#RESEARCH+DATA
DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS STRATEGIES Londi Khumalo of Niche Partners on why partnerships and collaboration are the lifeblood of the MICE industry.
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esearch conducted by the African Perspectives on the MICE Industry report released last year revealed that 82% of the participants see collaboration as a revenue generating opportunity. Leading areas of collaboration in 2020 were shared value marketing across Africa, together with the development of African alliances across the continent and shared regional communication on safety protocols. No national or international events can take place without significant levels of collaboration and partnerships. And with its extensive value chain – across suppliers to client networks – nowhere is this more apparent than in the MICE industry. Since there are both opportunities and risks associated with collaboration, we must be careful of pursuing partnerships that exhaust resources more than they derive value, as well as partnerships whose value is one-sided.
DERIVING VALUE A McKinsey poll of 982 executives regarding their views towards risks for strategic partnerships found that the main concerns were “partner disagreements on the central objectives for the relationship, poor communication practices among partners, poor governance processes, and, when market or other circumstances change, partners’ inability to identify and quickly make the changes needed for the relationship to succeed.” Since mutually beneficial partnerships are significantly more effective and sustainable than those that derive value for a single partner, it is unsurprising that the research shows that successful partnerships require shared planning and continued care. Although the validity of the statement, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it,” by well-known management consultant Peter Drucker is widely debated, it definitely applies in our discussion of partnerships. In order to
have effective and sustainable collaborations and partnerships, they must be clearly defined and incorporate metrics to reflect on growth. Entering the second year of Covid-19 has meant reevaluating our own businesses and future plans. Here, the matter of collaboration and partnership will no doubt be imperative. The limited resources available in the industry and global economy necessitate careful consideration and collaboration to enable collective growth where it matters most.
DETERMINING EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS Niche Partners surveyed useful tools we believe add value to the MICE partnership assessment process and found a research-based tool used for use in developing, assessing, and improving partnerships. Although developed for education, a tool called the Partnership Effectiveness Continuum will no doubt enable suppliers and clients to review and build on their partnership strategies. The Partnership Effectiveness Continuum, developed by the US-based Wallace Foundation, highlights six dimensions of effectiveness as follows: 1) Partnership vision 2) Institutional leadership 3) Joint ownership and accountability for results 4) Communication and collaboration 5) System alignment integration and sustainability 6) Response to local context. Using the rating component of the tool, we are able to gauge different areas of progress. I will briefly explore questions relevant to the MICE industry. Vision • Do the partners have a well-articulated mission and vision of the partnerships? Is it clearly
communicated and understood by all parties? • Do the partners have measurable shared goals? • Does the vision include strategic steps of who is responsible, what needs to be done and by when? Leadership and joint accountability • Is there shared accountability and decision-making? • Are leaders engaged? How is the participation level in meetings? • Are there joint resource contributions? • Are the performance measures and benchmarks clear? • Are the goals assessed for continuous improvement? Communication and collaboration • Does the partnership have clear communication channels and processes in place for internal and external communication? • Is communication timely and effective? How are the response rates? • Are the shared goals clearly communicated, as per strategy? System alignment integration and sustainability • Are there shared systems that enable data and communication alignment for all partners? • Are processes aligned across partners? • Are there clear memoranda of understanding across partners? Response to local context • Does the partnership serve the respective communities in which it operates? • Do partnerships influence relevant stakeholders?
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MEETINGS l JAN/FEB 2021 •
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