Work with a Civil Society Organization

Develop collaboration with organizations that bring practitioner knowledge, community relationships, lived experience, advocacy, or specialized capabilities.

Your Pathway

1. Understand → 2. Listen → 3. Find Common Ground → 4. Co-Design → 5. Clarify → 6. Activate → 7. Learn Together

1. Understand

Learn about the organization, its constituency, history, work, relationships, capabilities, and priorities.

Do not treat community organizations simply as channels for accessing beneficiaries.

You're done when: You understand what the organization brings to the relationship.

2. Listen

Understand how the organization and the people it works with see the challenge.

Make room for knowledge that may not appear in formal research or institutional reports.

You're done when: Their perspective has influenced ASG's understanding of the situation.

3. Find Common Ground

Identify a challenge or opportunity that matters to both organizations.

Clarify where capabilities and relationships complement one another.

You're done when: There is a credible shared purpose.

4. Co-Design

Develop the initiative together.

Avoid arriving with a fully designed intervention and calling the process participation.

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[Design with ChatGPT] [Work with Claude] [Stakeholder Tools] [Design Project]

You're done when: The initiative reflects meaningful contributions from both sides.

5. Clarify

Agree on responsibilities, resources, decision making, recognition, data, communications, and expectations.

Pay particular attention to power differences between institutions.

You're done when: Both organizations understand what they are committing to.

6. Activate

Begin the collaborative work.

Use the appropriate ASG pathway for the activity being undertaken.

You're done when: Collaboration is producing action.

7. Learn Together

Review the relationship and work from both perspectives.

Ask what ASG should learn from the partner, not simply what the partner should learn from ASG.

Feed useful lessons into the wider Paved Pathways system.

Next Pathway: [Run a Partnership →]