NEW PUBLICATION: About our work

Introduction

Established in January 2004, The Partnering Initiative is a global programme of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) in association with The University of Cambridge Programme for Industry. We focus on developing and disseminating cutting edge knowledge and methodologies for effective cross sector partnerships for sustainable development through hands-on action research. We provide tailored learning programmes, professional skills development and partnership review and evaluation. Through our 'creative connections' we engage in collaborative partnership projects with a number of organisations.

The Partnering Initiative also provides support and advisory services that help to build capacity for effective collaboration for sustainable development. Our approach is unique, combining thought leadership, professional learning opportunities and the coordination of innovative joint ventures.

"The Partnering Initiative has provided a valuable impartial sounding board for our partnership with Rio Tinto, as well as useful guidance on how the relationship could evolve to achieve shared biodiversity conservation objectives." Fauna & Flora International (UK)

"At Eden Project we see that effective collaboration and partnership working is crucial to organisational development and also to the wider challenge of sustainable development. The Partnering Initiative are playing a crucial role in raising understanding of how partnership works …. have stimulated us to think more deeply and widely about how we ensure that our collaborative work continues to remain fresh, relevant and generate genuine added value." Eden Project (UK)

"Working with The Partnering Initiative has enabled us to maximise the potential for us to contribute to our UK-based partners' sustainable development objectives by developing and implementing appropriate evaluation methodologies." Rio Tinto (UK)

Our mission and core objectives

The aims of the Initiative are to gather, generate and disseminate knowledge on the strategy and practice of cross sector partnering; improve the quality of cross sector partnerships and the partnering process; and develop partnering capacity. We work with organisations and individuals, in all sectors, to undertake commissioned work and establish 'creative connections' that develop innovative approaches to cross-sector partnering for sustainable development.

Our scope of work

We work with

Current working relationships and activities

Please click the icon to the left to view a diagram of the kind of work we are engaged in with a representative sample of different organisations and activities. In addition to those mentioned, we have most recently also begun working with the Alcan Foundation, Nike, and the OECD.

The way we work

By working with The Initiative, organisations both benefit from and have the opportunity to contribute to cutting edge knowledge and practice in the field of cross-sector partnering. In all our activities, our aim is to work collaboratively and through a highly participative approach. By working with The Initiative, our partners also develop their own partnering capacity.

The Initiative will undertake new projects where such work:

1. Meets at least one of the Initiative's core objectives (and preferably more than one).

2. Conforms to IBLF and CPI's own educational/charitable objectives and status.

3. Generates new knowledge and experience that can be made available in the public domain.

Example of the range and nature of support we can provide partners or partnerships

The Initiative can provide the support outline below on a ‘draw down’ basis according to needs and across a fixed period of time at intervals as required. It is often a combination of assistance with the process of partnership building (strategic planning & advice) and content prompts for example, ‘Have you thought of this? What would be the impact of this? and other unrestricted conversations based on TPI experience in the field.

• Preparation for partnership meetings (scoping objectives for meetings, explore issues to consider in partnership discussions/meetings and going into meetings with clear outcomes as objectives)
• Building the partnering agreement: roles and responsibilities, acknowledging and managing expectations of partners (resources input of time, financial and other) setting realistic goals (both for partnership and the individual organisations’ goals), benchmarking and milestones
• Building a strong foundation for the partnership by exploring attitudes, approaches, values and other ground rules
• What will ‘success look like?’ (for both and separate partners): what added value can the partnership be expected to bring?
• Developing good communications processes (internal and external) and agreeing common external relations position
• Research on aspects that might impact on the partnership and components that may need to be ‘built into’ the partnership: industry-related issues, partnership or project management issues, drawing on TPI’s own experience and expertise of its practitioner network
• Planning, designing (and facilitating) partner reviews/ regular health checks
• Scenario planning: things not going as smoothly as one hopes – how to manage unexpected changes in the partnership?
• Long term strategic planning (eg sustaining and/or moving on securing (a) the partnership (b) the partnership’s outcomes
• Development of tailored tools (see examples of commissioned work)
• Provide a ‘neutral’ sounding board/source of advice for both partners wanting to understand the partnering process, role of Broker

Note: this list is not exclusive ! Many other things may come to mind once the process begins…

Benefits of working with the Partnering Initiative

• Reduced costs of partnering in the long term by laying down a strong foundation for the partnership and considering from the outset activities and resources needed along the entire partnering cycle
• Strengthening internal individual and organisational capacity for partnering though provision of advice/guidance/ identifying alternative courses of action
• Access to latest effective partnering methodology, tools, processes and thinking

Contact information

Becoming a Supporter

If you would like learn about the different levels of engagement possible with The Partnering Initiative, please contact us at eh@ThePartneringInitiative.org