[Excerpt from A Guide to Developing Educational Partnerships] Page: 1 of 2
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1111111111I 11111111111111111i1111111 nd Schools: Partners for Education
How Should Partnerships Be Organized?
No single organization fits all circumstances.
Partnerships, contrary to popular myth, don't necessarily have similar organizations or require
absolute collaboration and levels of equality among partners. In fact, partnerships can be organized
in various ways, and collaboration can range from working together on specific activities to shared
decision making about all activities. The appropriate organization is related to the goals of the
partnership, the reasons people get involved, and the commitments they are willing to make.
Early efforts to find out whether others in the community share an interest in developing a
partnership should provide information that helps with decisions about organization. The
conversations reveal whether potential partners share a sense of the problem and whether they are
willing to commit time and other resources to solving it. The conversations also reveal the limits
they wish to place on their participation or the importance of the problem to their own
organizational goals. As a result, the group can select an organization that is most likely to be
successful.
Three types of partnership organizational structures are: (a) primary partner/ limited partnerships,
(b) coalition partnerships, and (c) collaborative partnerships.
Primary Partner/Limited Partnerships
The primary partner/limited partnership structure involves a managing partner with other
organizations providing services either to it or to clients. The limited partners are conceptually
similar to consultants. As partners, they don't receive pay; rather, the public relations and
psychological rewards that come from being part of a community endeavor are their remuneration.
When is this type of partnership appropriate? When one partner is joining for opportunistic
motives. The limited role of one partner also will limit the negative effects of opportunism and, at
the same time, take advantage of what the organizations to offer. The primary/limited structure
also is appropriate when other partners, willing to contribute to the partnership, place clear
boundaries around their participation. This type of partnership may work when, for legal or local
political reasons, it is important for one partner to have strong control of the venture.
The primary partner/limited partnership can provide services, training, and materials, which, in
turn, can influence schooling practices. To the extent that participating nonschool organizations are
influenced by their participation, primary/limited partnerships also may increase support for
education in the community. Finally, this type of partnership allows a visionary partner to set the
agenda for those who are more pedestrian in their approach. Over time, through leadership, the
visionary may get others to share the vision, but this form allows work to begin immediately and
provides an arena for building the base. However, it may be limited in its ability to address new
issues or problems different from those around which it was formed.
Coalition Partnerships
Coalition partnerships boast a division of labor among organizations. Each partner decides what to
do within a broad framework articulated by the partnership as a whole and conducts particular
activities. Partners are equal but bring different interests and skills to the arrangement. In
educational partnerships, as in politics, coalitions work best when the involved organizations agree
about a particular problem. Each partner has broad, and sometimes even very different, goals but
believes solving the problem is necessary to achieving the broad goals.
When is a coalition appropriate? When partners agree about a specific problem in a community
even if they disagree about goals or about the causes of the problems. Work can begin to solve the
problem without having to address the many areas of disagreement. Coalitions are particularly
useful in divided communities where there is shared concern about how well students are prepared
to enter the workplace. Businesses can commit resources because they need well-prepared
workers. Schools readily agree to participate to provide activities that motivate students to come to
school and learn more. Community groups, such as local civil rights organizations, frequently
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Tushnet, Naida C. [Excerpt from A Guide to Developing Educational Partnerships], chapter, October 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1851997/m1/1/: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.