Cross Border Opportunities Project  

A study of community-based partnerships showed that successful partnerships have many things in common. It is worthwhile taking a general look at underlying characteristics of both successful and failed partnerships so that problems can be prevented or tackled on time.

The last part of this section builds on this knowledge and gives guidelines on how to build your partnership.

Successful Partnership

The following factors for success emerge from surveys of partnerships, and workshops of practitioners involved in creating and running partnerships:

• Agreement that a partnership is necessary.
• Respect and trust between different interests.
• The leadership of a respected individual or individuals.
• Commitment of key interests developed through a clear and open process.
• The development of a shared vision of what might be achieved.
• Time to build the partnership.
• Shared mandates or agendas.
• The development of compatible ways of working, and flexibility.
• Good communication, perhaps aided by a facilitator.
• Collaborative decision-making, with a commitment to achieving consensus.
• Effective organisational management.

Failed partnership

The following are characteristics of failed attempts at partnership, or warnings that something is going wrong:

• A history of conflict among key interests.
• One partner manipulates or dominates.
• Lack of clear purpose.
• Unrealistic goals.
• Differences of philosophy and ways of working.
• Lack of communication.
• Unequal and unacceptable balance of power and control.
• Key interests missing from the partnership.
• Hidden agendas.
• Financial and time commitments outweigh the potential benefits.
• Things being done to a community “for their own good”

Building your partnership

Clarify your own goals in forming a partnership. What are you looking for – and what are you offering?

• Find out what is already happening in the area, who’s who, and who might be a partner or involved in other ways.
• Spend time getting to know potential partners.
• Think about partnership as a process of forming relationships to do things, not just a structure. Make commitment, and trust, the centre line.
• Run a workshop with partners to develop a shared vision and plan that process, built around the tasks and projects to achieve your goals. Check if you really need a partnership rather than a network, or other alliance.
• Set up interim arrangements for decision-making. Decide the precise structure after you are clear what it is you are trying to achieve. Then develop a partnership agreement or – if appropriate – constitution.
• Respect the different personality types of those involved, and their different communication styles. Use a mix of methods to communicate, including electronic if possible
• Organise around tasks and projects, with a leader for each task group.
• Be prepared to deal with conflict among partners and members of communities. In doing that focus on outcomes and how to get them to overlap.
• Look at options. There is usually more than one way of getting what you want to achieve.
• Look outwards as well as inwards. Practice the community involvement you may be urging on other organisations!