Partnerships: Working Together

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Partnerships Working Together
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The Strat Pak
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Partnerships

• Are formal and informal arrangements to work in
  collaboration with others to reach our (often
  mutual) goals
• Are mutually responsible relationships
• Are key to effectiveness, impact, and
  sustainability

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Why partner?

• Change is a THREAT when it is done TO us, but
  an OPPORTUNITY when it is done BY us

Without INVOLVEMENT there will be little
COMMITMENT
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TYP Types of Partnerships

• Advisory Board
• Formal, inner circle that provides credibility
  and political support and has power in TYP
  decisions
• Community Linkages
• The bigger network that benefits from, works with
  and contributes to the TYP
• Power is in TYP implementation success!

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Partner Relationships Require

• Engagement
• Communication
• Practice
• Trust
• Continuing mentoring of new members

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1 Engagement Broad Relationships for Success
Sustainability

• Tribal Programs
• Community
• Individuals
• Elders
• Youth
• County
• State
• Federal

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EngagementWelcoming Validating People to
Involvement

• Interview individually or in small focus groups
• Ask their opinions and ideas
• Invite them to meetings
• Ask them to make presentations at meetings
• Give them important work roles on teams, etc

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Who to Invite?Needed Roles, Skills and
Perspectives
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Partnership Activity
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Partnership Activity

• Instructions
• Choose a scribe to record all information in the
  appropriate boxes.
• Write each members name in its own box in the
  left column.
• Each member will express what he/she brings to
  the partnership in terms of strengths and
  resources.
• Then team members will express their observations
  of what each team member brings to the
  partnership.

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Who to Invite to the Circle
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Enlarging the Circle Activity

• What areas are not represented in your
  strengths/resources column?
• Who else do you need to be involved?
• How will you engage them?

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Spell It Out with MOUs

• Memorandum of Understanding
• Understanding between whom?
• For what time period?
• Roles responsibilities
• What exactly will each party do? When?
• Signed and dated

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2 Communication

• Focus on the vision
• Use scouting missions
• Lay of the land
• Whats over the horizon
• Share experience in large group
• 2-3 drafts for input on big decisions
• Celebrate and make noise about agreements!
• Keep them in the info loop, follow-up visits

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3 Practice!Holding Stakeholder Engagement

• Assess the readiness and willingness of the
  Community to change
• Apply the "Triage" methodology to prioritize
  energy and resources
• Work with "natural leaders" and natural helpers
• Give credit celebrate small successes

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4 Trust

• Work with natural leaders, trusted people
• Keep expectations reasonable and realistic, then
  "KEEP OUR PROMISES
• Practice Confidentiality, Positive Intent and
  Presence
• Keep sharing the credit and visibility

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5 Mentor New Members

• Welcome
• Give history
• Ask their opinions
• Give them a meaningful job!
• Find ways to give credit recognition

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The Tensions in Teamwork

• Resistance to group influence and task
  requirements
• Attitudes and behaviors
• Personalities and family histories
• Competition, turf issues, and power struggles
• Debating purpose and goals
• Hostility, defensiveness, pessimism
• Member retention
• Focused on interpersonal issues/individual needs
  or priorities
• Time

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Brainstorming Positive Solutions

• Member Retention
• Reasonable expectations of work involved
• Resources to support work
• Honoring members with recognition
• Acknowledging members through tribal paper or
  newsletter
• Benefit to all

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What we have shown in recent years is that when
tribes, states, the non-profit sector and the
Federal Government work together, they bring
progress and hope for change.

• - Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell