“The Collaboration Toolkit is designed as a guide for law enforcement agencies and their partners as they develop, fix, and sustain productive law enforcement/community partnerships supporting the advancement of community policing. The toolkit can assist law enforcement personnel working with citizen groups, community-based organizations, school personnel, youth, government officials, and others to implement and advance community policing in schools and communities. The toolkit’s broad scope will facilitate use by [the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services] grantees and other law enforcement agencies and their partners as well as allow the concepts to be tailored to specific local partnership issues.
Collaboration is not always easy to achieve. Although the components and concepts of a successful collaboration may appear basic, implementing these concepts is often very challenging. … This toolkit identifies nine components of a successful collaboration: 1.) stakeholders with a vested interested in the issue, 2.) trust among and between the partners, 3.) a shared vision and common goals, 4.) expertise among partners to solve community problems, 5.) teamwork strategies, 6.) open communication, 7.) motivated partners, 8.) sufficient means to implement and sustain the collaborative effort, and 9.) an action plan.”