Chapter 10

1. Chapter 10 TAEICR501A Work in partnership with industry, enterprise and community groups

2. Prepare for partnership No partnership should be entered into lightly. A great deal of research should precede any consideration of a partnership arrangement; ask questions about the need for and viability of working in partnership with another organisation. You may be entering into an alliance that will be long-lived and very successful, but you may also be entering into a relationship that could damage your RTO’s reputation and standing in the community and industry.

3. Working within the strategic plan The strategic plan of any organisation will generally revolve around growth. The organisation may wish to: • increase the number of students it enrols • increase its penetration into different markets by adding to its scope or delivering state or nationwide • increase its influence within the education and business sectors by engaging with industry bodies, community groups or business enterprises • position itself as a market leader within a particular field. There are a number of ways to achieve growth: one of these is to establish partnerships with like-minded or complementary organisations.

4. Potential partners • Industry groups such as industry associations or peak bodies • Enterprises such as small, medium or large commercial organisations • Community groups such as not-for-profit organisations • Independent trainers—trainers who wish to deliver nationally recognised qualifications but who do not want to become RTOs in their own right

5. Preparing to engage with partners Issues to consider: • Who will benefit? • Will the arrangement be flexible? • What services will be provided? • What are the skill requirements? • Is the necessary infrastructure in place?

6. Negotiating the partnership What each party will bring to a partnership is an important consideration. It is essential that each organisation benefits in line with their requirements. A mutually beneficial arrangement is a sure way of establishing a long-term, trusting relationship, so the benefits each partner expects must be negotiated.

7. SMART objectives • Specific • Measurable • Achievable • Relevant • Timely

8. SWOT analysis An analysis of the… Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats …both of the individual parties to a partnership agreement and of the partnership as a whole is an excellent tool for setting objectives.

9. Service and resource requirements Requirements may include: • equipment such as general office or industry-specific equipment, tools or machinery that may be required in order for a student to demonstrate competency • money that may be used for joint marketing or promotional activities, or for other fees and charges • RTO personnel for training, assessment, supervision or mentoring • venue or relevant workplace space to provide learning and development services • time for the partner’s staff to undertake the training.

10. The service agreement • Definitions • Purpose and scope • Terms of the agreement • Responsibilities • Financial arrangements • Advertising • Personnel • Default or breaches • Risk, indemnity and liability • Insurance • Confidentiality • Intellectual property • Disputes • Severability • Termination

11. Example responsibilities clause

12. Implementing the partnership The implementation phase of any partnership requires a well-devised communication plan. Up until now the partnership arrangements have been the sole province of management. In implementing the arrangements, however, all staff of both organisations need to be advised of the partnership, its value to both organisations and the benefits that both organisations hope to achieve. Staff must ‘buy in’ if the partnership is to succeed.

13. Developing processes • Each organisation will have its own procedures and processes in place that dictate how staff are to function in given situations. These processes now need to include working in cooperation and in tandem with a partner, probably one from a different industry. • The way in which the partners will work together needs to be properly formalised by way of agreement and processes to ensure that the agreement conditions are met and that work flows smoothly between the partner organisations.

14. Developing processes (cont.) • Who are the key contacts within each organisation and what will be the process for contacting them? • Who owns intellectual property and how will this IP be accessed and incorporated into the learning programs? • How will administrative duties be split and performed between the partner organisations? • What will the reporting arrangements be? • How often will reports be required? • What will they include? • Who will be responsible for dealing with them?

15. Parameters for quality assurance When developing processes and procedures it is important to keep organisational and legislative standards in mind. The quality, legal and ethical standards of both organisations need to be addressed—not only for the sake of delivering quality services, but also to ensure compliance with the standards set out by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). Develop partnership procedures with the relevant standards to hand so that they can be addressed.

16. Reporting and record keeping A very large part of the new processes will involve reporting procedures and record keeping. These records may include: • information about student assessments and progress reports • feedback from both the student and the partner organisation on the quality of the training program • expenditure and budget information • personnel records of training or professional development completed by the staff of both partners • evaluations and reviews of processes

17. Principles of record keeping • Accountability—it is important that a specific staff member (from each organisation) be assigned to oversee and be accountable for the record-keeping system of the partnership. • Integrity—the information recorded must be accurate, relevant and current so that any decisions made on the basis of this information will be sound. • Protection—information should be stored in a secure manner to ensure the confidentiality and security of the documents. • Compliance—the record management system must comply with all jurisdictional laws, regulations and organisational policies. continued

18. Principles of record keeping (cont.) • Availability—records must be stored in a manner that ensure timely, efficient and accurate retrieval of information as and when needed by either party. • Retention—records must be stored in accordance with organisational and legislative time frames. • Disposition—provides for the deletion for records that have no incremental business value or that create liability for the partnership. • Transparency—the record-keeping system must be implemented in an easily understandable and efficient manner that can be accessed by internal and external stakeholders as and when needed.

19. Contextualising Contextualising occurs where units or qualifications are tailored to suit specific client needs. Training packages allow for a certain amount of flexibility in this regard but contextualising may also mean being flexible in the way the RTO operates in relation to external partners. While there are compliance issues to consider, the RTO must nevertheless be flexible in its approach to delivering the services agreed upon in the partnership arrangement. This might mean developing resources specifically designed for a particular industry, community group or organisation.

20. Maintaining the partnership Equally as important as identifying and establishing partnership opportunities with like-minded organisations, is their maintenance. A great deal of work is done in putting a mutually beneficial partnership together, and it must be maintained in order for it to remain successful. This means communicating with the partners regularly and providing support where needed.

21. Use appropriate communication skills • Listen carefully to what is being said • Watch for non-verbal signals • Ask relevant questions • Recognise potential conflict and act to avoid it

22. Supporting staff Supporting staff is important for a number of reasons including: • to maintain a high level of morale within your group • to prevent burnout • to show appreciation • to keep lines of communication open • to keep quality staff members and, by doing so, to maintain and improve the quality of the service you provide

23. Supporting staff (cont.) In providing support for staff or volunteers, consider the issue from three different points of view: • Create a supportive physical environment • Support the work itself • Support the person doing the work

24. Evaluate and review the partnership Evaluation means measuring success in a systematic and objective way. Evaluation focuses on whether a project was effective, achieved its objectives, and whether the outcomes had the desired impact.

25. Evaluation methods • Quantitative methods may include questionnaires which are used to gather opinions from a particular group in a systematic way using closed and open-ended questions. They are a common and versatile way of collecting data. • Qualitative methods include interviews with individual stakeholders. These are conversations, typically with one person. They may be structured, semi-structured or unstructured, and conducted in person or by phone. They are useful for exploring opinions and issues in depth on a one-to-one basis.

26. Evaluating the services offered Aims of a formative evaluation might be to: • assess progress towards meeting the partnership’s aims and objectives • assess how effectively programs are contributing to meeting the partnership’s aims • gather and disseminate best practice • identify gaps and issues • raise awareness of the partnership and stimulate discussion within the community • ensure program outputs are meeting stakeholder needs • ensure that the partnership can respond flexibly to changes in the technical and political environment. continued

27. Evaluating the services offered (cont.) continued Aims of a summative evaluation might be to: • assess whether the partnership and its programs achieved its aims and objectives • assess the impacts, benefits and value of the partnership in the broader context • identify achievements and stimulate discussion with the community • synthesise knowledge from the partnership and lessons learned • identify areas for future development work.

28. The evaluation plan In order to accomplish a successful review, it may be necessary to develop an evaluation plan that outlines the review criteria and includes formative as well as summative evaluation questions. The evaluation plan should outline the criteria used to evaluate the success of the project. It should be planned in consultation with the program manager and approved by any program advisory board.

29. Questions to address Typical questions you might consider in evaluating a partnership may include the following.

30. Continuous improvement The advantages of participating in continuous improvement programs are twofold: • recognising that processes must be improved before performance can be enhanced fosters process-oriented thinking • a continuous improvement culture can and does complement innovative leaps and breakthroughs.

31. Continuous improvement (cont.) Example of a continuous improvement log and action plan Table 10.2