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Office of Community Services skip to primary page contentIncreasing the Capacity of Individuals, Families and Communities

Establishing Partnerships

Partnerships in Action | Managing Partnerships

Practical Steps to Forming and Managing Partnerships

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Step Two: Starting the process
Partnerships have to be developed and nurtured in a manner that respects and recognizes each individual. Picture a group working as a team that ultimately wants to achieve the same goal no matter how or what it takes to achieve it. The process for building and developing relationships within the partnership is not just the responsibility of the person(s) who lead the group, but of everyone in that group.

The stages of developing a partnership could be based on stages of project management "team building"—forming, storming, norming and performing. Forming the group by bringing people together is part of the initial stages of starting the process of building the partnership. The next stage, when the group has met on two or three occasions, is when people start to question the purpose of the partnership, (i.e., "Why am I here and what is my role?"). It is important to work through this stage of storming in order for the group to be open and honest about what their perceptions are regarding the various definitions of the overall goal/vision. Norming, the stage where the partnership is reaching shared agreements, is discussed in Step Three: Setting up and maintaining the partnership. Performing, the final stage, is discussed in Step Four: Implementing evaluation and monitoring.

It is also important at the initial stages to agree on a set of ground rules for the partnership. This may seem obvious, but very few groups perform this fundamental requirement necessary for valuing and respecting the individual partners.

Identify potential members:
Who should be involved? Do we have all the right people together? How many members should be in the partnership and in what proportion? What is the appropriate level of involvement for members? This is sometimes referred to as "stakeholder analysis."

  • Determine how many members should be in the partnership and in what proportion from across agencies.

Identify potential members:

 

 

Identify responsibilities, arrangements and objectives of leadership:
Who will take the lead? Who will have responsibility for driving the partnership agenda forward? Is there a clear written statement of the partnership leaders objectives and responsibilities? What accountability arrangements are in place? Do all members agree to these procedures? You will want to devise a clear written statement of who will take the lead/joint lead, their main objectives and responsibilities and to whom they will be accountable.

Document how you will obtain member agreement on these procedures below:

 

 

Identify the shared vision and goals:
Is there genuine shared vision and set of goals across the partnership? Is there a common understanding of and agreement to, the vision and objectives and are these documented? Do all partners understand how to achieve this? It is important that members are clear about the purpose and ultimate goal of the partnership.

Document the shared vision and goals:

 

 

Determine plans and priorities:
Does the partnership have a strategy/action plan that clearly sets out why the partnership was set up, what it is going to achieve, who is going to do what and by when? Where does this strategy/plan fit into wider strategies, and how does it link into partner strategies/local priorities? The partnership needs to have a strategy and action plan that sets out a clear structure. The strategy needs to reflect how the partnership will manage change and evaluate how well it is doing.

Document the partnership plan, priorities and links to other relevant strategies/plans:

 

 

Determine the function and nature of the partnership:
What is the nature of the partnership? Has this been established? It is important that members of the partnership are clear at what level and function this partnership is operating (e.g., advisory, strategic, networking, joint working or project based).

Document what members agree is the function and nature of the partnership:

 

 

Identify benefits for target groups:
What are the benefits to target groups in establishing this partnership? Has the partnership agreed or identified outcomes for specific target groups? If not, why not? This is relevant when the partnership is setting outcome measures. Benefits to target groups need to be clearly established and agreed by partners.

Benefits for target groups include:

Outcomes include:

 

 


Tips for Starting the Process
 
It is important to ensure members of the partnership participate from the earliest opportunity to help determine the entitys structure, process and priorities.
 
Ensure aims and objectives are clear at the outset and that they link to targets/strategy of partner organizations and the main body of accountability.


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Partnerships in Action | Managing Partnerships