COLLABORATION MAPPING

A FACILITATION GUIDE

WHAT IS A COLLABORATION MAP?

Effective collaboration is a critical aspect of USAID’s work. It ensures that

the Agency establishes and leverages relationships with key stakeholders, BACKGROUND
including other U.S. government actors, donors, host government
counterparts, partners, civil society, and the private sector. Collaboration
USAID/Rwanda staff first applied
is important in order to identify areas of shared interest and potential
the collaboration mapping
cooperation, avoid duplication of efforts, share knowledge about what
approach in 2012 to guide their
works and what needs adjustment, and develop new, innovative ideas to
thinking during the development
address shared development challenges.
of their Country Development
Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). In
A collaboration map is one approach, developed by USAID/Rwanda, to
particular, it helped technical staff
graphically depict USAID’s relationships with its key stakeholders. As a
to identify what organizations
learning tool, it helps a mission or bureau create a shared understanding of
would influence, support, or
who its key stakeholders are, what their levels of interaction and influence
otherwise affect achieving the
are with USAID, and based on these findings, where USAID should
objectives of the strategy.
strategically place time and effort cultivating relationships. This tool,
however, is not USAID-specific, and could be equally relevant to USAID’s
implementing partners or other development actors. Below is an example
of a collaboration map (created using PowerPoint).

MAP LEGEND

• Quadrant: Type of
organization
• Size: Resource-based
influence
• Shading: Non-resource-
based influence
• Proximity: Frequency of
interaction
• Line: Strength of
interaction
• Arrows: Financial flows
• Glow: Attention needed

June 2018
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was
prepared by the LEARN mechanism out of the USAID Learning, Evaluation and Research (LER) Office in the Bureau of Policy,
Planning and Learning (PPL). LEARN is managed by Dexis Consulting Group.
WHEN TO USE COLLABORATION MAPS

While USAID/Rwanda developed collaboration mapping in the context of the CDCS, the approach could be
relevant at various times throughout the Program Cycle. Teams might consider developing a collaboration map
for:
• CDCS development
• Project design
• Reflection on project or activity implementation
• Annual portfolio reviews
• Monitoring and evaluation of projects and activities
• Whenever donors and partners need to be convened around a common goal

Discussing and assessing relationships as a team can help USAID staff and implementing partners identify
opportunities for teams to leverage their current relationships or establish new ones to identify or advance
mission objectives. The visual result of a map then serves as a baseline, target-setter, and reminder of agreed-
upon strategic priorities throughout implementation. Having the collaboration map printed and displayed
encourages a focus on strategic use of staff time and effort. Collaboration maps can also help coordinate efforts
among various partners.

At a more individual level, the ability to identify working relationships, and to flag those which might be at risk as
staff leave post or move positions, was a key incentive for using the tool in Rwanda. Also, although primarily
designed as an internal tool for Development Objective (DO) teams, it can be used by partners to help define
their own relationships and where they align with those of USAID.

COLLABORATION MAPPING TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Collaboration maps can be drawn by hand, created with shapes in a software like PowerPoint, or produced with
an interactive Excel-based worksheet that can automatically generate digital collaboration maps. The hand-drawn
option might be preferable if the use of technology is inconvenient or not feasible. Hand-drawn maps might also
be more appropriate if you need more customization: quadrants of different sizes to accommodate more
stakeholders in certain categories, or the ability to include additional information beyond stakeholder labels. If
you prefer a computer-generated map, the Excel worksheet can easily produce an editable digital version that
you can adjust as necessary and copy and paste wherever and whenever you need. Using a program like
PowerPoint will allow you to add lines/arrows connecting various stakeholders, which is not possible in Excel.

Due to different functionality available with the Excel worksheet, there may be slight differences between hand-
drawn and automated collaboration maps. Where there are differences, this facilitation guide notes them with
further details in the next section.

You can find the Collaboration Mapping Excel Worksheet, as well as a webinar and a PowerPoint presentation
for additional information, on USAID Learning Lab: [Link] For
USAID staff, there are additional resources available on ProgramNet, including examples of collaboration maps:
[Link]

STEPS FOR CREATING A COLLABORATION MAP

This is a group exercise, best done in a team environment, whether it is a DO team, a technical office, or a cross-
cutting team pulling from multiple offices. It is important to include any staff who will be contributing to the
mission Goal, DO, Intermediate Result (IR), Sub-IR, Project, or Activity (referred to here as ‘the objective’ for
simplicity) for which you are mapping stakeholder collaboration, since each person may have a different
perspective and knowledge to offer. A facilitator should be chosen who can be a neutral voice to guide the
process; this may be someone internal or external to the mission.
2
Before beginning the collaboration mapping exercise, participants should be given clear communication on the
purpose of the exercise so that they can adequately prepare. Staff may want to review documents related to the
objective and other records of stakeholder interaction (e.g., minutes from partner meetings or email exchanges).
While the mapping process will vary depending on the team size and complexity of analysis, the team should plan
for a minimum of two hours together to create the first version.

The exercise includes the following general steps*: * CUSTOMIZING YOUR MAP
1. Define the objective for which you are mapping stakeholders The Excel-based worksheet allows you
2. Identify the potential collaborators to include on your map to customize the stakeholder/
3. Take stock of the current relationship (frequency and relationship dimensions you want to
strength of interaction) map. If there are characteristics other
4. Determine resource-based influence than current relationship, resource-
5. Determine non-resource-based influence based influence, and/or non-resource-
6. Review and revise your collaboration map based influence you want to capture,
you can update the Excel worksheet
Depending on your preference, you may decide to conduct your to reflect those. See Annex A for
analysis (steps 2-5) before entering any information on your map. more details.
This may help your team to look at the data more objectively.

As mentioned earlier, you can hand-draw your collaboration map, use a program like PowerPoint, or download
and use the interactive Excel-based worksheet. Detailed instructions for the Collaboration Map Excel Worksheet
are available in Annex A and in the Instructions tab of the worksheet itself.

1) Define the objective

In order to set the context for the activity, it helps to be explicit about the mission Goal, DO, IR, Sub-IR, Project,
or Activity the map will cover. Throughout the mapping activity, you can refer back to this objective in order to
ensure that your stakeholder analysis is related to the scope of the map. For example, a certain stakeholder may
be very influential for DO1, but if your collaboration map is tied to DO2, you may choose not to include them.

During this first step, it is also a good time to remind participants of the purpose of the collaboration map: to
visually depict stakeholders in order to identify opportunities for teams to leverage their current relationships or
establish new ones in support of the stated objective.

2) Identify all potential collaborators

Begin by discussing which stakeholders have a stake in and/or influence over the achievement of a particular
objective. It is important to focus on only one of these at a time in order to frame all of the questions below.

Answer as thoroughly as possible the basic question: Who are the stakeholders that have influence over the
achievement of the objective? Divide potential collaborators into four categories; below are common categories,
although the team should choose categories that suit their needs.

• Host Country Government

• Other USG
• Bilateral & Multilateral Organizations
• Civil Society
• Private Sector
• Implementing Partners

3
The following are examples of guiding questions the team may want to consider to ensure they identify all of the
stakeholders that should be included:

1. Who have we worked with in the past on similar or related topics?

2. Who else is already engaged on this issue?
3. Who has expertise, influence, or resources that could be leveraged to achieve our objective?
4. What other organizations also support the change we are seeking?
5. What other organizations may oppose the change we are seeking?

Questions often arise during this step about whether to include implementing partners and how to effectively
represent interagency elements. Regarding the first question, feel free to include implementing partners if you are
comfortable with the level of complexity (i.e., number of circles) it will add to your map. Implementing partners
might be most relevant to the map when they have an assistance relationship with the mission and contribute to
the achievement of the objective outside of USAID's funding. Interagency elements will likely need to be
discussed as a group and a consensus reached about how to represent them.

Steps 3-5 Note: The Excel-based worksheet allows you to customize the map’s three stakeholder
/relationship dimensions. If you choose different dimensions than those listed here in steps 3-5, the guiding
questions and point scales below will no longer apply.

3) Take stock of the current relationship

i) Frequency of interaction: Next, determine the current status of the relationship between each potential
collaborator and the USAID team creating the collaboration map. Take each potential collaborator and
score them according to how much interaction currently takes place between USAID and the stakeholder.
These scores should be selected based on an open discussion during which staff share their perspectives. It
is possible that each person has unique information that would change how they would rank the current
interaction with stakeholders. Have each participating staff member rank each of the potential collaborators
on a 10-point scale according to the following:

1‒2 = No Interaction
3‒4 = Rare
5‒6 = Intermittent
7‒8 = Regular
9‒10 = Constant and Consistent

Average team members’ rankings for an overall

score for each stakeholder and discuss the
average result as a group to allow for any
adjustments or to address any disagreements.
On the map, this will be represented by the
relative proximity of each stakeholder circle to
the center—the CLOSER to USAID, the more
interaction/closer the current relationship.
Discuss the visual representation with the
group to make sure everyone understands and
agrees with the results.

4
ii) Interaction characteristics: Next, for each potential collaborator, determine strength and quality of the
relationship. As a team, discuss the following questions:

• Who has the relationship with X?

• Does the relationship rely on just one
contact (at either USAID or the other
stakeholder)? If that key person leaves on
either end, does the circle (i.e., relationship)
begin to move away from USAID?
• How many people do we interact with at X?
• Are communication channels with X open
and is communication frank and honest?

On the map, this will be represented by a line

connecting the stakeholder’s circle to USAID at
the center. A SOLID line represents a strong
relationship that could withstand staff turnover
or political changes, and a DOTTED line
represents a weak relationship that relies on only
one main contact on either side or a potentially
tenuous relationship.

Please note: In the Excel worksheet, the line that represent interaction characteristics are not automated
and will need to be inserted manually with another program or drawn by hand if you wish to include them.
If you do not choose to include lines, you can instead incorporate both the frequency and the quality of the
interaction/relationship with each stakeholder when you determine your 1-10 ranking in a combined score
that reflects ‘Current Interaction/ Relationship Strength’.

iii) Financial exchange (Optional): Finally, in some cases, there may be value in representing whether or
not there is a financial element to the relationship between USAID and the stakeholder. If so, in what
direction is the financial exchange? Is USAID providing funds to this actor, receiving funds from them, or
jointly investing in programming?

On a hand-drawn map, this will be represented

by the directional arrows on the line
connecting the stakeholder circle to USAID. If
there is no financial exchange, leave the line
without arrows. If USAID is funding the
stakeholder, add an arrow pointing toward the
stakeholder’s circle. If USAID is receiving funds
from this stakeholder, add an arrow pointing
toward USAID. If USAID is jointly investing in
programming with the stakeholder, add arrows
on both ends of the line.

Please note: Similar to the characteristic

above, in the Excel worksheet, the arrows that
represent financial exchange are not automated
and will need to be inserted manually with
another program or drawn by hand if you wish
to include them.

5
4) Determine resource-based influence

The next step is to provide a score for each potential collaborator or stakeholder according to the level of
resource-based influence (financial and human) they have over the achievement of the objective. This influence is
defined strictly in terms of direct resources, i.e., how much money, time, and staff this stakeholder already invests
or potentially has to invest in the desired outcome.

There are two alternatives to determine how much resource-based influence each stakeholder has over the
achievement of the objective:

• If actual resource-based data is available, use it in order to reduce subjectivity. If it is difficult to get
figures, the team should provide their best estimate based on observable information. Clearly, it will not
be possible to capture or assess all financial resources.

• Another option is to determine these scores through open discussion. Since certain team members might
have more detailed knowledge about particular stakeholders, a discussion allows for these figures to be
adjusted based on a collective understanding. This discussion will also help everyone better understand
the stakeholders’ “influence”.

After either reviewing available figures and/or having a group discussion, each participating staff member will rank
each of the potential collaborators on a 10-point scale: 1=low resource-based influence, 10=high resource-based
influence. The facilitator then averages these rankings for an overall score for each stakeholder and lead a group
discussion of the results to allow for any adjustments or to address any disagreements. When deciding the
level of rigor for quantifying this type of material influence, there is no universal answer. It is
important to use a consistent system that makes sense to the team and everyone can agree on.

Converting the numerical ranking to a visual helps to see the comparative resource-based influence of each
actor—the LARGER the circle, the greater the stakeholder’s resource-based influence on this particular
objective. Discuss the visual representation with the group to make sure everyone understands and agrees with
the results.

6
5) Determine non-resource-based influence

Next, take each potential collaborator and score them according to how much non-resource-based influence the
stakeholder has over the achievement of the objective. Non-resource-based influence can include political power,
traditional and/or social media voice, name recognition, membership size, access to other resources, leadership in
key working groups, etc.

To determine how much non-resource-based influence the stakeholders hold over the achievement of the
objective, first have an open discussion with the group to reach a joint definition of non-resource-based influence.
After this discussion, each participant will rank each of the potential collaborators on a 10-point scale: 1=low,
10=high. Discuss the average results as a group after they are calculated to allow for any adjustments or to
address any disagreements.

Take these rankings and average them for an overall score for each. On the map, this type of influence should be
represented by the saturation/shade of the circle representing each stakeholder—the DARKER the circle, the
more non-resource-based influence this stakeholder has on this particular objective. Discuss the visual
representation with the group to make sure everyone understands and agrees with the results.

7
6) Review and revise your collaboration map

Draw or print out a draft version of the collaboration map developed by the team in steps 1-5. Allow staff to
examine the visual representation of the current status of relationships. Make sure people understand what the
map means and how to interpret it. Then, as a group, discuss each of these relationships. This discussion may
prompt some adjustments in the way USAID approaches its interactions with each stakeholder, the manner in
which staff time is prioritized, etc.

Ask the following questions, and make notes on the maps (such as with Post-its) to remind yourselves of the
decisions made regarding the following:

• Do our relationships with these stakeholders need to be strengthened? Which ones? Either really big
circles or really dark circles that are not close to USAID should be a big concern; these actors have a lot
of influence and we are likely not interacting with them sufficiently.
✓ If yes, indicate that this is a priority stakeholder by adding a glow around the circle to show that
the relationship needs to be strengthened.

• How can relationships on the other mission teams be used to strengthen collaboration? Does another
team have a stronger relationship with this stakeholder? Can we leverage our staff time to strengthen a
relationship for more than one purpose?
✓ To answer these questions, it would be helpful to look at collaboration maps from other DOs if
they are available. This may not be the case unless this is a mission-wide exercise or if other teams
have not done maps.
✓ If a comparison of collaboration maps is possible, add notes identifying these linkages or leverage
points with other USAID teams.

• Do we know anything now about future programming that may affect or shift the relationships that we
will need to achieve our objective? What can we do now to anticipate those changes?
✓ Record any observations on this point, and review them when updating your collaboration maps.
These notes can serve as a reminder of the context and conversation which occurred when they
were created.

CONCLUSION

Plan to regularly revisit and update your collaboration map. This is a great tool to help rationalize and manage
relationships and impacts over time as staff move, relationships evolve, and programs adapt. To get the most out
of this exercise, the maps should be revisited and updated at critical points, such as in preparation for portfolio
reviews.

This guidance document is a work in progress that we hope will improve as it is used by missions and partners.
We welcome your feedback and input as you use this to create your own collaboration maps so that we can
improve the instructions based on field experience. You can provide your feedback by posting comments on the
resource page on either Learning Lab or ProgramNet or by contacting a member of the PPL/LER CLA team at
learning@[Link]. We also welcome sharing of collaboration maps after they have been created so that others
may use them as models.

8
ANNEX A: COLLABORATION MAPPING EXCEL WORKSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

You can use the Collaboration Mapping Excel Worksheet offline by downloading from Learning Lab
([Link] and saving it to your computer. For the automated
features to work properly, make sure you enable macros. As you input each stakeholder and their associated
data on the Stakeholder Inputs tab, the collaboration map on that tab will automatically update. The instructions
in this annex are also available from the Instructions tab within the Excel worksheet.

Step 1: Title and Logo

Give your map a title by filling out the ‘Title’ field. That title will automatically appear on your map.

If you would like to use a logo different from the default USAID logo, click on the logo, and on the ‘Chart
Tools/Format’ menu tab, select the ‘Shape Fill’ option from the Shape Styles area. Choose the ‘Picture’ option near
the bottom of the Shape Fill drop-down menu and browse for the image file you would like to use instead. It will
be cropped to a circle the same size as the default USAID logo.

Step 2: Organization Categories

In the worksheet section marked ‘Organization Quadrant Setup,’ type the four types of organizations in the ‘Name’
column, replacing the I, II, III, and IV. This could be U.S. Government, Host Country Institutions, Implementing
Partners, Academic/Civil Society, Other Donors, etc., depending on the nature of your collaboration map. If you
want them to appear in particular quadrants on the map, align your labels with the ‘Location’ column (Upper Right,
Upper Left, etc.). Once you identify the labels for the organizational type quadrants, these will appear on the
drop-down menu in the collaboration mapping template below in the ‘Type of Organization’ column.

Step 3: Stakeholder/Relationship Dimensions

In the worksheet section marked 'Stakeholder/Relationship Dimensions,' you can customize the map from the
default dimensions of strength of interaction, and resource- and non-resource-based influence. Replace the
default labels to change the type of information you wish to capture. For example, for a communications
initiative, you might want to identify stakeholders' current understanding/awareness of an issue. For a change
management initiative, you can consider capturing the level of impact the change could have on the stakeholder.

Step 4: Stakeholders

In the collaboration mapping template section, list your stakeholders in the ‘Stakeholder Name’ column.

This name will be automatically copied to the ‘Custom Data Label’ column and serve as the stakeholder’s circle
label in your collaboration map. If you would like to use a shortened name or acronym in your collaboration map,
you can simply type the custom label you prefer in the ‘Custom Data Label’ column.

Step 5: Quadrant Placement

For each stakeholder you have listed, identify which ‘Type of Organization’ best fits them in the next column.
Double-click on the cell (or click the small arrow button to the right of the cell) to show the drop-down menu of
labels you chose in step 2. By selecting one of the four options, the circle for the stakeholder will be placed in the
appropriate quadrant of your map.

Step 6-8: Stakeholder/Relationship Dimension Information

For each of the three stakeholder/relationship dimensions you chose in Step 3, provide a numeric determination
of the value on a scale of 1-10 for each stakeholder.
9
 • Dimension 1 (Default: Current Interaction/Relationship Strength): This will determine the circle’s proximity
to the center of the map. The higher the number, the closer the circle will be to the center.

• Dimension 2 (Default: Resource-based Influence): This will determine the circle’s relative size. The higher
the number, the larger the circle.

• Dimension 3 (Default: Non-resource-based Influence): This will determine how light or dark the circle
color is. The higher the number, the darker the circle’s color fill.

Please note: The lines/arrows between the stakeholder circles described in the Facilitation Guide (page 6) are
not automated and will need to be inserted manually with another program or drawn by hand if you wish to
include them. For example, to use another program, copy and paste your completed collaboration map into a
Word document or PowerPoint presentation slide and use the insert function to add your lines/arrows.

Step 9: Priority

By selecting the checkbox in the ‘Priority’ column, you can indicate if a particular stakeholder is a priority for
collaboration based on the strength of current interaction, resource-based influence, and non-resource-based
influence. This will be indicated by a glow effect around the circle.

Step 10: Relative Positioning

Due to relative size and random placement of the circles, they may occasionally overlap one other. You can re-
order a circle by clicking on its cell in the ‘Custom Data Label’ column and then clicking the ‘To Top’ or ‘To Bottom’
buttons. The ‘Reset Order’ button will reset the layer order to the default with the stakeholders’ circles displayed
from bottom to top in the order than are entered into the table (e.g., Stakeholder #1 is the bottommost circle).

You can also adjust a circle’s position within its quadrant without changing the value of its ‘Current
Interaction/Relationship Strength’ by using the ‘Adjust Position’ sliders. This might be useful if you want to indicate
that a particular stakeholder is closer to one neighboring quadrant than other. For example, if an NGO has very
close ties with local universities, its circle would be in the NGO quadrant, but you can move it relatively closer to
the adjacent Academia quadrant.

You can also use the ‘Adjust Position’ sliders to move stakeholders closer or farther apart from one another to
give a more accurate picture of the overall stakeholder relationships rather than simply their relationship to the
center. Moving the slider to the right adjusts the circle clockwise; to the left adjusts the circle counterclockwise.
The ‘Clear’ button will reset all of the sliders to the beginning of each quadrant when adjusting it clockwise (all the
way to the right on the slider). The ‘Randomize’ button will assign random values to each circle’s position, which
can then be refined using the individual sliders.

The offset controls in the ‘Logo Size and Offset’ box under the map allow you to adjust the proximity to the
central logo and the stakeholder circles. Use this to increase the distance between the central logo and
stakeholder circles that have a high relationship strength (closer to the circle) and/or high financial influence
(larger circle) and would otherwise overlap with the central logo.

Similarly, the ‘Axis Scale’ options under the map allow you to adjust the axis value for the quadrants. This allows
for customization when there are stakeholders with low relationship strength (further from the central logo) and
their circles would be cut off the map. Press ‘increase’ to bring the stakeholder circles relatively closer to the
central logo. Conversely, if you would like to increase the distance between the circles and spread them out
further from the central logo, press ‘decrease.’

The relative scale of the circles to one another and the map overall can also be adjusted with the ‘Circle Scale’
option below the map or on the Configuration tab.
10
Other Configuration Options

There are several interactive elements on the Configuration tab that allow you to customize your collaboration
map by changing various settings:

• Dimension 3 shading color palette: This is where the colors for each of the input values (1-10) are
assigned for stakeholder/relationship dimension 3 (default: Non-resource-based Influence). Various preset
color palettes have been provided, however this can be set to any desired combination. The fill color of
each cell maps to the circle color for the corresponding non-resource-based influence value. To adjust,
change the fill color to the desired color. You can also specify any label color combination by setting the
font fill color for the corresponding cell. To use a preset color palette, copy and paste the 10 cells of the
preset palette to the input area labeled ‘Color Palette’.
• Glow Color: Set the fill color of this cell to the desired glow color that identifies priority stakeholders.
• Glow Radius: The size of the glow can be adjusted by entering the value (0-20) or using the arrows.
• Logo Offset: This specifies the distance between the central logo and the closest possible stakeholder
circle (as defined by the Current Interaction/Relationship Strength [proximity to center] and Resource-
based Influence [size of circle]). Enter any value greater than 0 or use the arrows.
• Logo Size: This specifies the relative size of the logo, corresponding to the sizes for Resource-based
Influence (size of circle). Enter a value 1-10 or use the arrows.
• Logo on Top: By checking this box, your logo will appear above any circles that may be close enough
to overlap.
• Axis Size: This specifies the visible axis. The axis adjustment needs to be large enough to accommodate
the entered Current Interaction/Relationship Strength (proximity to center), Resource-based Influence
(size of circle), and Logo Offset from the center. Depending on the relative size and placement of the
circles, this can be adjusted to zoom in or out to avoid outlying circles being cut off or to increase the
distance between the central logo and closer circles.
• Relative Circle Size: The relative size of the circles can be determined using either Width or Area.
Choosing ‘Width’ will size each circle using the width and will exaggerate the relative Resource-based
Influence (size of circle). Choosing ‘Area’ will base the relative size on the area of each circle and will have
a more gradual increase in size. Use the drop-down to select either choice.
• Circle Scale: The overall scale of the circles can also be adjusted from its default value of 100. This can
be modified to provide greater customization depending on the set of organizations and their
size/placement. Enter any value (0-300) or use the arrows.

11