Conducting a Collaboration Survey

Interagency collaboration and the integration of health and social services are highly desirable to address the increasing complex needs of TAY and to reduce barriers accessing care. We measured the interagency collaboration every year using a collaboration survey. The collaboration survey measured the degree and nature of collaboration on a scale ranging from networking to collaboration as well as a few qualitative questions to capture challenges and strategies to overcome those challenges. The results are shared yearly with the large workgroup to increase awareness and improve collaborative efforts. One of the challenges with this survey is a low response rate. Despite the convenient nature of the online survey, it is hard to engage partners who already have a lot going on. The best way to improve survey response rate is to administer it traditionally with pen & paper during the workgroup meeting. A lesson learned is that the level of collaboration is also dynamic. A partner joining in year one or two may not have the same level of involvement throughout or in later years but it is important to maintain those partnerships and engage in new and existing opportunities.