It can be very helpful to review partner and stakeholder interests.

By "stakeholder", we mean any organisation or interest grouping which is, or could be, affected by the work of the partnership - or who can influence its outcomes. Stakeholders can include staff, board members, councillors, etc in partner organisations as well as users/ customers/ communities served.

You can use this exercise yourself to understand better the barriers to effective partnership working and to identify where action might be needed to influence outcomes.

Or you can work through it with your partners, as a means of destroying myths and preconceptions and building a more open and robust partnership.

Consider for each partner/ stakeholder, first:

• what is their role/ contribution to the partnership?
• what drives their interest and commitment?
• what concerns and constrains them?

and then

• how important is the partnership to them?
• what benefits do they gain from their involvement?
• what are the costs and risks to them of this involvement?

Don't just rely on your own perceptions: find out more from partners and stakeholders themselves.

Think about what the analysis says concerning partners:

• are partner roles and contributions clear?
• what can build partner commitment to the partnership, by strengthening what's in it for them, or reducing their concerns (the costs or risks that might be involved)?
• if the partnership appears to be marginal to the interests of the partner organisation, what can move it more central?

Think about what the analysis says concerning stakeholders:

• why are - or should - stakeholders be concerned about the outcomes of the partnership? · what can generate their interest and engagement?

Partnership toolkit designed by EDuce Ltd
Web site designed and developed by Xentica