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#1 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 03:01 |
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ENGLISH: What are characteristics of successful partnerships?
FRANCAIS: Quelles sont les caractéristiques d'un partenariat réussi?
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Mwikali
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#2 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 07:39 |
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| In my opinion, any successful partnership requires A FORMAL AGREEMENT. This may be in terms of Memorundum of Agreement, which among other things should state the role of each partner. This should be precise so that the parties involved do not run the risk of mis-interpretation. This then call for interpretation of terms for clarity.
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yohan
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#3 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 08:21 |
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I think characteristics of successful partnerships shall take account of the following:
- The participation of appropriate stakeholders through discussions and communication. It is important to clarify the expectations of partners and identify common interests on which the partnership could be based. Also partnerships should focus on core issues that interest main stakeholders.
- Realistic goals that are based on mutually agreed priority needs. Having clear objectives for a partnership is an essential element for its sustainability. Partnerships’ objectives should be practical and relevant with efficient use of resources to bringing about bigger impacts.
- Carefully planned joint activities that are mutually beneficial. A partnership will not be sustainable if it is not offering concrete benefits to its affiliates. If partners do not feel they are benefiting, clearly their commitment will decline. Therefore partnership should focus on what it can do for its members in facilitating their work and building their capacities.
- Foster opportunities for capacity development of female personnel to promote gender equality and empower women. It is important that gender balance is maintained and that gender issues are well addressed to increase the number of women benefited from existing partnerships.
- Enforce monitoring and evaluation systems to follow-up activities against the intended objectives. Moreover transparency and accountability on financial matters is crucial for successful partnerships.
Regards,
Yohannes Woldetensae
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Valerie Gonlin
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#4 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 12:41 |
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Successful partnerships are most likely to occur when the partners have somewhat different, but complementary, strengths as well as a common goal. Partnerships also take time to develop as the partners learn about each others' working styles and gain confidence that each is a competent, respected ally.
--Valerie Gonlin
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JWashington
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#5 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 13:04 |
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I believe that a solid partnership should be based within the same frame and understanding of any solid marriage or relationship.
Open Communication: If you talk about what is happening and discuss the possiblities then you know what a partner can offer and what they can not. You also learn mannerisms and characteristics and are able to see where you belong and what you can put in the relationship.
Perks: No one gets married just to give. There has to be something that they are recieving in return, to understand the happiness valve and how the other party benefits just makes the one partner easier to understand what they need to do it order for the relationship to remain and becom solid. If I know what it is that will make you happy and i do that, then in return you should make me happy as well.
Integrity: No one likes to be lied to or given false information. Even if the information isn't what you want to hear, it is better to be honest about it than for a person to feel like their efforts were abused. Accountablity is a priority.
Passion: There has to be a foundation for the commitment which allows parties to understand why they formed a union in the first place. In long-term relationships, its important to remember why the need to be in a partnership was done in the first place. Within this goes to the next point of a
Goal: Understanding of what it is that we set out to achieve. Without a goal there cannot be a vision and a path to success.
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PaulBoggs
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#6 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 14:30 |
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In successful partnerships:
* Both partners demonstrate buy-in by committing time and other resources
* The US partner coordinates (makes arrangements for) all in-country logistics
* The in-country partner pays for all in-country logistics (or at least helps to pay)
* Both partners are equally involved in strategizing and planning
* Both partners contribute to intellectual work
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oyewole
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#7 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 14:36 |
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This is a personal contribution, I am of the opinion that a Partnership can be said to be successful if the Objectivies and Visions of the Partnership are well achieved. One can therefore say that a successful Partnership should have the following characteristics:
(a) Well articulated Vision and Mission statements of the Partnership.
(b) Clear Focus and well detailed and written areas of collaboration in the partnership.
(c) Well defined and mutualy agreed roles and expectations of the participants in the Partnership
(d) Appropriate Work-Plan for the execution of the planned activities of the Partnership, with the Performance indicators and other Monitoring and Evaluation modalities.
(e) Committed participants in the partnership who are ready to play their roles in the partnership.
Olusola Oyewole
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Jan Persens
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#8 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 14:58 |
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Any successful partnership is based on recognising the value of the contributions made by each partner.
While one would like to quantify the benefits to be derived from a partnership in equal 'shares', it is not always possible to achieve it. This due to the human nature and difference in personalities of those representing the partners in their efforts to pursue the objectives of the partnership. I wish to urge for a 'asymmetrically balanced' nature of a partnership.
I believe that partnerships should be 'values based'. For example, if exchanges would be included as an activity of the partnership, then participants should be able to experience 'a home away from home' while visiting the partner institutions. One can think of other examples.
Jan Persens
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vpwick0
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#9 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 15:51 |
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I believe that an eduactional partnership should include:
1. An asset inventory of who can do what.
2. A specific program design of what is to be accomplished.
3. A set of measureable outcomes and evaluations.
4. A descriptive of sustainability of the program to be implemented.
5. A time to understand cultural differences.
6. An understanding of barriers and project requirements to make sure the goals are accomplished.
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fbaleka
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#10 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 16:28 |
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| Characteristics of a successful partnership is development of a sustainable learning environment, with shared values and visions in a learning organization.
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rna82331
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#11 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 17:07 |
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A successful partnership entails articulating a win-win arrangement between the two institutions. Both parties must benefit. Otherwise the partnership will not be enduring. Each party's contribution (value-added) needs to be complimentary to that institution's goals and aspirations.
Also, a successful partnership requires a "Champion" at each institution who can carry the agenda forward.
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oyewole
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#12 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 20:22 |
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Dear Members,
I just want to draw our attention to contribution # 7 made by Ron Turner in his comment on the Question 1 Summary which I think may need to be addressed in the current focus.
Ron Turner noted the following:
"It would be helpful if the participants on this forum from Africa would indicate which qualities they would value most in a US university partner.
Likewise, it would be helpful if the US participants would indicate the qualities they would value most in an African university partner"
Dear Members, what is your opinion on these?
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DebPierce
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#13 Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 23:14 |
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Having worked with university partnerships and memoranda of agreement for a number of years, I would say that all truly successful cooperative relationships are founded on genuine faculty interest on both sides of the arrangement. If the partnership grows organically from existing joint research, artistry, service, or teaching efforts by faculty of the two institutions, developing multiple relationships within a single inter-institutional cooperation is much easier. I consider such projects to have critical mass. And cooperative agreements with such critical mass can more effectively advance the strategic goals of both institutions, in my view.
This is not to say I’m unwilling to sign a first-level memorandum of understanding before we develop joint research, artistry, service, or teaching; I recognize the different weight assigned to such agreements in different venues. It does mean that we look eagerly for evidence of multiple projects growing out of such memoranda.
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digoche
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#14 Posted: Wed Oct 15th, 2008 13:43 |
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Characteristics-
-Great communication between parties
-Formal agreement between parties to embark on mission
-An understanding of where they are at present and their intended destination.
-High morale(this will help when there are roadblocks)...so it is important that there is genuine interest.
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Garth Myers
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#15 Posted: Wed Oct 15th, 2008 16:27 |
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In response to the super-moderator's request, here is my answer on the qualities a US partner might seek in an African partner. This is based principally on my experience as co-director of a State Department university affiliations grant between my institution and the University of Zambia. What made that linkage grant successful was the leadership and drive of my co-director from beginning to end. As many posts have noted, "faculty buy-in" and active participation are important and depend upon the benefits that accrue to participants, but the most important buy-in is at the level of the leadership of the partnership. Memoranda of Understanding are useful, but often are top-tier to top-tier, and those administrative offices are often too busy to sustain the link (although in my experience with UNZA, they were indeed very supportive). A partnership built on equality of benefits and shared understandings, with open and consistent communication, ultimately may come down to friendship and trust at the level of the partners directly engaged in the collaboration.
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dteklu
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#16 Posted: Wed Oct 15th, 2008 16:29 |
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What are characteristics of successful partnerships?
A major prerequisite for any successful partnership is the need for equality. Equality in decision making, equality in managing the partnership, and equality in reaping the benefits of the partnership.. Past experiences have clearly shown that, for the most part, partnerships between western and indigenous institutions were based on the unwritten rule that one partner was more equal than the other. This, in my judgment, is a sure formula for failure.
Another prerequisite, if you will, for working partnerships is the need for a shared purpose. If one of the partners is trying to promote child welfare while the other is trying to promote higher education, the partnership will never work.
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David Farirai
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#17 Posted: Wed Oct 15th, 2008 19:22 |
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For a partnership to succeed, the partners must:
1. Identify a joint project they would like to partner on.
2. Universities must be free to choose a partner and not be forced into a partnership.
3. Do a work breakdown structure and defferentiate the implimentation responsibilities of each partner.
4. Designate capable and dedicated drivers of the project at each partner institution. The drivers need not be the head of the university.
David Farirai
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RobHenderson
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#18 Posted: Wed Oct 15th, 2008 19:50 |
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Partnerships
Sustainability in partnerships depends on the reciprocity and mutual interests served by the relationships. In our work with community organizations, businesses and industry, local, state, and federal government, and regional school jurisdictions and overseas partner institutions, these partnerships actually produce an outcome valued by all participants; e.g. new, productive members of the workforce and enhanced human capital in education. The resources to produce these new contributors to regional economic growth are mustered from the stakeholders and maintained as budgets and policy interests allow.
The principles of integrity referred to in these postings are essential, but insufficient to sustain the partnerships. The financial, human, infrastructure and technical resources emerge when real needs are identified in context and the plans to meet them are articulated in ways the governing authorities and decision makers can understand. Institutional partnerships that do not generate the resources to sustain them generally do not survive the grant period. Sustainability must be a goal from inception and receive equal attention along with the nurturing of the good feelings.
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yohan
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#19 Posted: Thu Oct 16th, 2008 12:44 |
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A very important aspect for successful partnership, particularly with respect to Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative, is the involvement of the intellectual Diaspora. Considering the large number of African academicians working in many universities of the United States, it is vital to mobilize the Diasporas to reinforce their involvement and contribution in promoting teaching and research in Africa. What should be done to optimally use the potential resource of the Diaspora towards effective partnership? What views have participants of this e-forum regarding this issue?
Regards,
Yohannes Woldetensae
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LeanaUys
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#20 Posted: Thu Oct 16th, 2008 13:14 |
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What do I, as an African partner, want from a USA partner?
Firstly, I appreciate their access to resources. So, bringing financial resources to the partnership is useful.
Secondly, I apreciate it if they show an understanding of our constraints and systems. We have to do certain things in a certain way, and that has to be respected, even if it not logical or not similar the the USA system. Otherwise the project cannot work for us, however, well intentioned.
Thirdly, it is very useful to have recognition for your own contribution. We dno not bring only local knowledge. We also bring insight and theoretical perspectives and academic strangth. This should be recognised in a way that is reciprocal. For instance, if we confer honorary professorial status to our USA partners, it would be very nice to have some of our academics being treated similarly. If we host colelagues on sabbatical leave in our universities, we would appreciate invitations to spend or sabbatical leave teaching in a USA institution.
I also have partnerships with other African universities. Here are the things I appreciate most:
1. Good partners keep contact by email, and respond when I ask them something. They do not fall quiet for months.
2. Good partners tell me when they are experienceing problems, whether it is with me, or the project, or somthing else, so I can make appropriate plans to ensure the project goes on.
3. Good partners do not always ask for more. They work within the project outline and the project budget we have agreed on. They try as hard as I do to comply with teh requirements of funders.
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