1 The Building Partnerships Map
It is unusual to find an organisation working on a development or social initiative in isolation. Development challenges commonly present such a range of issues that it is usually more beneficial for organisations to work together in partnership. Each partner brings different strengths, such as knowledge of the area and target groups, specialism in a particular field, access to funding, or other support such as being able to build technical capacity.
Activity 1
Can you think back to a partnership you have been involved in or with which you are familiar? This may not necessarily be in relation to a development project: it could be to do with work experience elsewhere – for example, volunteering with a charity – or something else familiar to you or that you have read about.
Make a few notes to describe your experience using the following questions as a guide:
- How was a decision made on whom to partner with?
- Which stages were involved in developing the partnership?
- How did the partnership change over time?
Discussion
Which stages did you identify in the development of the partnership? You may have noted some critical processes such as how you and your partners discovered and selected each other, how the relationship developed, how planning took place, where resources came from, and how the partnership was managed and revised as lessons were learnt.
Introduction