Unlocking collaboration among nonprofit organizations: The case of health and social services for marginalized people

Collaboration among nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is essential for delivering services to users with complex needs. The dynamics underlying informal collaborations among NPOs, which can represent a distinct mode of collaboration or a precursor to formal collaboration, remain underexplored. This study examines informal collaborations among NPOs, exploring their characteristics and perceptions of barriers and opportunities for collaboration. The research adopts a multiple case study of 10 Italian NPOs delivering health and social care services to marginalized people, using qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results show that NPOs perceive barriers concerning, among others, capacity saturation, lack of reciprocal knowledge, and structured collaboration methods. Reported opportunities relate to acquiring competences and improved motivation. These mostly confirm that dynamics known from broader collaboration literature also hold for informal collaborations, while lack of reciprocal knowledge, learning and improved motivation extend it further. Finally, sharing cultural aspects among NPOs increases the probability of declaring a collaboration.