Checklist: partnerships between government and community
Open communication, proper resourcing, careful planning, and time are all important factors in establishing and maintaining a partnership.
At the beginning
- Clarify why a partnership is appropriate.
- Give wholehearted commitment and expect the partnership to be long-term.
- Include all interested parties from the outset - community, private and public sector.
- Ensure everyone has the necessary skills and resources.
- Allow time to build trust among the partners.
- Be honest about what you can and cannot do.
- Develop sound governance and management structures.
Working together
- Be flexible; don't impose unnecessary constraints.
- Make decisions by consensus, and respect the views of others.
- Develop clear visions, goals, objectives and values.
- Develop processes to deal with conflict.
- Include short and long-term goals and tasks in your programme.
- Identify measurable indicators of progress, and create mechanisms for monitoring performance.
- Evaluate the partnership as you go along - and make changes as required.
- Celebrate the partnership's achievements, both big and small!
- Develop an exit strategy so that the work of the partnership can continue after the initial project.
