Sustaining Cross-Sector Collaborations: Lessons from New Orleans

This study examines the role of faith-based and nonprofit organizations in cross-sector collaborations and the outcomes of collaborative efforts in one poverty stricken New Orleans neighborhood. The study focuses on a particular one-stop human services center that was established in the target neighborhood post-Hurricane Katrina and was tested during the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Center was evaluated during the fall of 2008, to determine whether it held up in achieving relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts, especially in relation to additional needs generated by the more recent storms. Using the Bryson et al. (2006) model of cross-sector collaboration as a beginning framework, and the subsequent expanded model of that same framework from Simo and Bies (2007), the current study examines the successes and current challenges of this particular collaborative organization, analyzes the application of the identified cross-sector collaboration models, defines the role of faith-based organizations and explores the implications for future policy and practice, as well as directions for further research in this important and under-researched area.