Best%20Practices%20in%20Partnerships

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Best Practices in Partnerships

• Gail Zboch, Senior Program OfficerStrategic
  Programs and Joint Initiatives

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Context

• SSHRC has funded research partnerships in the
  past, both through short-term funding
  opportunities and through long-term initiatives
  (CURA, MCRI, etc.)
• SSHRC has also funded research networks through
  joint initiatives (CISS RDC, Metropolis, etc.)
• These partnerships have resulted in fruitful
  collaboration, rich research findings and
  sustainable, long-term relationships

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Best Practices in Building Partnerships

• Communication
• Governance structures
• Stakeholder involvement
• Training opportunities

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Communication

• Ensure effective communication with all
  interested parties (e.g., researchers, partners,
  general public)
• Ongoing liaison with stakeholders
• Full-time project co-ordinator or facilitator
• Works for the partnership project
• Point of contact for stakeholders
• Circulates newsletters and email updates
• Development of common tools for information
  sharing with stakeholders as well as with greater
  audiences
• Websites, web portals, etc.
• Social networking sites
• Facebook, Twitter, Second Life

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Governance Structures

• Provide a clear, well-developed governance
  structure (e.g. steering committee,
  sub-committees, working groups)
• Use a decision-making process that incorporates
  all stakeholders
• Ensuring the active participation of all
  stakeholders at the table
• Ensure conflict resolution mechanisms are in
  place
• Managing competing interests and priorities in
  the partnership
• Develop performance evaluation frameworks in
  collaboration with stakeholders
• Ensuring that the deliverables and activities are
  carried out according to schedule

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Stakeholder Involvement

• Ensure the active participation of all
  stakeholders over the course of the project
• Define roles and responsibilites for all partners
  at the start
• Establish common goals and priorities in
  consultation with stakeholders
• Delegate tasks according to capacity and
  expertise
• Share resources equitably, and ensure a
  reasonable buy-in on the project from the
  partners
• Cash or in-kind contributions, including
• Personnel
• Access to facilities or facilitating interaction
  with other organizations/communities
• Knowledge mobilization activities

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Training Opportunities

• Ensure the meaningful involvement of students
• Working with partnering organizations
• Hands-on skills
• Ensure capacity-building and learning, not only
  for students, but all involved in the project,
  by
• Integrating partnering organizations into project
  plans
• For example, training personnel from partnering
  organizations to conduct interviews, organize
  events, present at conferences, etc.
• Fostering the exchange of knowledge and expertise
  between all the stakeholders of the project

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Helpful Hints Developing a Partnership Project

• Develop plans to ensure the sustainability of the
  partnership beyond the tenure of the grant
• Set realistic, attainable goals
• Validate objectives and plans with the
  stakeholders even in the development phases
• Ensure that the project has the necessary
  stakeholders on board to successfully achieve its
  goals
• Number of partners quality over quantity

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Helpful Hints Developing a Partnership Project

• Continue to recruit new partners over the course
  of the project
• Identify potential interested partners through
  networking opportunities, including
• External events
• Contacts in the field
• Existing projects and partnerships
• Social networking

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Some Helpful Documents

• A formalized partnership document such as a
  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Letters of engagement that clearly outline the
  partners commitments, both financial and in-kind
• Tips for partner letters
• Avoid template letters
• Ensure that all letters are personalized and
  demonstrate a knowledge of the project
• Address the letters to the principal
  investigator/project director and refer to the
  project title
• An assessment or self-assessment mechanism that
  allows the team to evaluate its activities and
  the quality of the partnership
• A common reporting system

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Useful Resources Examples of projects

• Cluster Network for Business Sustainability (Dr.
  Tima Bansal, University of Western Ontario)
  http//www.nbs.net/
• CURA Life stories of Montrealers displaced by
  war, genocide, and other human rights violations,
  (Dr. Steven High, Canada Research Chair in Public
  History, Department of History, Concordia
  University) www.lifestoriesmontreal.ca
• Knowledge Impact in Society For the list of all
  projects funded visit www.kis.usask.ca/about/proj
  ects.html
• MCRI The Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution Project
  (Dr. Pitman Potter, University of British
  Columbia) www.apdr.iar.ubc.ca/intro.php

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Useful Resources

• CIROP MEASURE Measuring community impacts of
  research-oriented partnerships.
  www.impactmeasure.org
• Social Economy Hub List of resources and guides
  on community-university partnerships.
  www.socialeconomyhub.ca/?qcontent/community-unive
  rsity-partnerships-research
• The ARUC-ÉS and RQRP-ÉS Model and Guide for
  Knowledge Mobilization in the Context of Research
  Partnerships.
• www.aruc-es.uqam.ca/Nospublications/Autresdocumen
  ts
• CU Expo 2011 Canadian-led conference designed to
  showcase the best community-university
  partnerships worldwide. www.cuexpo2011.ca

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Thank you / Merci
Email partnershipgrants_at_sshrc-crsh.gc.caTel.
613-943-1007