Building partnerships

1. Building partnerships

2. Why develop partnerships? • More minds, diverse ideas to tackle issues • Increase the impact • New leadership or expertise • Increase resources • Broaden the scope • More advocates for your cause

3. Drawbacks/challenges • Weak partners • Compromise • Less control • Inequality of power • Individual organizations may not get credit • Contributions vary • Time and resources to develop and maintain

4. Mutually beneficial partnerships Borrowing some principles from community organizing… It’s all about relationships! FIRST… • People and organizations are motivated by their self-interest. Find and appeal to your common self-interests, and find your common interest. SECOND… • Partnership-building is a dynamic process that requires continuous attention and effort.

5. Mutually beneficial partnerships THIRD… • Like with all relationships, it’s important that at an early stage of development, partners learn to deal with conflict. FOURTH… • Use what resources and time are available, and adapt. Tap into existing resources – start building relationships; be friendly with groups that have similar goals; cooperate, coordinate or collaborate where it makes sense.

6. Types of Partnerships Transactional to Transformational Collaboration Coordination Cooperation Relationships Risk and Rewards Roles Resources Low intensity to High intensity

7. Stages of partnerships • Assess: Identify needs and assets • Prepare: Begin building relationships • Frame issues: Establish terms • Make decisions: Create a plan, manage conflict • Implement decisions: Carry out plan, monitor • Maintain relationships: Evaluate, adapt to changes

8. Assessing & Preparing:An asset-based approach • Complementary to needs-based approach • Start with the strengths and resources that exist, not what is absent • Creative solutions to complex problems • Opens up new ways to address key issues: new patterns, new ideas, new energy, new relationships • Empowering: sees people/communities as citizens and producers, not just clients and consumers • Relationship-driven

9. Resource scavenger hunt Group activity

10. Asset mapping: a place to start • Document the assets (strengths) in your community • Strategize how best to use resources/understand community • Starting point for building partnerships • Helps break down silos and build positive community • Dynamic: continue to update as community/resources change • Format can be creative

11. Needs Mapping • Collect info on weaknesses and challenges facing community • Helps determine needs for new/expanded services • Can help with accessing funding resources • Increase community understanding of problems

12. Needs Mapping BUT… • Ignores capacities and strengths • Sees outside experts as only resources for help • Problems have to be seen as increasing in order to get funding • Community believes it is deficient • Targets isolated clients, not energies of entire community

13. Asset Mapping • Collect info on capacities, skills, strengths of individuals and groups • Might include: • Individual assets • Institutional assets • Physical space • Neighborhood economy • Informal associations • Relationships • Stories/history of a community • Programs/services • Keep in mind: Complement, not supplant existing strategies

14. Assets vs Needs Map Assets Map Needs Map

15. Before you map • Who will help you in this process? • Start with your supervisor! • What type of info will you gather and from whom? • What info do you already have? • What resources and partnerships already exist? • What is the scope and your goal for mapping? • What is your process? • What are your organization’s/program’s goals and objectives, assets/gaps? How will partnership enhance your goals?

16. Documentation • Tools: • Visual map • Community/school walk • Newspaper investigation • Photography • Google maps • Others • Include: • People • Programs/services • Community resources

17. Documentation: People • Who is at the organization(s) or in the community? (that is relevant to your project) • What do they do? • When and to whom are they available? • How do they communicate with parents, community, stakeholders? How can you best contact them? • What strengths could they potentially bring? • How might they align with your organization/program/project?

18. Documentation: Programs/Services • What are existing programs and services available in the community (relevant to your project)? • Who do the programs serve? • What services do they provide? • How effective are they at addressing needs? • How might they align with your organization/program/project?

19. Documentation: Community Resources • Who else is in the community (companies, informal associations, etc)? (relevant to your project) • What do they do? Who do they serve? • Do they have existing partnerships or relationships with your organization? • What resources or strengths do they have relevant to your project? (volunteers, space, services, money, in-kind donations) • How might they align with your organization/program/project?

20. Next step: Develop partnerships • Identify strategies to approach your potential partners • Negotiate a framework for decision-making and terms of agreement for each partnership • Roles and responsibilities • Structure/management • Credit • Publicity/marketing • Planning and info-sharing • Evaluation • If necessary, formalize with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letter of Agreement (LOA)

21. Questions?Meghan Paul-Cookmpaulcook@mnliteracy.org651-251-9069 Contact