Waitakere - A case study in relationship building
Good practice lessons
Partnering agreements are not suitable for all situations
While a partnership agreement aims to enhance a relationship, such agreements are better suited to situations where there is already a solid working relationship between partnering organisations. It is a classic case of ‘walk before you run’.
It is necessary to have the right organisational culture in place, as well as having a common purpose and shared projects.
A partnership agreement is not an effective way of initiating change in organisational relationships. These agreements can be helpful in establishing parameters and providing a framework responding to new challenges. But they are not ideal for improving a difficult working relationship, and neither are they a good place to start building a new relationship.
A new type of arrangement and a new type of document – a cultural shift
A partnership agreement is a challenging document to get right. The process of negotiating an agreement is simplified when there is already a relationship of trust between the partners. This is true for a number of reasons:
- It is a new relationship model. The partnership agreement represents a change in tone from the usual service delivery contracts. It also represents a shift from a model where WCC support specific projects to WCC investing in SW business. It is also not what many organisations are used to. For councils and Regional Sports Trusts there is limited experience to draw on in constructing these types of agreements.
- Language around common goals and shared responsibilities can be interpreted as legally risky.
- Shared work plans are also difficult to negotiate. From the council or funder perspective this requires a shift from it being all about the provider delivering, to a more collaborative approach.
- The funding partner still requires measurable outputs.
Learn each other’s business – transparency builds trust and reveals reasons to co-operate
In this case, it made a big difference to both parties to learn more about each other’s business, including strategic thinking, operational strengths and being honest about limitations.
It was particularly useful to understand how the partnering organisation is funded. For example, WCC learning more about the funding of Sport Waitakere led to a reworking of the contract between the two organisations. WCC were prepared to fund not only projects, but also people, because they had a better understanding of some of the challenges facing Sport Waitakere. This information sharing has also helped clarify misconceptions around management practices.
Both organisations agree that learning about how they could support the delivery of each other’s outcomes was vital. For example, WCC acknowledged that Sport Waitakere could impact on wider Community Outcomes and that sport has a community-wide social benefit beyond increasing physical activity.
Likewise, Sport Waitakere recognise that the council are accountable to the community through the public consultation process and this means council outcomes reflect desired Community Outcomes, including those around sport and physical activity.
The role of sport and physical activity in delivering social outcomes
The council previously tended to view investment in physical activity as investment in physical health outcomes, as distinct from social/community outcomes. This is changing. Sport and recreation are increasingly being viewed in a more holistic way, where they help build stronger communities. Spin-offs such as youth engagement, mentoring, inter-generational bonding (older and younger people connecting through clubs and coaching), and raising peoples’ quality of life are being recognised as an integral part of sport and recreation.
For Sport Waitakere and WCC, building a partnering agreement has proven to be a very worthwhile process. They have identified a good mix of the factors that make their partnership work, and are using the Partnership Agreement as a tool to help ensure the good working relationship continues.
To learn more about the Partnership Agreement between WCC and SW, please contact lynette.adams@sw.org.nz or robert.mcgee@waitakere.govt.nz and louis.rattray@waitakere.govt.nz
Updated | 07 Oct 2008.
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