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- Developing Collaborative Business Relationships

Developing Collaborative Business Relationships - ISO 44001

Organisations have long recognised that close, constructive working relationships are good for business. Many more are now realising that a structured, systematic approach to defining benefits, processes and competencies that will support delivery of such collaborative relationships is fundamental to success.

A structured approach to supporting effective business relationships led to the development of BS 11000, published in 2010. This has now become an International Standard – ISO 44001.

The specification is designed to be applicable to organisations of any size or structure.

What is ISO 44001

The objective of this Standard is to provide a framework that is integrated into an organisation’s established operations, activities, processes and procedures, to optimise the benefits of collaboration.

The standard addresses both the overall requirements to establish a management system and operational process requirements for organisational relationship engagement. The framework addresses a number of themes that cascade from the high level management system. These evolving themes impact the behaviours and organisational culture of collaborating organisations to ensure they are effective, optimised and deliver enhanced benefit to the stakeholders through collaborative approaches.

Its overall aim is to help organisation establish and improve how collaborative relationships work. It is not designed as a ‘one size fits all’ standard. The variety in the nature of collaborative relationships, from internal divisions to multi-party consortiums, means that consistency within a framework is sought, with application tailored to the specific requirements of the organisation involved.