Designing Comprehensive Partnering Agreements

As the number and complexity of partnerships has grown, so has our understanding of the principles and processes by which they work and can become successful. While partnering theory has been developed directly from practice, it is rare for that theory to be backed up by evidenced academic research.
This publication demonstrates an effort to do just that – to bring academic rigour to partnering good practice guidance. It addresses a key factor in the creation of successful partnership: the purpose and content of partnership agreements.

Time invested in designing and negotiating a detailed agreement between partners will not only create a more effective framework within which the partners can work, but will lay a foundation of sustained co-operation through enhanced mutual understanding. Good partnership agreements can make a significant contribution to shaping good partnerships – and ultimately define their success.

This guide includes both an overview of the nature and value of agreements and a new tool for their construction and review – the Partnering Agreement Scorecard.

It will be of value to any organisation that contemplates setting up a new or reviewing an existing partnership. It provides a shorthand of the most critical questions that should be addressed when developing a partnership. In so doing, it offers a  structure for generating and assessing an agreement which should fit the initial needs of most partnerships. It is our experience that addressing these questions in a more systematic manner seriously increases the chances of success – by ensuring all partners are on the same page, that the partnership has been set up correctly, by helping to keep a partnership on track and by providing guidance also in difficult times.