CoLAB Planning Series Workshops: How to Build Partnerships from Scratch
Professionals in government, heritage organizations, NGOs, and the tourism sector regularly engage within established networks—colleagues, stakeholders, and those who use their services. Yet many of Barbados’ most important opportunities—advancing cultural heritage stewardship, strengthening the creative economy, and supporting sustainable national development—depend on building meaningful collaborations across sectors.
Too often, hesitation to initiate conversations with new contacts limits our ability to form these connections. Let’s be honest: in most professional settings, starting a conversation with someone we do not know well can feel uncomfortable. However, by moving beyond that discomfort, we create opportunities to discover shared interests, align resources, and generate innovative ideas that can contribute to the country’s cultural vitality, economic resilience, and community well-being.
CoLAB workshops aim to identify and mobilize existing strengths—cultural, institutional, and human. Rather than focusing solely on needs, they create structured and engaging opportunities for connection and idea generation among professionals who may not yet know each other or have worked together.
Morning Workshop – Speed Meetings:
This session begins with a brief overview of the origins of speed meetings (introduced in 2002), along with examples of CoLAB themes and outcomes. Using completed profile cards, participants will engage in a series of 3–4 minute one-on-one conversations designed to quickly surface shared interests, expertise, and opportunities. These exchanges often lead to immediate “aha” moments of connection. Participants will then reflect on their conversations and share initial ideas for collaboration using Post-it notes, with attention to opportunities that support cultural preservation, public engagement, and cross-sector alignment.
Afternoon Workshop – Idea Tables Café:
Building on the morning session, this workshop demonstrates how structured group conversations can generate actionable ideas and partnerships. Using profile cards as introductions, participants will engage in three small-group discussions to identify existing resources across sectors and explore how these assets can be combined in new ways. Together, participants will develop ideas for collaborative, coordinative, or cooperative initiatives that support Barbados’ cultural heritage, tourism innovation, and broader national development goals. Ideas will be documented and prioritized based on interest and potential for implementation.
Collaboration Development Day Goal and Objectives:
By participating in this session, participants will strengthen their ability to engage across sectors, build new professional relationships, and develop mutually beneficial collaborations that contribute to Barbados’ cultural sustainability and national development priorities.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Describe a practical facilitation method for connecting professionals across sectors who do not yet know each other or have not previously collaborated;
- Cite examples of how this approach fosters new partnerships and more effective use of shared cultural and organizational resources;
- Explain the difference between asset-based and needs-based approaches to community development; and
- Identify actionable steps to initiate and sustain collaborative relationships that support cultural heritage stewardship, tourism development, and community impact.
Presenter:
Bess G. de Farber is a grantseeking and collaboration development consultant with ASK Associates, Inc. Her career spans four areas: musician and arts administrator; program officer managing grant awards in arts and culture, social services, and human and race relations; nonprofit management consultant; and academic research development professional. Over the past 40 years, she has provided collaborative grantseeking training to thousands of professionals across libraries, nonprofits, academia, and the arts, and has led efforts securing millions of dollars in funding for nonprofit, cultural, and educational organizations.
Her CoLAB Workshops have engaged nearly 4,000 participants through more than 80 sessions held in libraries, classrooms, conferences, and nonprofit settings. The workshops are recognized as practical, transformative tools for advancing collaboration. Bess’ workshops, along with her book Collaborating With Strangers: Facilitating Workshops in Libraries, Classes, and Nonprofits (co-authored with April Hines and Barbara J. Hood), introduce an asset-based approach to community development. She is also the author of Creating Fundable Grant Proposals: Profiles of Innovative Partnerships. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California and a Master of Nonprofit Management from Florida Atlantic University.