Collaboration Readiness Assessment | Rural Tourism Network

About Your Organization

Organization Name (optional)County and State (optional)

How many people are on your team? (required)

How You Collaborate Today

There are no right or wrong answers. Collaboration looks different for every organization. Only the first question is required.

How often does your organization collaborate with neighboring DMOs? (required)

What forms of collaboration do you take part in now? (optional)Check the ones you do and tell us how it’s going overall, or answer each one, including the ones you don’t do.

Sharing marketing content or creative assetsCo-hosting or cross-promoting eventsJoint grant applications or funding requestsCoordinating visitor itineraries or content across county linesSharing visitor data or analyticsCo-managing a regional trail, byway, or passport programParticipating in a regional tourism board or coalitionShared marketing campaigns

Doing something we didn’t list? Add it here (optional).

None of these yet? Tell us why not. Check any that apply (optional).

Too expensiveWe haven’t needed itWe don’t know where to startNo one to run itA partner or the county covers itNo obvious partner for itNot a priority right now

How would you describe your relationships with neighboring DMOs? (optional)

Rate 14 Statements

For each statement, choose the answer that best fits your organization today. If you don’t know, choose Not sure. If a statement doesn’t fit your situation, choose Doesn’t apply. Neither one counts against your score.

Relationships

There is at least one person at a neighboring county DMO I could call today with a question or idea, and they’d pick up or call me back.

If I reached out to a neighboring DMO about a joint project, I’m confident they’d see us as a credible partner, not a competitor.

We’ve been in the same room as neighboring DMO directors in the past 12 months, whether at a conference, coalition meeting, or informal gathering.

Capacity

If a promising collaboration opportunity came up tomorrow, I could say yes without it immediately breaking something else we’re already committed to.

There is at least one person on our team who could own a regional partnership without it disrupting the team’s ability to fulfill other responsibilities.

We’ve never had to pass on a collaborative opportunity because of our capacity.

Infrastructure

We have shared tools or systems in place that make it easy to work with outside organizations.

Our visitor data and analytics are organized in a way that we could share or present to a regional partner.

We have at least one tool or system, even something as simple as a shared Google Drive or a group text thread, that we already use to coordinate with an outside organization.

Alignment

We have at least a rough sense of who our neighboring DMOs are trying to reach, their target visitor, their marketing focus, what they’re known for.

When visitors come to our region, we think of them as regional visitors first, not just our county’s visitors.

There’s at least one marketing opportunity or initiative we’ve identified that we couldn’t pull off alone but could realistically do with one or two regional partners.

Leadership

We have a clear internal champion, someone who owns and drives collaboration efforts.

Our board or funders understand the value of regional collaboration and would support investment in it.

What’s Holding You Back

Optional. Check everything that fits. This shows what is actually in the way, not just what’s possible in theory.

Our team is already at capacity, adding anything new means something else doesn’t get doneWe don’t have a clear picture of what collaboration would actually look like day-to-dayWe don’t have the budget to invest in joint initiatives, even small onesWe’re not sure which neighboring organizations would be the right fit to work withThere’s an underlying sense of competition between our destination and nearby onesWe don’t have a shared space, platform, or system that makes it easy to work with outside organizationsWe’ve tried collaboration before and it didn’t go anywhereOur board or key funders don’t see regional collaboration as a priority right nowNobody on our team has the bandwidth to be the person who drives partnership workIt’s hard to show leadership or funders a clear return on the time we’d investThe neighboring DMOs in our region are at very different capacity levels, so it’s hard to move at the same paceHonestly, we’re not sure where to start or what a realistic first step looks like

Something else? (optional)

Where You Want to Go

Optional. What would deeper regional collaboration make possible for your organization that isn’t possible today? Check all that apply.

Reaching more visitors without increasing our marketing budgetQualifying for grants or funding that require regional partnershipsGetting some relief from tasks our team currently handles alone that a partner could shareMaking a stronger case for tourism’s economic impact to local officials or fundersCreating a more connected visitor experience across our region, not just within our countyParticipating in trail or itinerary programs we currently can’t manage on our ownHaving more of a voice in state or federal tourism planning conversationsSimply having other DMO directors to think through challenges withAttracting new businesses, events, or investment to our region by marketing it as a whole

Something else? (optional)What would need to be true for you to take a meaningful step in the next 12 months? (optional)

Where Should We Send Your Report?

Your report appears on this page right away. We’ll also email you a copy.

Email (required)First Name (optional)

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Team size, how often you collaborate, the readiness statements and your email are required. Everything else is optional.

Collaboration Readiness

What It’s For

What You Get

How It Works