In developing new partnerships - and in taking stock of existing partnerships - it is helpful to think through the main elements which you need to get right. Documenting your agreement on what you intend to achieve, how you are going to manage and resource the partnership, and how you are going to deal with potential conflicts within the partnership, etc can help consolidate the partnership.

Many things can arise which have the potential to knock partnerships off course: if you have anticipated the issues, you are more likely to have a robust and successful partnership.

Think about which of the items below you need to build into your agreement. Any partnership agreement should fit its purpose: the detail - especially under items 5 to 9 is likely to be greater for some forms of a service delivery partnership where the risks are higher than for a protocol for a strategic partnerships, where the need above all is for clarity and agreement over aims, roles and responsibilities and resourcing.

1   Aims & Objectives

• what is the purpose of the partnership?
• what added value will it achieve? - ie, what will it achieve that the partners cannot achieve on their own?
• how shall we determine success?

2   Strategy & Activities

• how will the partners realise these goals?

3   Membership & Decision Making

• what should be the basis for membership of the partnership?
• how will decisions be taken within the partnership?

4   Management & Operation of the Partnership

• what are the main issues to address and how will we handle them?
• what principles or ground rules should govern the partnership?
• how will partner responsibilities be divided up/ shared?
• how and when will performance be reviewed?

5   Resources

• how shall we resource the partnership?

6   Conflict Avoidance/ Dispute Resolution

• how shall we deal with disputes?

7   Information

• what information will we need to share?

You may need to consider some other important factors, depending on the nature of the partnership, such as legal structure, partner liabilities, consultation arrangements, etc.

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