December_2009 Partnership maintenance

December_2009 Partnership maintenance $$ $ $

December_2009 Partnership maintenance The partners deal with: −implementing the agreed activities in the areas of advocacy and service delivery. −monitoring and evaluation of outputs, outcomes and impact of the partnership through the indicators outlined in the operational plan. −reviewing the partnership and take any necessary corrective action after the evaluation is carried out. −institutionalizing the partnership, if the review outcome is positive. If negative, the partnership should go through the exit-strategy or a transition strategy. See tool 7

December_2009 Implementation Partners will implement the activity described in the operational plan based on: −Agreed products and activities −Mapping of available resources −Each one's roles and responsibilities

December_2009 Monitoring and evaluation M&E should be part of the overall joint planning exercise Partners will deal with: −Monitoring: partners measure regularly the progress in the achievement of the operational plan and provide information to the health authorities and the secretariat of the partnership. −Evaluation: partners regularly meet to assess systematically the relevance, performance and success of the partnership. Internal evaluation may take place once a year and lead to the review of implementation, operational plan and, if need be, the partnering agreement. External evaluation may take place over a longer time-span and may lead to the above and, if necessary, changes in the governance structure.

December_2009 Reviewing After the evaluation of the partnership is carried out, partners will take any corrective action needed: −Review operational plan −Review partnering agreement −Review governance −Review implementation −Review the way partners work together Positive reviewNegative review Exit strategy Transition strategy Institutionalizing

December_2009 Institutionalizing Less formal arrangements: −Greater freedom to explore radical ideas −Cheaper – major resource required is time not cash −Flexible and not bureaucratic BUT −May not be taken seriously by external agencies −Key players not available because of other priorities −Inefficient More formal arrangements: −Increased authority and capacity to influence −Enhance ability to mobilize and manage large scale resources BUT −More able to transform ideas into action −Subject to legislative restrictions −Higher administrative costs −Tendency to become over bureaucratic and impersonal Partners will create new mechanisms or organizational structures through which the partnership initiative can operate smoothly

December_2009 Exit strategy or transition strategy Partners could be influenced on a moving on decision by the following issues: −Global/national context −Local context −Within the partnership project −Within the partnership −Within individual partner organizations Partners should deal with the process being: −Inclusive −Transparent −Clear −Patient Most important is having a plan and manage it well! Results could be: −Closure of the partnership −A different type of partnership or another collaborative arrangement (this could happen more than once in the life of a partnership!) Good practices and lessons learned should be shared See tool 7