Introduction

Cooperating Associations (CAs) have existed for nearly 100 years to add value and to support one of the United States’ most precious and invaluable natural wonders — National Parks. 

As a true partner to the National Park Service (NPS), Cooperating Associations have taken on innumerable support roles over the years to fill the gaps where needed to weather both internal changes (leadership and priority shifts, for example), as well as external changes (COVID-19 or climate change). Over the years, the functionality and purpose of the CA role became more ambiguous, resulting in the CA’s not being utilized to their full potential and thus not able to support the National Park Service in the way that they were designed to. In turn, the nature of that relationship with NPS has affected CAs ability to activate on their respective missions.

Recognizing that this is the groundwork stage for shifting relationships that have been in place for 100 years and that have a lot of complex and nuanced dynamics and parts, a small group of CA’s, known as the Cooperating Association Working Group, had been exploring areas of common interests and concerns unique to the CA role with the NPS. 

Developing steps to articulate a shared vision around which groups that are both inside and on NPS’ periphery meant considering non-traditional approaches — therefore investing in and trusting an outside consultant to guide the process. 

With this backdrop, the Cooperating Association Working Group partnered with Mixte to identify which strategies and tools CAs could leverage to better articulate full value to NPS partners and the agency as a whole. This was the first time the working group had come together with partners at NPS to discuss collective goals. When approached with intention, such an approach could lay the foundation for a genuine collaborative relationship, even as the groups represented different interests, function within different environments (literally and metaphorically) and felt different pressures.

It’s critical at this point to note that this dialogue was approached with a partnership-focused mindset from all parties at the workshop – some of which were Cooperating Associations, some of which were from the National Park Service. It was by design to have participants there that could bring the NPS perspective to ensure we weren’t working in a vacuum and instead, truly building a collaborative vision together from the start. 

Our Objectives

Mixte hosted a half-day, in person workshop with leaders from NPS and the Cooperating Association Working Group. The goal was to come together to understand the lay of the land and begin to put a structure to the many dynamics that create the conditions CA’s are trying to change. Once we stepped back long enough to see what other factors existed in our ecosystem and the many levers of opportunity in our network, we could then develop strategies to improve relationships both at parks as well as with frontline staff, regional leaders, and Washington headquarters (WASO) that would ultimately:

  • Clarify, facilitate understanding of, and activate the true purpose of CA’s
  • Build and improve relationships that are beneficial to both CAs and the NPS overall

 

Here’s how we did it:

  • To begin unlocking the relationship between CAs and NPS, we recommended a framework that was grounded in traditional community organizing principles. More specifically, the structure used to guide the session was a spin on a power analysis tool, as it is, in its simplest form, a visual way to identify the key decision-makers who have authority and to map out the factors influencing our ability to get there.
  • We developed and led an interactive four-hour exercise to unite the group around a shared vision for what they want to accomplish together
  • Through a variety of exercises, we worked together to craft a common WHY and common statement of purpose that describes an evolving relationship with NPS. 
  • We collectively crafted our Trust & Understanding Map by plotting key elements that define the CA and NPS relationship against both the amount of influence and the perceived level of support from those who influence it. The general idea with this approach was to set the bigger picture context of what we want to accomplish, before getting more granular.
  • Once the four-hour workshop concluded, Mixte hosted additional informal and supplemental conversations with other multi- and single-park CAs.
  • We summarized this kickoff workshop and supplemental conversations with a detailed report in an attempt to paint the picture, full of vibrancy and detail, of how Cooperating Associations nationwide can activate on what they were designed to do.  

The Outcome

The workshop allowed the group to understand where they were in the big picture — still organizing the collective why of what brought us all together, and painting a clear picture of the ecosystem we collectively existed within. The workshop and summary now act as a guide for when the group moves into identifying the collective brand as a unit of Cooperating Associations and developing a communications strategy that elevates the partnership with NPS to its full potential — something that benefits everyone.