Lesson – What is Partnering?

According to The Partnering Initiative, a partnership is cross-sectoral cooperation, in which organizations cooperate with each other in a transparent, fair and mutually beneficial way, aiming at achieving the goals of sustainable development. The partners agree to engage resources and share both the risks and benefits of the partnership.

Partnerships are possible both within the sector and between organizations from different fields. It may also have a different approach, from strategic alliance and close cooperation in the long-term perspective to incidental cooperation. Therefore, collaboration can occur in a variety of ways. However, most of the time, collaboration serves a larger purpose.

The goal of collaboration in regular business is to either make money or save money, in a social enterprise there is the add-on of increasing social impact. Under certain conditions, an organization may decide that the planned activities will be better implemented in collaboration with another organization than if they were implemented by a single organization (synergy effect). This is one of the reasons organization forms a partnership, but it is not the only one, there are other such as:

– easier access to resources e.g. expert knowledge,

– the better possibility to reach the audience and achieve expected goals,

– sharing of costs,

– increasing recognition on the market.

External collaborations and partnerships enable organizations to be a lot more innovative and help them come up with quicker solutions for future challenges. If there is one definite way to prevail over difficulties with other organizations, it is by coming together for a common cause. In today’s ever changing market, taking advantage of resources, innovation and experience requires a partnership of mutual understanding.

Building a mutually beneficial partnership is challenging. It is a process in which the various elements from choosing a partner to the way of keeping relations with him are important. The most important thing in cooperation is understanding the other side and clearly setting goals. This approach will allow for more effective implementation of social activities while achieving business goals.

Partnership is a two-way relationship. If we are going to have relations valuable for both partners, it’s worth following the simple principles of cooperation. The selection of a partner will depend on the purpose of the organization planning, the resources being sought or the type of problem to be addressed. Partnership is possible both within the sector and between organizations from different sectors. It may have a different character from incidental cooperation on the project’s implementation to strategic alliance and close cooperation in the long-term perspective.

Benefits of partnering

Building effective partnerships benefits small social enterprises in the same way as networking does. Partners share knowledge and resources, fostering each others’ performances and reducing risk and uncertainty in today’s competitive environment, but partneting comes with some specific benefits as well:

Optimization and economy of scale – when the partnership is set aimed to reduce costs and/or sharing some of their infrastructure. It is usually given under the scope of a buyer-supplier relationship.
Competitive advantage – by partners leasing their expertise, knowledge and resources to improve their products, services or experiences and being able to reach wider audiences, businesses can absolutely boost their activity in an innovative way.
Enhances business credibility and image – identify the right partners and set a partnership together will strengthen your company’s ethos. When enterprises with similar goals and visions join forces, each organization’s influence and strength can skyrocket. Stronger businesses produce better products and provide higher-quality services to customers, which increases overall brand equity.
Increase the customer base – by creating strategic partnerships with other companies and organisations it will be possible to reach larger audiences. Increasing the base of consumers/volunteers/people committed to a social enterprise can be determined by various factors such as collaborative marketing actions with like-minded organisations, or through agreements to offer related products or services to customers of both entities, so that the potential audience is exponentially increased.
Long-term stability – clearly, the combination of the above factors – i.e. increasing the potential customer base, accessing economies of scale, optimising our activity, sharing expertise and reinforcing the brand image of the social enterprise – will result in the long-term stability of the enterprise in question and allow it to create value for its community, which is the ultimate goal of any entrepreneur. A great partnership makes you better, lifts up your weaknesses, and enhances your strengths

Partnering with style

By partnering with the right actors, companies are able to access new information and make more informed decisions about their activities, so the social added value will be higher for their communities. That is why it is crucial to find the perfect partner to work together with.

As with networking, partnerships in social enterprises are crucial elements for the survival and success of these entrepreneurial ventures, and for achieving their envisioned social impact. They must therefore be set up properly. The model below below (Connective Impact) highlights the steps to be followed:

It is necessary to fully understand one’s own goals and objectives before entering a partnership or starting a collaboration process with other people or organizations.
Research and clearly identify potential partners with similar values and goals, if possible. It is also important to identify where there are complementary skills and knowledge to fill the gaps.

How to identify an ideal partner to collaborate?

Is valuable
Is open to cooperate with other players in the same or different field
Is transparent and can communicate
Adds value and created sinergies
Has knowledge and is proactive
Is flexible

Contact potential partners or actors and facilitate strategy development. Identify implementation partners.
Once the partnership is working together, it is essential to monitor its performance and progress, and to have an eye on opportunities for improvements. Taking the time to control and assess its effectiveness should be done on a regular basis.
Considerer opportunities to redefine or develop new goals in the future.

Some principles may be respected all along the partnership. Based on The Partnering Initiative, these principles are:

Fair Participation – equal right to representation and recognition of the contribution that can’t be explicitly expressed in money or described in terms of public importance for all partners.
Clarity – openness and honesty in relationships and the creation of conditions for the development of trust.
Mutual Benefit – whose aim is to achieve common goals that give both sides satisfactory results.

Types of partnerships

A partnership can take many forms, from business owners working together to invest in a project to firms sharing technical knowledge and ideas. Whatever a company does, it is critical to find the right partnership agreement that benefits both parties.

There are various levels of cooperation, ranging from the most basic to the most intense, and the cooperation can also vary in time, being one-time or long-term, or anything in between. It can be with one or more companies at the same time. The most common types of partnerships are as follows:

Strategic alliances between non-competitors – this cooperation benefits all parts involved, as they share resources aiming to achieve the same goal or develop the same activity. This partnership’s bond is not as strong as a joint venture, and less formal too.
Strategic alliances between competitors – under some circumstances, it may be beneficial for competitors to collaborate towards shared objectives in one field, while still competing in another.
Joint venture to develop a new business – in a joint venture two or more entrepreneurs/organizations pool their resources together in order to create a completely new activity in common, whether it is a new product, service or experience. This kind of business bond is much stronger, so are the potential risks among partners, who would share the revenues, profits, costs and losses.
Buyer-supplier relationships to ensure reliable supplies – this partnership may be created so as to build long-term stable relationships to engage with your provider(s) or buyer(s). However, this cooperation is more than just buying/selling products or services, but also there is a joint interest in making each other’s business models viable and profitable.

Event networking with other organizations could be understood to be a way of partnering with different actors in the same or in a different field of activity, making the relationship more informal and based on the exchange of knowledge and peer support.

Social Enterprises: Networking & Partnering

Social enterprises, especially those operating in rural areas where information, resources and capacities are even more limited due to geographical or economic constraints, need to be able to establish valuable and long-lasting relationships through which to mobilise these resources to ensure their operation and thus the fulfilment of their social objectives. In addition, collaboration with other entrepreneurs, entities or stakeholders helps social entrepreneurs to achieve greater impact and create more value for their communities, so that the mission of the social enterprise is successfully achieved.

“Developing a powerful network with dedicated members will enable the social entrepreneurs to overcome frequently faced difficulties namely the challenge of attracting best talents, lack of support from the financial institutions, lack of resources, inadequate fund, restricted organisational norms that hinders the mobilization and utilisation of resources and to meet their social mission (…). Further, networking and partnering plays an important role for marketing the product/services in the social enterprises, helping them to help them to get access to markets, to get customer information, to identify opportunities and to obtain information about potential funding sources. In addition it enables them to gain knowledge about local environments or conditions, about the unmet local social needs and to identify opportunities at the local community itself” (A. Irudaya Veni Mary et al., 2019).

Community-based social enterprises benefit from being members of a local/regional network as it allows them to reach a shared wealth of resources, expertise, contacts and peer support. Plus, being based in a rural area (as the so-called Empty Europe may be), can add specific challenges to overcome, so having a space in which to discuss with similar organizations and partners is truly essential. Building your network also helps you learn about new developments in your industry and gives you the chance to connect with your community. It may seem like a waste of time to some, but this simple marketing tool is valuable and effective if carried out correctly.

Social enterprises are a partner to collaborate with commercial enterprises that want to engage in social goals because of their social mission. Cooperation can be limited to a single project or have a more long-term nature. Both types of organizations can also work together on a commercial level, such as buying and selling products. The social aspect of cooperation can include a variety of elements. The possibility of joint engagement is indicated by the following:

philanthropy, sponsorship,
providing services, equipment and premises,
employee volunteering,
socially engaged marketing,
common programs, projects, campaigns
social and strategic alliances