Guidelines on partnerships
ISBN: IS978-606-93838-5-9 Young Europe Society Bilbor 2016
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
Page 2
This booklet comes as an output after the "PBA- Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship" project, which took place between 29 October and 07 November 2016 in Baile Tusnad, Romania. This project was founded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission
Page 3
Table of contents 1. About our project 2. Erasmus+ 3. Defining Partnerships 4. 7 Steps is choosing the most suitable partner 5. How to communicate in a partnership 6. How to evaluate a partnership work 7. Contact
Page 4
About our project Our project “PBA - youth employment and entrepreneurship� comes as a solution for youth workers on how to understand and provide in their projects an ideal environment for personal and professional development, self-responsibility and to foster youth empowerment through developing new E+ projects. The goal of our project was to develope abilities and competences of youth workers, youth leaders or volunteers of non-profit organizations from 10 partner countries: Croatia, France, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania by organizing training course on building up partnerships for future youth
Page 5
ERASMUS+ The aim of Erasmus+ is to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for growth, jobs, social equity and inclusion, as well as the aims of ET2020, the EU's strategic framework for education and training. Erasmus+ also aims to promote the sustainable development of its partners in the field of higher education, and contribute to achieving the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy.
Erasmus+ aims to: Form and develop abilities. develop knowledge, abilities, and attitudes in an international context and recognition on those skills. support entrepreneurship. promote learning and improvement of foreign languages. promote the intercultural understanding. support organizational capacities in the context of European and international collaboration. Create links between formal eduaction, nonformal learning and profesional developement.
Page 6
Defining partnerships A partnership is an arrangement in which two or more individuals share the profits and liabilities of a business venture. Various arrangements are possible: all partners might share liabilities and profits equally, or some partners may have limited liability. Not every partner is necessarily involved in the management and day-to-day operations of the venture. In some jurisdictions, partnerships enjoy favorable tax treatment relative to corporations. BREAKING DOWN 'Partnership' In a broad sense, a partnership is any cooperative endeavor undertaken by multiple parties. These parties can be governments, non-profits, businesses, individuals, or a combination, and the goals of the partnership can vary widely. There may or may not be a written agreement governing the partnership, but it is generally a good idea to lay out specific terms at the outset, so that disagreements can be settled according to predetermined rules. In some cases such an agreement is legally required.
Page 7
7 Steps in choosing the right partner 1. Find a suitable partner First, you need to get to know the potential partner(s) in detail. This might seem like stating the obvious, but you are advised to really invest in this step to form the best possible foundation for a future partnership. Take a look at your potential partner’s history of international cooperation, vision, strategies, academic expertise, and interest, etc. Compare these elements with the profile of your own institution. Are the ambitions of the institutions complementary and compatible? Is there a shared understanding of the long-term and shortterm expectations of each other and of the partnership itself?
Page 8
2. Your attitude In the process of finding and selecting a partner, you need to maintain a critical attitude. Have a thorough discussion on what kinds of partnerships are feasible and on what the partnership is to be used for (goals and activities). During this exploration phase, it is important to operate with mutual respect for each other’s culture and manners. It is also important to establish effective and constructive communication.
3. Value exchange Being capable of shared ownership is crucial for the partnership and can take different forms. Already during the exploration phase, it is advised that you set up a form of risk management and make sure that there is an equal or weighted sharing of responsibility and benefits. Once you are confident of what you can expect from a potential partner, and vice versa, the next step is to come to a shared vision on the partnership
Page 9
4. Gain institutional commitment from all sides When mutual understanding and a shared vision have been reached, the next step is to ensure institutional commitment from each of you. Ensuring institutional commitment should be considered as work in progress it can be stimulated by the following elements: Integrating the project/partnership into institutional development activities at all levels. Institutional dissemination of the project/partnership to increase its visibility. The engagement of national bodies. Inviting the presidents or top-level management to attend important meetings (kick-off, mid-term evaluation etc) to raise their awareness of the partnership Formalizing the relationship, tasks, and responsibilities of administration and integrating them into the institutional policy Linking the partnership to a specific national priority and broadening the impact of the partnership to the national level whenever possible and feasible Looking for the synergy between partners Continuously monitoring the partnership using both Page 10 quantitative and qualitative indicators
5. Develop a shared vision Partnerships start with the identification of shared goals and shared policy. How to approach this? You need to invest in good communication. A strong leader with sufficient power of decision who is embedded in each institution is needed to represent each partner and negotiate on behalf of the institution.
6. Ensure longevity The foundation for sustainability finds its basis in what has been done well – or not – in the previous steps. Two factors are considered to be essential to make partnerships sustainable: an active and continuous search for compatibility and a long-term commitment that is institutionalized at all levels of both institutions. You need a commitment that is compatible with and embedded in each institutions’ policy plans. Page 11
7. The outcomes Further dissemination of the outcomes of the partnership is a way to make the outcomes sustainable. Create a website with project information and results, take part in international seminars, develop special interest groups, etc to share the information. Dissemination can also take place within the existing networks of your partners or by presenting at international conferences, and at your own organization through presentations to youngsters and colleagues. Dissemination can create the positive feedback, and possibly the accolades, to drive a partnership forward.
Page 12
How to communicate in a partnership
Listening
In a team work, listening goes much farther than speaking and is undoubtedly the most important component of effective communication in an organization partnership. When interacting with others, listening will help you avoid confusion, understand tasks more clearly and generate an overall positive connection with the partner to whom you're speaking. Listening extends far beyond hearing and understanding words. It involves offering positive body language to speakers so they know you are listening. These signals include making eye contact, nodding in understanding or agreement, standing or sitting in a welcoming and approachable way, and not interrupting. All of these elements fall into the listening category because they serve to ensure the speaker that you understand and are interested.
Page 13
Speaking Words are powerful. Speaking is an art form not to be taken lightly, regardless of how flippantly many of your partners might use their words. That's why it's important to allow others to speak first. Gather every opinion, think about what you observe, write notes, and answer accordingly. If at the end of your deliberation you have something to say or if you disagree with something that was decided upon, it's time to speak up.
Point out what you like about certain ideas and then, if necessary, what you don't like. After spending time on what's been discussed, you should state your opinion plainly, clearly and tactfully. Give reasons, evidence and statistics for the things you say. Wrap up your comments with a recap of the meeting and your opinions. Page 14
Preparation Preparation in every situation paves the way for effective communication. Before every phone call, live meeting, conference, interview or predetermined conversation, brief yourself on the components of the meeting before moving forward. Write down things you want to discuss, questions you want to ask and points you want to make. This tactic translates into productivity, professionalism and respect from others. Preparedness not only benefits your organization, it benefits your career and your interactions with the partners.
Page 15
How to evaluate a partnership work? Focus on both process and outcomes. Partnerships are formed for a purpose. Therefore when monitoring or evaluating a partnership we need to assess whether the partnership has achieved, or is achieving, what it set out to. The partnership set out to achieve and ultimately impact these have on the target population. To be able to understand whether the partnership is working efficiently we need to look at the different aspects of the relationship itself. Is there a shared agenda? Is the partnership purpose and lifespan clear? Are the roles and responsibilities of each partner clear? Do clear management and accountability structures for the partnership exist? What human and financial resources are the partners committing to the partnership? What do the partners do to share learning and knowledge? Do these extend into the partner’s broader organization or operations? Page 16
Any evaluation of a partnership should be mindful of considering the evolution of the partnership and strength of partnership over a longer period of time, rather than simply a snapshot. When evaluating partnership as a “means� to an end (black box evaluation) identify indicators, collect data, assess contribution, assess value for money (consider an alternative to partnership, compare the total costs of partnership with other benefits). When evaluating partnership as ends in itself look at values, capacity, process, and impact. You should consider the assumption that partnership working is always the most effective mode. Consider that trying to control through monitoring can undermine effective relationships.
Page 17
Contact Young Europe Society Association Address: Bilbor, Nr.367 A, Harghita România Phone +40 (0)748 557 503 E-mail: office@yes-eu.ro Web: www.yes-eu.ro
Page 18