2.6 The challenges of partnership working
Organisations are complex, as you will know from your own experience of practice and from your previous study. Partnership working – which involves different organisations working together – inevitably increases this complexity. As Huxham says:
Working with others is never simple! How often do we hear people say ‘It would have been quicker to have done this on my own’ even when there is only one other person involved? When collaboration is across organizations, the complications are magnified.
It is important to be realistic about these challenges if we want to be in a position to develop practical strategies for trying to overcome them. Next, you will read accounts from two practitioners whom we interviewed as part of the development of this course, in which they describe their experience of some of the difficulties of partnership working.