Increasing the Capacity of Individuals, Families and Communities

Establishing Partnerships

Introduction | Key Components of Partnership Development

Establishing Partnerships Overview

Why Form Partnerships?
While there are many nationally recognized benefits and advantages to partnership development, the answer to why one seeks to establish partnerships is relatively simple. There is added value in working with other organizations including the sharing of staff and financial resources. Partnership development is not a new concept. Communities, organizations and individuals have been working together in partnerships to improve the quality of life at the grassroots level for a number of years. There are a number of multi-agency "stakeholder" partnerships both locally and nationally that manage and deliver a wide range of community development programs, as well as service development and strategic planning. However, the benefits of effective partnerships do not result overnight. Establishing effective and inclusive partnerships takes time, and it is important for you to create the right framework from the start and review the structure and process of the partnership on an ongoing basis to measure its success or failure.

As a result of the popularity of partnerships and their potential benefits, a vast array of information is available, including many websites dedicated to partnership development with self-assessment checklists, evaluation processes and benchmarking exercises. Also, an ever-increasing number of publications have surfaced to promote the benefits and advantages to partnership development.

What Is a Partnership?
A working definition of a partnership is "a collaborative relationship between entities to work toward shared objectives through a mutually agreed division of labor."¹

While this working definition is not very precise, it does help distinguish partnerships from other forms of aid relationship. Partnerships are inherently complex vehicles for delivery of practical solutions on the ground and at the strategic level. Several studies of how partnerships operate indicate that practitioners manage the complexity by adopting a long-term, flexible and organic approach. Why organic? During the course of these partnerships, organizations often evolve as they learn more about effective management, build capacity and gain valuable experiences. In that sense, partnerships act as a learning mechanism that teaches you to be better at what you do and enables you to achieve your goals.

If you are considering a potential partnership, you should become familiar with several key components of the most common approaches to partnerships including:

• Leadership
  Partnerships imply a shared leadership among respected individual(s) who are recognized and empowered by their own organizations and trusted by partners to build consensus and resolve conflicts.
  
  
• Common Understanding
  A common understanding of the framework, culture, values and approach of partner organizations needs to exist. Also important is a clear understanding of individual members’ roles and responsibilities regarding the division of labor.
  
  
• Purpose
  A shared common vision and purpose that builds trust and openness and recognizes the value and contribution of all members needs to exist. Additionally, shared and transparent decision-making processes—extending the scope of influence and involvement over other services and activities—will prove essential to your partnership.
  
  Shared goals and aims, understood and accepted as being important by each partner, leads to improved coordination of policies, programs and service delivery, and ultimately better outcomes.
  
  
• Culture and Values
  Shared "can do" values, understanding and also an acceptance of differences (e.g., values, ways of working) are all key components of a successful partnership. Having respect for the contributions of all partners, combined with an absence of status barriers, will lead to the active involvement of members who are identified as being effective, representative and capable of playing a valued role in the partnership.
  
  
• Learning and Development
  A healthy partnership promotes an atmosphere of learning. This may involve monitoring and evaluation aimed at improving members’ performance. Investing in partner skills, knowledge and competence needs to be highly valued within the partnership. This open mindset and spirit of facilitation creates opportunities to shape each other’s work and learn together. In this environment, members can more effectively reflect on both developmental successes and failures.
  

Communication If a partnership is going to succeed in the area of communication, strong feedback loops are required. Effective communication at all levels within the partnership and within partner organizations, sharing and accessing all knowledge and information needs to exist. Performance Management Management practices and resources are required to achieve the partnership goals and complement the intended purpose of the partnership. Specifically, members must demonstrate both accountability for the actions they take and ownership for delivering the objectives and targets for which they are responsible. At the same time, you must be equally aware of key barriers to a working relationship with a potential partner. Furthermore, as relationships evolve, partners must be aware of these barrier issues and work to resolve them if present. On the right is a list of potential barriers to successful partnerships for you to consider.

Barriers to Successful Partnerships Limited vision/failure to inspire One partner manipulates or dominates, or partners compete for the lead Lack of clear purpose and inconsistent level of understanding purpose Lack of understanding roles/responsibilities Lack of support from partner organizations with ultimate decision-making power Differences of philosophies and manners of working Lack of commitment; unwilling participants Unequal and/or unacceptable balance of power and control Key interests and/or people missing from the partnership Hidden agendas Failure to communicate Lack of evaluation or monitoring systems Failure to learn Financial and time commitments outweigh potential benefits Too little time for effective consultation

Introduction | Key Components of Partnership Development