The Certificate in Partnering Practice is for participants of any training course run by The Partnering Initiative (TPI) who wish to extend their training through self-reflective learning, receive direct feedback from TPI on their partnering, and receive a standards-based certification.
The certificate demonstrates externally that the holder has achieved a certain level of knowledge of partnering standards and competency in cross-sector partnering. To gain certification, each participant will submit a reflective essay to demonstrate partnering knowledge and, most importantly, contextualization of the learning from the course within their own situation. The essay will be assessed by TPI and a Certificate in Partnering Practice awarded if the appropriate standard is reached. Participants will receive feedback and guidance from TPI to support their thinking on their partnering work.
The Certification is now also open to participants of DIXON Partnering Solutions Partnering Essentials programme.
Essay Guidelines
Participants in the course will have different levels of involvement in partnerships, and the partnerships themselves will likely be at different stages of the partnering cycle. This means that the exact content of the essay will necessarily be quite specific to the participant. The overarching aim of the essay in all cases is to demonstrate the application of learning to a participant’s own situation. I.e. the participant must take the key concepts, skills and tools and demonstrate how they apply to their own context. This will in most cases take the form of examining the current situation and, possible next steps for further developing the partnership based on good practice learned in the course. Depending on the participant’s situation, some example themes for the essay might be:
| Situation | Possible themes to be incorporated in the essay |
| The participant’s organisation is not yet actively involved in partnerships but is keen to do so | Mapping of potential partners including their drivers for involvement, what they might bring to the table etc.; Examination of the potential challenges for the organisation to engage in partnership; Plans for engaging partners and / or making necessary changes within the organisation. |
| The participant is currently developing a partnership | Understanding of the drivers (actual / potential depending on status) of all the partners; Review of where the partnership currently stands against the ideal elements that should be in place; Plans for further developing the partnership based on good practice learned in the course. |
| The participant is currently engaged in a partnership | Review of how the partnership is currently performing – how it is set up, the degree to which partnering principles are currently being applied, the relationship among the partners, where the potential trouble spots might be etc. Plans for further developing the partnership based on good practice learned in the course. |
Certification process and timing
Participants should submit their final essay within 6 months of attending a training course, or registering for the Certificate. For further information on the process of Certification, please see our guidelines.
Registering for the Certificate
You can register for the Certificate when you register on Eventbrite to attend a training course, or after you have attended. The fee for submission is $420 (USD) or £300 (GB).
If you have already attended a course and you wish to register for the CPP, please use the link below.
Sharing learning
After final submission, if participants wish and TPI feels it is appropriate, participants may edit their essays for publication on the TPI website as case studies or blogs.