Building effective partnerships

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Building effective partnerships

• David Wilcox
• www.partnerships.org.uk

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What well cover to start

• How to think about partnership
• Benefits, opportunities - and barriers
• How to approach partnerships
• What works and what doesnt
• The process of building partnership

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First - what do you think?

• When we say partnership what comes to mind?
• What does partnership mean in the context of
  External Systems?
• What are the benefits - and barriers?

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Benefits of partnership

• Making 11 more than 2 sharing ideas and
  resources
• Gaining access to skills of others
• Mutual support and enthusiasm
• Seeing through others eyes
• Funding available to partnerships
• Reaching wider audiences

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Barriers and challenges

• Suspicion and lack of trust
• Fear of losing identity
• Unacceptable inequalities of power
• Poor communication
• Lack of leadership, clear roles
• Confused style of working
• The time it takes to build trust and new
  relationship

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Partnerships which arent
Sherry Arnsteins ladder of participation
1969 Suggests top of the ladder is best. The key
issue - who is in control.
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A revised ladder
Supporting
Substantial participation
Acting together
Degree of control
Deciding together
Sometime lower rungs may be appropriate. But if
you want partnership make sure that is what is
offered.
Consultation
Information
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Three views of partnership
Money
Paperwork
Jargon
Projects
Business
Trust and Relationships
Personalities
Constitution
People
Structure
Meetings
Agreement
Confidence
Skills
Procedures
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Partnership life cycle

• Initiating What was the spark? Whos idea? Why?
• Starting get to know each other. Create shared
  vision. Write agreement.
• Doing start projects. Involve others. Support
  each other.
• Sustaining - or finishing. Do you need to keep
  going?

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Tips for partnership working

• Be clear on what you really want.
• Check how much influence you have.
• Dont end up a token representative
• Look for allies. Be sociable.
• Use workshops as well as committees.
• Put yourself in others shoes.
• Organise around tasks, projects.
• Be honest. Build trust.

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Reaching an agreement

• Who will benefit
• What are the goals, deliverables
• What is our shared vision
• What will each party contribute
• How will decisions be made
• How will conflict be dealt with
• How will surpluses be shared
• How will we know if we are succeeding

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Building a relationship

• Respect peoples styles and cultures
• Use different ways to communicate
• Go away together - away days
• Do things together - projects
• Expect to learn from each other
• Balance competition and collaboration
• Take time
• Be positive! Have some fun!