Definition

Trusting and inclusive relationships refers to the importance of developing and maintaining positive trusting relationships.

Positive relationship development and maintenance 
Positive relationship development and maintenance refers to mutually beneficial relationships for primary care and public health partners in the collaboration.  When relationships become robust the collaboration is strengthened.  Individuals become accountable and acknowledge the importance of the relationship and take actions to make it stronger.

“My experience has been really … If you take the time upfront to really clarify what needs to happen, and build those relationships with individuals, it makes a huge difference in outcomes. This is because you have identified your common goals, where you want to go, and how you can get there together.  Having strong trusting relationships is critically important.”

Collaborative working styles
These styles strengthen collaboration by accommodating each partner to bring their strengths and expertise to the collaboration. This would include a ‘we’ rather than ‘me’ attitude, a willingness to take risks, and working together on both hard as well as mundane tasks.

To truly collaborate, you need all partners to be at the table and to be open and willing to work together with others collaboratively.

Trust
Trust between partners in organizations has been examined extensively in the literature. Generally it is understood that the development of trust is based on the ability to form expectations about collaboration aims and the partners’ future behaviors in relation to those aims. 

One public health nurse practitioner shares this view “I see the potential for trust when I have positive expectations.  This can be based on my anticipation that the collaboration we are building will go well, or it could be based on previous satisfactory experiences with individuals involved.”