Establishing Partnerships
Managing
Partnerships | Summary
Examples of Effective Partnerships
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The second example is the partnership formed by the University of Hawaii. The University emphasized that there are two types of partnerships—those that are "intensive" and those that are "not so intensive"! The partnership between the University of Hawaii Center on the Family, the Hawaii Community Foundation, and the Hawaiian Islands’ Ministries is unique in its variety: a university, a philanthropic foundation and a FBO—all of whom came together and applied for their funding as a unit.
The Compassion Capital—Hawaii Moving Forward project is a multi-year inter-institutional partnership dedicated to improving the skills and performance of faith and community-based organizations as they meet the needs of low income and under resourced people in Hawaii. Compassion Capital—Hawaii Moving Forward provides training, grants and a fellows program to Hawaii-based FBCOs. The three areas of focus are: homelessness, families of incarcerated and individuals transitioning from welfare to work. Activities funded include staff development, project planning, improvements to information collection and tracking, limited facilities improvements, outreach to target population and better use of technology.
The grant development process was very collaborative, though the University did take a lead role since they had the experience and the systems in place to mange the federal funds. The University only had access to limited funding so they looked for an organization that could help them complete their needs match. They turned to the Hawaii Community Foundation, which was able to meet the funding needs and furthermore had the skills and competencies that completed those of the University. The Hawaiian Islands’ Ministries also had competencies that would further complement the University and the Foundation. Furthermore, since the University wanted to branch out into faith-based communities it was an ideal match.
These partners worked together to develop the conceptual design, philosophical stance and work plans. They budgeted for administration and hired a project coordinator who reports to the Director of the Family Center at the University and is in constant communication with the principals of the other organizations. Effective management is enabled due to the active role of the project coordinator as well as complementary skills and competencies that others respect as they emerge during the implementation of the project. They also spent time upfront discussing the project and working out each day of the work plan as well as aligning goals, values and the mission. Before the project began, the team knew every action, determined which members would be responsible and outlined the respective deadlines. They also developed a strong trust in each other and each other’s capabilities. They continue to meet on a regular basis to enable communication and participation.
As a result, though they formed this partnership specifically for this project, they are looking to other potential collaborative opportunities. The University also emphasized that these partnerships will never end because they are all existing within the community.
Managing
Partnerships | Summary