High-Performance Partnerships - National Academy of Public ...

ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
chapter nine
G
ood intentions and a supportive environment cannot overcome a faulty internal foundation.
With a supportive environment, right partners at the table, and the capacity to
deliver, a partnership must then have a clearly defined governance structure, support
systems and qualified staff to operate effectively.
A team approach to problem solving is incompatible
with a control mentality. A partnership is
unfeasible if partners are unwilling to sacrifice
some control to share decision-making,
resources, and accountability for results.
Similarly, some organizations are not prepared
for a high-performance environment. Outcome
measurement and accountability are relatively
new to the public and nonprofit sectors. Some
monitor their service outputs, but do not report
meaningful outcomes—that is, fundamentally
improved community conditions or client
behavior. Often, a public or nonprofit agency
measures its performance by the volume of work,
not the results.
Participating in a high-performance partnership
means agreeing to be held accountable for complex
community outcomes. For example, a partnership
has not reached the high-performance
plateau if it is willing to count the number of
expectant mothers served, but unwilling to establish
goals for increasing the percentage of healthy
babies born to them.
Second, the partnership’s environment must be
conducive to cross-sector collaboration. In some
cases, neither the community nor potential partners
have developed significant trust that would
permit an effective relationship. Such dynamics
can significantly hinder collaboration. Other limitations
include an overly controlling public sector,
a civic sector distrustful of government, and a
nonprofit sector with limited capacity. Unless
perceived limitations can be overcome, a supportive
stakeholder environment and performancebased
partnership are unlikely to occur.
To evaluate its partnership projects, CMS’ Partnership
Development Group has developed a pre-assessment
form to determine the likelihood of success when partnering
with an organization and a post self-assessment
form to evaluate a completed partnership or outreach
activity. This formal assessment can be very useful in
building a collaborative effort with all the necessary
ingredients.
HOW TO MEET CHALLENGES
TO ORGANIZATIONAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
ACHIEVING THE RIGHT MIX OF
CAPABLE PARTNERS
The Challenge
Outreach Self-Assessment Forms,
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
A long-term performance-based partnership
depends on the right complement of members.
Sometimes, a community will seek a partnership
of available and willing participants. This
may produce immediate buy-in, but fail to
attract critical expertise and resources.
Partnerships also must identify entities that
should not be included. The assumption may
be “the more the merrier,” but this is not
always the best approach. Participants that do
not contribute effectively only hurt the partnership’s
performance and sustainability.
There must be balance between broad-based
buy-in and inclusion for inclusion’s sake.
110 Powering the Future: High-Performance Partnerships