I am never sure if the popularity of the term ‘collaboration’ makes it better understood, or if it actually creates an illusion that collaboration is something that is easy to understand and do. Results clearly tell us that collaboration is still a hit and miss affair for way too many businesses. Those who get it right also realise that collaboration is really not for those that are used to aiming at low hanging fruit. A longer term strategic narrative that creates a stand out business is more likely to also engage with collaboration as a strategy. This week’s selection of recommended reading offers a few examples that support this.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Is business up for more collaboration with government?

An enduring theme for our CEO Surveys is the need for collaboration between business and the state to achieve society’s goals. However, this year’s Survey shows that collaboration with government is not top of mind for the CEOs surveyed (see Figure). Is this a cause for concern?..READ ON

New Conference to Support Collaboration

The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced Apache: Big Data, a new event that brings together leading committers of Apache Big Data projects to advance the technologies driving the way we capture, assess and store the plethora of data in the world today. The first Apache: Big Data event will be held in Budapest, September 28 – 30, and takes the place of the former ApacheCon event. A new co-located event called ApacheCon: Core, taking place October 1-2, will host select Apache projects in a mix of self-organized tracks and mini-summits, as well as a Web Technologies track, Incubator & Innovation track, and Community track…READ ON

So Happy Together: The Right Kind of Collaboration

As the global marketplace becomes more competitive, companies must churn out new and better products at faster rates. To that end, companies as varied as IBM and Frito-Lay have partnered with multiple other firms in an attempt to improve their R&D efforts. But although researchers have speculated that multiple-partner initiatives could help firms speed up development and cut costs, actual evidence of these benefits remains scant…READ ON

Social Collaboration Meets Knowledge Management

I spent part of May on the road, traveling to two very different events. At the start of the month I had the pleasure of once again attending the J. Boye Groups’ annual North American conference in Philadelphia. The website is still up, and you can download many of the presentations here. A week later I had my first trip to Ottawa, for a meeting of the Council on Information and Knowledge Management of the Conference Board of Canada…READ ON

Word 2016 Is Getting Closer To Offering Real-Time Desktop Collaboration

Office Online already offers real-time collaboration on file editing between multiple people, and that feature has been promised for the desktop version of Office 2016, but it hasn’t showed up in the previews so far. The latest update to Office 2016 brings it a lot closer. As the official Office blog explains, while full collaboration in the desktop apps hasn’t happened yet, some of the indicators are positive:..READ ON

Collaboration is key for new housing group

Salford-based City West Housing Trust has joined a newly formed group, as it seeks to improve communities, services and invest in new homes. Launched this month ForViva sees City West team up with Knowsley and Oldham-based Villages Housing Association and construction firm ForWorks under a new group structure. City West owns 14,600 homes across Salford, while Villages Housing has over 900 properties in Fitton Hill, Oldham along with over 1,800 in Stockbridge Village, Knowsley. ForViva says it will establish better links between health and housing services, improve the lives of customers through access to education and support safer communities…READ ON