High-Performance Partnerships - National Academy of Public ...
High-Performance Partnerships - National Academy of Public ...
High-Performance Partnerships - National Academy of Public ...
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STAGES OF A PARTNERSHIP:<br />
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES MATURITY MAKE?<br />
chapter ten<br />
ORGANIZATIONAL<br />
INFRASTRUCTURE<br />
Organizational infrastructure means assembling<br />
the right parties with a capacity to perform,<br />
and developing <strong>of</strong> underlying systems<br />
and relationships necessary to support effective<br />
performance. During the early phases, a partnership<br />
must focus on convincing strong,<br />
capable public and nonpr<strong>of</strong>it organizations to<br />
participate. Civic associations, which reach<br />
out to the entire community and provide<br />
access and approval, must agree to actively<br />
support the partnership. Much <strong>of</strong> this period<br />
is spent creating an environment based upon<br />
trust and teamwork.<br />
The developmental stage focuses on building<br />
capacity among the partners. This is the time<br />
when partnership must assess its strengths and<br />
weaknesses. Strong partners are encouraged to<br />
stay, while weaker ones may leave. At this<br />
point, the partnership invests in expanding its<br />
organizational infrastructure to grow its operations<br />
to scale.<br />
A high-performance partnership never<br />
becomes challenge free. At every stage <strong>of</strong><br />
development, it faces new and recurring obstacles<br />
to improving outcomes for customers and<br />
the community at large. These challenges may<br />
differ somewhat over time, but “maintenance<br />
mode” cannot be in the vocabulary <strong>of</strong> a performance-oriented<br />
operation.<br />
122 Powering the Future: <strong>High</strong>-<strong>Performance</strong> <strong>Partnerships</strong>