Interorganizational Collaboration Networks: Examining Organizational Capacity and Collaboration Challenges Among Community-Based Organizations

Background & Purpose: Community-based organizations (CBO) address a range of local concerns related to education, housing, economic development, and community well-being. These initiatives often rely on the capacity of organizations to develop and maintain collaborative partnerships to achieve collective goals and objectives. However, little is known about factors that promote and inhibit the development and sustainability of interorganizational partnerships, particularly those devoted to community development within marginalized communities of color. We address these gaps in knowledge by examining the following research questions: 1) To what extent do CBOs represent distinct groups based on self-reported collaboration challenges, and 2) To what extent are organization characteristics and organizational capacity associated with group membership?

Methods: This study utilized data from wave two of the Chicago Community Networks Study, which included data on organizational characteristics (e.g., agency type, size, age, etc.) along with self-assessed organizational capacity and collaboration challenges among CBOs serving marginalized, high poverty neighborhoods in Chicago, IL (n=222). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was utilized to identify underlying patterns of self-reported collaboration challenges using 7 indicators that assessed frequency of experiencing specific challenges related to engaging in collaborative partnerships (1= never or rarely, 2= sometimes, 3= often). Following LCA, multinomial logistic regression models were utilized to examine associations between organization characteristics, organizational capacity, and latent class membership. Data analysis occurred in Stata version 17.

Results: Agencies in this study represented nonprofit (58%), governmental (25%) and other (17%) organizations that collaborated on a variety of neighborhood programs and services to benefit marginalized low-income families. On average, agencies had been in operation for approximately 43 years (M=42.73, SD=39.08). In terms of full-time staff, organizations ranged from small (e.g., 0-10 staff; 47%), medium (e.g., 11-40 staff; 20%), to large (e.g., >40 staff, 23%). Organizational capacity ranged from 12 to 45 (M=37.86, SD=6.15, α=0.89) where higher scores represented greater capacity. Results of LCA supported a 3-class model of organizational challenges according to common model fit indices (e.g., AIC, BIC, Entropy). Class 1 (49%) represented organizations that reported minimal challenges across all indicators. Class 2 (24%) represented organizations that reported moderate challenges characterized by resource constraints and high internal tension. Class 3 (27%) represented organizations that reported substantial challenges characterized by high levels of resource and time constraints. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated that organizational capacity was a significant predictor of latent class membership. Specifically, CBOs that reported higher levels of organizational capacity were less likely to be in the moderate challenges (b=-0.10, p<0.01) and substantial challenges (b=-0.07, p<0.05) groups compared to CBOs reporting minimal challenges. All other organizational characteristics were nonsignificant in the models.

Conclusions & Implications: Organizational capacity represents a significant factor determining the extent to which CBOs may develop and sustain interorganizational partnerships to address complex community issues. Findings suggests a clear need for organizational capacity building to minimize collaboration challenges and make progress towards addressing systemic and structural issues confronting marginalized communities.