Our 3-day introductory training course, Building Effective Partnerships for Development, run in collaboration with Business Fights Poverty, helps develop skills, understanding and knowledge for effective cross-sector partnering, optionally leading to a Certificate in Partnering Practice.
Course Dates
| Location | Dates | Venue | Fees | Registration |
| Oxford, UK (3-day) | 14 – 16 November 2016 | Oxford University Club | Corporate: £1000; Non-Corporate: £800 |
Please register through Eventbrite |
About the course
Many of today’s societal, environmental, business sustainability and humanitarian challenges are so complex and interconnected that they can only be tackled by different sectors working together. Whether they are bi-lateral business-NGO partnerships, public-private partnerships for development, cross-sector partnerships or global multi-stakeholder initiatives, governments, business, civil society, and development agencies are collaborating to leverage others’ resources, stimulate innovation and maximise impact.
However, effective collaboration between organisations with different approaches, missions, interests and cultures is difficult. It requires common understanding across partners of the process and challenges of partnering; a collaborative mindset and a key partnering skill set. With these critical elements in place, partnerships can achieve real impact. Without them, partnerships are likely to under-perform or fail altogether.
To address the vital challenge of partnering capacity, The Partnering Initiative (TPI) has pioneered a range of training courses and developed a series of guidebooks to support practitioners. TPI’s 3-day introductory training programme develops skills, understanding and knowledge for effective cross-sector partnering, optionally leading to a Certificate in Partnering Practice. The course balances core knowledge with highly interactive, experiential learning through role play, ‘serious games’ and peer-to-peer exchange.
Download the course flyer.
Who is the course for?
The course is for practitioners from all sectors who need to build their knowledge, understanding and skills of how to work effectively in partnership. It is suited both to new partnership practitioners and those with some partnering experience who wish to complement and formalise their learning with frameworks, practical tools and experiential learning.
Aims of the course
By the end of the course, participants will have gained:
- Understanding of the rationale for, and risks of, partnering and when, and when not, to partner;
- Appreciation of the drivers, societal roles and mindset of each sector;
- Clarity over what constitutes a ‘transactional collaboration’, what is a ‘genuine partnership’ and where each may be appropriate;
- Appreciation of the ‘guiding principles’, challenges and success factors behind effective partnership;
- Understanding over what it takes to be a ‘good’ partner, and development of some of the skills and mindset required;
- Have access to a range of tools to develop and manage partnership;
- Understanding how to create agreements, implement, manage & review partnerships successfully;
- Familiarity with the ‘Partnering Cycle’, a framework for the development and management of partnership
Participants in the course can optionally submit for a Certificate in Partnering Practice.
