15
Key Partnership Principles
Effective Partnerships Need A Facilitator –
an “Honest Broker”, who is acceptable to all and
serving all, and who has the role of bringing the Partnership
to life and keeping it going. He/She is a servant and needs
training and nurture.
Effective Partnerships Need A Purpose – Successful
Partnerships develop in order to accomplish a specific vision
or task. Partnership for partnership’s sake spells failure.
Therefore the focus needs to be on what (the objectives) rather
than on how (the structure). The Function should always come
before the Form. Consensus is usually better than Constitution!
Effective Partnerships recognize that the Exploration
and Formation Stages take Time – These stages are
a process and not an event. If you call the Formation Meeting
too early, it can be fatal. It is necessary to establish real,
personal trust in the exploration phase, and this is best
done privately in one-to-one meetings
Effective Partnerships Start by Identifying Needs, not
Writing a Statement of Purpose – Start by identifying
needs, the priorities, the barriers to breakthrough, the resources
which are available or needed, and from these distill out
realistic priorities for action.
Effective Partnerships have clear, well-defined Objectives
and Goals – In the early stages of the Partnership,
these will need to be limited and achievable, however, they
must be significant enough to provide motivation for the group
and its individual members. As the partnership experiences
success, the objectives and goals which are set should become
more significant and challenging.
Effective Partnerships are made up of partner operations
with clear identities and vision – It is important
for the individual partner agencies to be clear about their
Purpose and to have their own clear Mission Statements, otherwise
they will have difficulty seeing where they contribute to
the overall picture or benefit from the joint effort.
Effective Partnerships recognize that they have at least
Four Constituencies, whose needs must be acknowledged:
The Target People Group
Leaders & Staff of the Partner Agencies
Supporters of the Partner Agencies
The Partnership Itself
There are more players around the table than we often acknowledge.
We dare not forget them and their needs; if we do - the partnership
will fail.
Effective Partnerships have an 'Advocate' for Partnership
inside every Partner Agency – This “advocate”
or “champion” for partnership is a person who
sees how their individual operation can benefit from practical
cooperation and who will 'sell' the vision to their colleagues
in their operation. Without such a person, the commitment
of the agency to the Partnership is likely to be half-hearted
at best .
Effective Partnerships are even More Challenging to Maintain
than to Start – It takes long-term commitment and
considerable effort to ensure an Partnership continues to
be effective. A Partnership needs constant nurturing to keep
the Vision alive, the Focus clear, the Communications open
and the Outcomes fulfilling.
Effective Partnerships focus on what they have in common
rather than on what makes them different – It is
important for Partnerships to focus on what the agencies have
in common: things like vision, values and operation objectives.
However, it is also important to acknowledge - even to celebrate
- the differences in the partner agencies histories, vision,
resources and services.
Effective Partnerships maintain a high level of Participation
and Ownership by the Partners – It is critical that
facilitators pay attention to the widest possible participation
in planning and in the process of meetings; this increases
the likely ownership and commitment of the Partners to the
common vision.
Effective Partnerships keep focused on their Ultimate
Goals and Vision – It is often easy to focus on
the "means" rather than the "end". It
is important to ensure the Partnership keeps focused on the
long-term view and does not get distracted by day-to-day operational
demands.
Effective Partnerships are built on trust, openness and
mutual concern – There must be transparent relationships
between the partner agencies, and developing such relationships,
where there is openness, trust and mutual concern, takes time
and intentional effort. Partnerships are more than coordination,
planning, strategy and tactics.
Effective Partnerships do not come Free of Charge
– Just participating in the planning and coordinating
of the Partnership costs time and money. Deeper commitment
involves an even greater investment. However, the return on
these "Investments" should more than offset the
contributions made.
Effective Partnerships expect Problems and Plan Ahead
– A process must be built into the Partnership for dealing
with changes, exceptions, disappointments, unfulfilled commitments
and even for the unexpected!
By Nico Mulder
Board Member
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Newsletter
Fall 2005
Sharon joined our Board of Directors this year and we are
very proud to announce her achievement to everyone.
Lack
of accessible, affordable transportation. Limited financial
resources. Physical and architectural barriers. Difficulties
in accessing information. Getting trained and obtaining employment.
Public misconceptions and negative attitudes. These are some
of the issues emerging from the Consultation with Persons
with Disabilities study now nearing completion. The combined
results from agency surveys, focus groups and over 300 questionnaires
completed by persons with 
disabilities
from Peterborough City and County are now being analyzed and
will be available to the community later this fall. Also being
developed is a set of recommendations and implementation plan
aimed at better meeting the needs of persons with disabilities
living within our community.
conclusion
of this project, I am taking on the full-time position of
Research & Policy Analyst. This comes after spending five
years with PSPC as one of its Planning & Research Associates.
In this new role, I am looking forward to broadening my involvement
in the local community, 
as
well as furthering PSPC’s work in the areas of social
research, policy analysis and community development.
Sponsored
by: Peterborough Social Planning Council (PSPC)
