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On Monday 8 September at 2 pm., Renate van der Meer will defend her PhD thesis Collectieve identiteit & Multi-partijensamenwerking. Sturen en verbinden in een context van verschillen. (Collective identity & Multi-party collaboration. Steering and connecting in a context of differences.)

Organizations are increasingly working together in so-called 'multi-party collaborations' to achieve goals that they cannot accomplish on their own. However, it is difficult to make these collaborations, in which parties remain autonomous and no one is formally in charge, successful. Research shows that only half are perceived as successful.

For her dissertation, Renate van der Meer explored how developing a 'collective identity' could contribute to success. A collective identity is about who the parties are and want to be together, and about a 'we-feeling' as a collective. To the extent that parties succeed in developing a stronger collective identity, they also develop essential conditions for effective collaborative relationships. A collective identity therefore contributes to success.

Shared identity

The research, carried out at  and Uzelf (instrument of ), shows that the collective identity of this type of multi-party collaboration can be described on the basis of shared characteristics and meanings of those characteristics on five dimensions. These are:

1. Who belongs to the cooperation on the basis of what
2. What the parties (want to) do together
3. Who benefits from the collaboration
4. In which area of activity parties are active
5. What bond exists between parties (between whom and to what extent)?

A collective identity is strong when it is relevant to all or a large part of the parties, several parties benefit from the collective, they believe that impact is being made in a large area of activity and there are meaningful relationships between a large number of different types of parties involved. Identity development takes place in three phases: from a loose group, to a collective actor, to a coherent whole that focuses on results.

A strong, shared identity means that parties have provided the conditions necessary for successful collaborative relationships. These include a shared understanding and commitment to the joint ambition, clarity about what the parties are doing together for the chosen target groups and  constructive  Interaction between the parties involved. In addition, a shared identity helps to steer the collaboration. A strong shared identity thus contributes to the realization of one's own and joint goals.

Practical recommendations

Based on her research, Van der Meer recommends using the five dimensions of identity as a conversation tool, positioning collaborations using the five dimensions, regularly evaluating development and appointing neutral persons who can promote mutual relationships and joint activities. Neutral persons are people who have been appointed for the cooperation and are not part of the hierarchy of the participating parties. These can be, for example, people in the role of director, business developer, or marketing communication professionals who work at an agency that is set up for this collaboration.

Renate van der Meer is lecturer and researcher at the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of Applied Sciences and a PhD student at the School of Governance (USG).