Partnership Assessment Tools:

Step 1: The Quiz

Step 2: Matrix of Statements, Scores and Supporting Facts (download the spreadsheet and graph)

Step 3: The Action Plan

Download the ALPI Partnership Assessment Toolkit

In relief and development assistance, “partnership” is a term with many meanings and forms—from alliances to contracts to grantor-grantee relationships. Yet, the use of “partnership” stems from the growing conviction that solving a society’s problems requires a combined effort of diverse institutions, including aligning and combining competencies and functions. Often times, “partnership” brings together parties with very different objectives, resources and incentives around shared goals and equitable allocation of authority, efforts and resources. The international aid system now recognizes and even encourages “partnerships,” but provides little to no real guidance on how to equitably create and function in a partnership.

InterAction’s Africa Liaison Program Initiative’s (ALPI) work is focused on improving the quality of the relationships between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. and African nongovernmental organizations in delivering the United States’ humanitarian and long term development assistance to Africa. Strong partnerships are critical to the overall impact of that work. Therefore, the formation and maintenance of equitable and productive development partnerships are part of ALPI’s main objectives.

In any collaborative work, partners should regularly assess how their relationships are working in practice. ALPI has developed a tool to address this issue. ALPI’s Partnership Assessment and Monitoring Tool (PAT) is designed to help evaluate and improve the quality of both bilateral (between two organizations) and multilateral (among a network of organizations) partnerships.

PAT uses a methodology of self-assessment to evaluate the quality of partnership relations from the perspective of the partners themselves. It is a fast and easy method, using a three-step process and a set of practical tools, to analyze twelve clearly defined principles. The analysis uses evidence in the form of facts and examples generated throughout the partnership to determine its level of performance, while enhancing partners’ collective understanding of effective partnerships. The periodic use of this assessment methodology will help guide and track progress in partnership relations as they develop.

Time and resource commitment

We recommend that your organization make the following commitments to the assessment process:

• Assign a minimum of three partner representatives with knowledge of the partnership and representing different levels and areas of your organization’s management.

• Assign one of your representatives to serve as a co-facilitator. The co-facilitator must take the responsibility to: (a) ensure that the necessary meetings with partners are scheduled; (b) encourage your organization’s completion of a pre-assessment quiz; (c) ensure meeting attendance; and (d) serve as co-facilitator of the two partner meetings—assessment and action planning—to complete the process. At the conclusion of the assessment meeting, your co-facilitator should spend approximately two (2) hours working with your partner’s co-facilitator to produce a summary of the assessment results.

• As a team, spend approximately 1-2 hours: (a) reviewing the partnership principles; and (b) completing a pre-assessment quiz for your organization.

• Conduct the assessment and action planning meetings, of approximately three (3) hours each, within a two-week period.