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Amongst all the literature about partnerships, little has been said
about ending partnerships. But there are real issues: some
partnerships deliver very little, or have reached the end of a natural
life. Also, many people feel that there is now a plethora of partnerships,
with confused roles and accountability. The new Local Strategic
Partnerships are expected to bring more coherence to local partnership
arrangements, and there are government exhortations to rationalise
partnerships. This is rarely straightforward, as many partnerships
have formed voluntarily with particular reasons for being. They
cannot be legislated out of existence.
Ending partnerships is a change issue, and the approach
to managing the change depends on what you want to achieve.
- is the partnership's task completed, or have you - and your
partners - concluded that it needs to be tackled in some other
way?
If the partnership's job is done:
- celebrate what partners have achieved
- take stock of the lessons partners have learnt
- draw the partnership formally to a close, with recognition of
everybody's efforts
If there is more to do, and the partnership is being disbanded
to make way for some other vehicle:
- establish with partners the need for change - focus on desired
outcomes
- make the most of opportunities which ending the partnership
might offer
- promote theme of working smarter, not harder as a guiding principle
- identify forces acting in favour and working against change
(force-field analysis)
- help the individuals affected adjust to the change
- introduce incentives which support the desired changes
- ensure excellent communication flows
- take care to build, not undermine relationships - trust takes
a long time to build and moments to undermine
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