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Partnerships are an important mechanism for building and sustaining capacity and bringing together a diversity of skills and resources.
Partnerships can increase the efficiency of the health and community services system by making the best use of different and complementary resources. Not all partnerships will or should move to collaboration. In some cases, networking is the appropriate response to achieve outcomes. The nature of a partnership will depend on the need, purpose and willingness of members to engage and participate.
Examples of Partnership Analysis Tools at www.vichealth.gov.au or http://www.cacsh.org/psat.html
There are different types of partnerships ranging on a continuum from networking through to collaboration.
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Level of Integration |
Description |
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Networking |
Agencies/organisations meet to exchange information for mutual benefit. This requires little time and trust between partners. Can serve as a clearinghouse for information |
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Coordination |
Agencies/organisation in a PCP came together to exchange information and later activities for a common purpose. In developing the PCP IHP plan, needs and activities are matched and coordinated. Provides an opportunity to limit duplication of services. |
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Cooperation |
Agencies/organisations in a PCP catchment come together to plan an integrated approach to common health promotion priorities. Planning process reflects individual agency/organisation resource allocation. This requires a significant amount of time and high level of truest between partners. |
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Collaboration |
As for cooperation plus enhances the capacity of the other partners for mutual benefit and a common purpose. Build interdependent systems to address issues and opportunities. The majority of health promotion funding for the catchment is reflected in the planning process. |
Stages in building collaboration:
Stage One: Priority setting and problem definition
Shared understanding of problems and goals and each partner’s position, Shared definition of the problem, shared commitment to the collaboration, identification of resources required to support the collaboration, collective identification of key stakeholders and the convenor.
Stage two: reaching agreement
Establish the ground rules, jointly agree on an agenda for the collaborative venture, reach agreement on how problems will be solved.
Stage three: implementation
Build external support for the solutions agreed, implementation agreements reached, monitoring the agreement and ensuring compliance.
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Last Updated: 16-Jul-08
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