Structures to support partnership - Our Place Pre-Establishment Guide

Clarity of purpose Understanding the evidence Engaging purposefully Building relationships Gaining commitment Early scoping Working with existing resources Defining scale Defining intended outcomes Coordinate roles and capabilities Partnering across sectors Being partnership ready Setting up governance structures Managing expectations Building capability for community involvement Understanding resources required Defining and measuring success Building the team Co-creating with partners Documenting shared agreements Structures to support partnership Maintaining commitment Incorporating community voice Smart allocation of budgets Design and build

Key points

Structure needed depends on size / complexity and extent that the work is unusual.
At minimum, a key contact in the authorising partners should be appointed.
Key deliverables and reporting arrangements for all partners.
Space/ mechanism to jointly address progress challenges/ roadblocks.
Enable each partner to communicate back into their organisation.
Multi-faceted structures enabling implementation progress.

Considerations

Are key contacts in place and well briefed on the vision and history of the project?
Is there mechanism to address challenges to implementation?

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The structures supporting partnerships and decision-making in Schools as Community Platforms implementation are dynamic and contingent on factors like size, complexity, and the uniqueness of the work.

Structures to support partnerships

The structures supporting partnerships and decision-making in Schools as Community Platforms implementation are dynamic and contingent on factors like size, complexity, and the uniqueness of the work. The extent to which the project diverges from conventional practices influences the design of these structures, demanding adaptability in their implementation.

At a minimum, there should be a key contact within each authorizing partner organization to ensure effective communication and decision-making. Establishing clear key deliverables and reporting arrangements for all partners is vital, providing a shared understanding of expectations and fostering accountability across the collaborative effort.

In addition, there needs to be a designated space or mechanism allowing all partners to collectively address progress challenges and roadblocks. This enables open dialogue, problem-solving, and ensures a unified approach to overcoming obstacles. Multi-faceted structures are necessary to facilitate ongoing communication within and between partner organizations, allowing each entity to relay information back into their respective organizations and contribute to the overall implementation progress.

Our Experience/Learnings

When partnering with large complex organisations or government departments there is value in having a committed person in the organisation or department with internal boundary spanning skills to be the relationship manager and driver of progress. This is sometimes in addition to the higher-level project champion.

Organizations leading the implementation need to provide the partner with a key contact who understands the organisations’ role, the potential benefits of their involvement and can work with the protocols, expertise, and complexities inherent in the organisation or government department to enable leverage and communication. 