Our Living Waters exists to catalyze collaboration across the country. Strategy Teams and shared measurement are examples of the tools we provide to OLW Network members to increase our capacity to work together. We also know that a consistent limiting factor for collective action is access to funding. 

Collaborations take time. They are long-term processes, often undefined at the outset, that take various forms and approaches on their path to driving change. As convenors we not only facilitate collaborations, we also fund them, in order to provide the conditions for their emergence and continuation over time.

The OLW Strategic Collaboration Fund invests in long-term strategic collaborations by funding existing Strategy Teams. There is no application process for these funds; rather, it is funding allocated to Strategy Teams when resources permit. 

Our Innovative Collaborative Funding Model

Strategy Team funds are participant-led, trusting members to collectively allocate their funds as they see fit. For example, they have been used to recognize the value of collaborative work by compensating participants’ time or to leverage additional funds for a Team project that complements their work. In all cases, we have found that shared funds cultivate shared commitment to taking action together.