Taking the Time to Learn about Each Other

It takes time to explore the issues and opportunities presented by a potential partnership. It takes time to assess your capacity for collaboration with each other. There is much ground to be covered, and many individuals and offices to be involved. Multiple conversations, both face-to-face and virtual, are needed. Close attention to different cultural and institutional meanings and contexts must be paramount as you do each of the following:

• Learn about each other’s institutions (see Defining Your Strengths)
• Discuss what “partnership” means to each institution
• Talk about the kinds of partnerships you have had in the past and the kinds in which you are now interested
• Work to find the common ground among each institution’s partnership goals
• Identify areas of mutual interest
• Range broadly over possible areas of collaboration, narrowing the list over time
• Brainstorm specific collaborative projects, both immediate and long-range
• Discuss what each side can provide to the partnership
• Negotiate a financial model that will work for both sides
• Work out ways to deal with the issues discussed in Challenges
• Consider the manner in which difficulties and crises will be handled
• Explore how you will carry out principles of shared decision-making, reciprocity, and mutual benefit
• Establish a regular pattern of communications
• Begin to build the human relationships on which the partnership will proceed

Next up: Building Support for a New Partnership at Your Institution »