Increasingly partnership is regarded as a key tool in the social responsibility toolkit; the essence of partnership is about taking an holistic and collaborative approach. At THI, we believe that developments are most successful where public and private capital work together and outcomes are influenced by the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders.
There are many diverse kinds of partnership – reflecting formal and informal collaborations between public, private, community and voluntary sector organisations – undertaken on a short or long term basis, with a particular purpose or a wide ranging remit. Choosing the right partnership model and identifying the partners you can really work are therefore critical success factors.
The ‘case for partnership’ is best made where the context is highly evolutionary and the outcomes required – complex or where the outcomes required are complex but the context is stable. Stakeholders and experts learn from each other, funding is leveraged and a more secure pathway is negotiated through the planning and development process.
THI’s involvement in structuring partnerships had its origins in the highly successful Learning Shop located at Bluewater in the UK. This enduring partnership between a developer, The UK Government, a local TAFE College and over 300 retailers has resulted in more than 100,000 training outcomes over the last ten years.
An example a little closer to home is the Gwydir Learning Region Initiative. A small shire in North West New South Wales has created a learning region based around its two towns Warialda and Bingara. The partners are the Gwydr Shire Council, Wirialda and Bingara high schools, ACE, TAFE, University of New England and employers from the public and private sectors. Read more in Pathways Through Partnerships...
