Leadership and collaborative Governance of educational projects in the community

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: In the current economic context collaboration between educational and social organizations in the community is a key asset for improving educational outcomes. This article intends to describe the strategies needed to lead collaborative projects in a community level, so as the structures of decision-making required to make the most of inter-organizational collaboration. Methodology and data processing: This paper looks at the case of Barcelona (Spain), where there is an outstanding tradition of community collaboration and successful experiences of Educational Networks (EN). The study conducted a content analysis of 30 interviews with experienced professionals in leadership and governance of successful EN. Results and discussion: Results show a leadership model aimed at building alliances at the community level, where leaders seek synergies weaving between different institutions and services by qualitatively connecting different professionals, building trust between them and encouraging discussion consensus and innovation. Moreover, the results highlight the existence of spaces designed specifically for collaborative decision making, ranging from more general or representative -where strategic issues are decided- to more technical and operational -where action project issues are discussed-. The results underline the importance of balancing between professional representation and action to achieve project effectiveness. Finally, the existence of 3 different models of network governance is found, highlighting the importance of adopting the model to the characteristics and needs of each program.