Yahoo! | 
Add to my favourites
2 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Bioteams Books Reviews
Social Propagation is the secret to organizational and team learning
and the most evolved non-human species on the planet is not who you think it is! Arie de Geus is credited by many as the inventor of the concept of "the learning organisation". In his book "The Living Company" Arie describes an interview with Professor Alan Wilson, distinguished zoologist and botanist.
Buy it now from:
Amazon.Com
Amazon.Co.UK
Related Virtual Collaboration Networks Articles
Instant collaborative business networks
As a facilitator I do a lot of work with groups of small businesses who say they are interested in "collaborating as a network" (whatever that means). The conventional approach to working with such a group is to first build some trust, exchange company information and then start exploring collaboration possibilities. The problem is that this approach does not really work!
The Collaborative Opportunities Dashboard Tool
One of the hardest things for a group of companies to do is to find some quick-win low-risk area where they can build trust by working together BEFORE they embark on something major. The Collaborative Opportunities Dashboard Tool allows companies to quickly explore a dozen practical ways to work together with the goal of meaningful results in 12 weeks or less.
Management Flight Simulator for Virtual Business Networks
Leading a virtual business network requires different skills than leading a traditional team. Many of these skills are unfortunately very counter-intuitive due to the living, evolving nature of such networks. Discovering this 'on the job' is almost as crazy as training airline pilots without using flight simulators!
At first glance, this looks good. I have worked on multiple teams most of them virtual and I can recognize most of them in one stage or another. Hence, this seems to make a lot of sense. I'll continue to explore this. Thanks for sharing!
I think you are on the right track. The taxonomy helps me to think beyond cluster models for regional and national economic competiveness Would be interested to develop more insight about regional governance models, ecosystem/network topologies and diagnostic methodologies, interactive design processes, digital support tools and metrics.