What’s it all about?
Once you have undertaken an environmental analysis (see the PESTLE tool) and considered who else is working in your field, it can be helpful to assess the relationship between your respective organisations or projects. If you have a sound awareness of your own work and know the strengths and weaknesses of the other players in your field, you can determine the kind of relationship you want to have with them. This is particularly crucial at a time when funders or investors are likely to be looking for efficiencies and new business models.
What’s it for?
Consider the other organisations in your field and think about the different relationships you could have with them (you can use other tools such as ‘Strategic Group Mapping’). There are several options you could pursue depending on your respective missions, customer bases and business models. These range from direct competition to collaboration or co-operation.
Using the tool
The tool provides you with a comparison matrix to think about the other key players working in your area. It then prompts you to consider whether they are your competitors, possible collaborators or complementary to your work. This is an activity you can do as a sole trader or a larger organisation. You will need to have done some background analysis of the players in your field.