Promoting Health Equity - A Resource to Help Communities Address ...

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Building partnership capacity
Responses to these questions will help point to areas where the partnership is
doing well and areas that need improvement. This inventory can lead to changes
in where and how often the partners meet, how long meetings should last, decisionmaking
processes, confict-management strategies, and the roles and responsibilities of
individual partners.
MOVING FORWARD
Partnership Meetings 69
> Convene your partners to discuss a proposed agenda.
> Build social time into your gatherings for networking or just getting to
know each other.
> Prepare an invitation with a catchy slogan and reading materials to
attract community members to the discussion.
> Consider inviting a neutral facilitator for the discussion.
> Agree upon, post, and revisit as needed a set of ground rules for
the meeting.
> Develop, post, and revisit as needed a set of principles to guide
the partnership.
> Meet on a regular basis with a clear purpose; start and end meetings
on time.
> Defne roles and responsibilities for all partners (e.g., appoint someone
to take notes and prepare meeting minutes).
> Preserve shared leadership and responsibility by delegating meaningful
tasks to small groups or subcommittees and devising realistic timelines.
Form active committees that allow partners to be involved in issues of
concern to them.
> Prepare to engage partners using multiple methods of communication
(e.g., oral, written, pictorial) to ensure that people understand information
and feel comfortable expressing themselves.
In addition to your partnership principles, it is important to create and agree upon ground
rules for running partnership meetings. Ground rules are a set of standards for group
behavior that establish a safe and comfortable environment and may include sharing
information, respecting others’ opinions, refraining from dominating the discussion,
correcting misperceptions and maintaining confdentiality. For further information
and assistance with creating partnerships, see “Moving Forward: Partnership
Meetings” below.
> Avoid conversations about strategies for addressing problems until you
have jointly defned the nature of the problems.
> Create an atmosphere in which participants feel comfortable expressing
contradictory opinions.
> Focus on common ground but don’t be afraid to address conficts.
> Be prepared to deal with confict as it arises. (See Section 5 for more
information on confict resolution)
> Prepare meeting summaries and share them with all partners.
> Establish consensus on the fnancial responsibilities of members and
develop a budget for the partnership.
> Build relationships with elected offcials and other key community leaders
to gain support for the partnership.
> Ensure consistent and clear communication among all partners. Consider
creating a newsletter to keep everyone informed.
> Seek technical assistance and support if resources are needed from
outside the partnership. This may include recruiting people with needed
skills to become members of the partnership or asking outsiders to help
(but not necessarily join) the partnership.
> Recognize hard work and dedication through celebrations and
fun activities.