1. Approaches to Partnership
BOND Effectiveness Programme
Hafton Consultancy

2. Purpose of the Research
Objectives
range of UK NGO agencies
carry out further research with 10+ agencies
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses and identify good practice
make recommendations
Bit of Background
The purpose of research was to gather and synthesise sector best practice, regarding how partner relationships are the conduct Who participated (22 diverse NGOs), 11 NGOs interviewed
Any limitations to the research?
only spoke to northern offices
some NGOs approached weren’t able to participate
short/sharp piece of research
Identified elements of management practice that make for partnership success and looked at S&Ws and any good practice. Went on to look at evaluation of quality of partner relationships.
One section of the report looked at changes in last 10 years and highlights
Research highlighted donor-led managerial approaches, the dominance of upward accountability to northern agencies and poor relationships
The implication is that NGOs and donors need reliable mechanisms for managing and monitoring the quality of their relationships with partners
Some evidence of increase in engagement /reflective and participatory approaches but the challenge is the imbalance of power.

3. What is a partnership? v Relationship v Purpose - common goals
v      Mutual trust and respect
v     Accountability

4. Levels of Partner Engagement
HANDING OVER/ EXITING
SUPPORTING INITIATIVES
ACTING TOGETHER
Use handout to explain
Adapted from Wilcox model of participation where the bottom rung was “manipulation” to top level “handing over”
DECIDING TOGETHER
SHARING INFORMATION
PARTNER IMPLEMENTATION

5. Elements of Partner Success
v      Partnership Principles
v    Selection Process
v      Roles, Responsibilities & Accountabilities
v      Capacity Building
v      Partnership Review

6. Evaluating and Measuring Partnership
Lack of sufficient management information processes/systems
Little evidence of indicators
Mainly focused on partner outputs, not quality

7. Key Findings (good news)
Well defined partner agreements
Some egs of defining partnership principles in practice
Some egs of two-way accountability
Some egs reflective processes
Link back to research

8. Key Findings (not so good news)
Little systematic measurement of partnership quality
No definition and measurement of capacity building
Little joint working towards equal partnership
Little credible feedback from partners

9. Any emerging trends? Signs of increased partner engagement
Good guidance/ tools/ resources developed
Learning:
Partner to Partner learning
Partner Feedback
Partnership Skills
Increased engagement – link back to research Also clear selection/assessment processes
Resources to support staff and partners – CDs /DVDs thorough guidance

10. Recommendations
better systematic measurement of the quality of the partner relationship quality
greater clarity about roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
better definition and measurement of capacity building
define and develop partnership skills
Measure the quality of the partner relationship systematically
·Agencies and partners jointly agree how the partnership relationship will be measured systematically.
 ·Agencies to consider how this information is recorded and can be accessed by partners and staff alike so that so that both small and large agencies are clear about how it used and acted upon
 Proactively get regular confidential feedback and recommendations for change from partners and act on them
 Ensure that partners take opportunity to give 360 feedback which feeds into performance reviews and that partnership skills are assessed as part of the performance management process
Greater clarity about roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
· Adopt principles which are jointly agreed with partners and reflect joint ownership of transparency, contribution to each other’s strategy development and plans and how the relationship will be managed.
Ensure that accountabilities are jointly agreed and are equally matched for both parties.
Adopt a joint process for partnership review which gives both time and space for reflection together with robust financial/funding analysis and progress against strategic objectives
Better definition and measurement of capacity building
· Develop clear criteria for measuring success in capacity building with partners and measure and record outcomes and impact systematically
  Work with partners to enable and improve partner to partner capacity building
Develop Partnership Skills
·Identify the skills that both partner and agency staff (particularly programme officers) need to work in partnership successfully