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Partnership (I)
Building “grounds” for cooperation
The word partnership has lately started being used for almost all relations, thus starting to lose its meaning. Partnership is a process of relations building, based on a lot of principles and values. In this and in the following edition of the Civic World we will present the concept of partnerships building in the context of non-governmental organizing.
A successful partnership is created when the partners are able to agree upon mutual objectives, tasks and wanted outcome which will satisfy the interests of all partners and it can be achieved better, faster and more efficiently if they unite their efforts. Partners can input various things in partnership: services, goods, funds, implementation capacity, training, legitimacy, publicity, information. Partners not always input same things and do not have equal participation. They most often input some complementary resources, depending on their capacity. Regardless of the share and the components they input, one of the most important things they certainly have to input is the trust in one another.
How are partnerships built?
The basic steps for a successful partnership building are the following:
· Evaluation of the own potential as a partner
· Building “grounds” for partnership
· Own presentation as a partner
· Seeking partner
· Clarifying the expectancies from partnership
· Putting into effect (implementing) the partnership
· Advancement upon the gained experience
Evaluation of the own potential as a partner
When we always want to work on a problem, first we should carry out a realistic evaluation of our own potentials if we are able to do it, and if we do it in partnership, we should additionally evaluate our own potentials as partners. Evaluation should be overall and should not only refer to the organizational capacity, but it should also involve evaluation of our legitimacy to deal with the problem, our credibility, the values we cherish, the relations with the other actors. It is especially important to evaluate what is unique and characteristic of our organization, and will present an important value for the future partnership.
Building “grounds” for partnership
Partnership requires previous preparations. Regardless of where the partnership initiative comes from, it is necessary to make a few steps in order to build “grounds” for cooperation:
· to hold a meeting of all parties concerned by the problem which the partnership is going to deal;
· to collect data on the context;
· to check the opportunities for using the resources of the already existing networks.
Building the “grounds” helps to define or redefine the ideas about the activities and possible partnership. Good preparation creates good basis for negotiations.
Own presentation as a partner
As the ideas and intentions became clearer, the best way of presenting ourselves as a partner should be considered. It is good the ideas to be documented. Documentation can be in a working version and it is necessary to contain the answers to all questions. It can comprise questions and risks that should mutually be considered and debated. The documentation should actually be support to the process of partnership building.
Seeking partner
In theory, an ideal partner is the one who shares your objectives and has appropriate resources, but in practice it does not have to be like that, some partners, even with best intentions, can promise much more from what they can really do. It is very important to evaluate properly what the partner can offer.
While identifying the partners, the following should be taken into consideration:
· Mutual “agenda”
Do you and your partner agree upon the mutual objective? Do you share mutual values in your work? If not, can you accept it and integrate your different working styles? What is your partner’s motivation to cooperate?
· Trust and respect
Do you and your partner trust and respect each other, or you should still yet to work on gaining trust and respect? How well do you know your partner?
· Organizational capacities
What can your partner deliver? Does he have any experience in the area of your interest? What do you know about your partner’s management, activists and personnel?
· Preparedness to carry out the tasks
Is your partner ready for partnership? Is there any consensus in your partner’s organization – what is he going to carry out? Can your partner keep the promise with his existing organizational capacity or it will take time for the organization to mobilize and to provide the necessary organizational capacity? Is your partner realistic about his preparedness to carry out the tasks?
· Dedication to resources
What kinds of resources can your partner invest in the partnership? Are the resources financial or in goods? Are the resources truly dedicated to the partnership or just formally? When will they be available and how long for?
· Leadership and coordination
Do you and your partner have any expectations that there will be a leading partner or coordinator? If so, who is expected to run or coordinate the cooperation? Is there any capacity for running or coordinating in one of the partnership organizations or it should be developed?
· Complementing
Do you, your partner, and what each of you inputs in the partnership complement each other? What will the proportion be between the partners concerning the implementation, the range of included resources and the geographical covering? To what extent do you and your partners complement each other? Do you need to look for any additional partners who will provide what you are not able to provide yourselves?
Prepared by: Sunchica Sazdovska
(Used material: “Building donor partnerships”, Terrice Bassler and Mabel Wisse Smit)
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