Increasing attention is being paid to the early stages of a cross-sector partnership – particularly to the need for time to develop a systematic partnership-building process. Indications are that where such an investment has been made it has yielded more robust, resilient and effective cross sector collaboration.
However, it is clear that equal care and attention should also be paid to the moving on aspects of a partnership: these are rarely planned in advance and are all too often undertaken in a random way, leaving partners, beneficiaries and other key stakeholders feeling (rightly or wrongly) abandoned or betrayed. All too often departure, or moving on, is interpreted as failure.
Experience suggests that this may be a very narrow interpretation. In reality, a partner leaving, or a partnership being disbanded (particularly where a task has been completed) can be a highly significant indicator of success.
And even where it is not, an ‘exit’ can itself be a trigger for an interesting ‘entry’ or an opening up to a range of new possibilities. To nurture the idea of growth and transformation we advocate using the term moving on rather than exit, as exit has a limited and final interpretation.
It is our belief that conventional moving on strategies are not adequate within a partnership paradigm. We believe that more work needs to be undertaken to understand, analyse and build competencies in developing and delivering various moving on strategies that ensure partners and partnerships make the transition efficiently, effectively and appropriately.
We have been conducing research into the following areas:
- Providing useful insights and guidelines as to what constitutes an effective and responsible partnership exit / transition / moving on strategy
- Understanding better how these strategies are best articulated, formulated and implemented within a partnership paradigm
- Exploring how different strategies can be applied so as to avoid undermining either the partnership or its achievements.
This research will culminate in a toolbook; 'Moving On: Exits, Transitions, and Outcomes'. This is another publication in the toolbook series, with core text and practical tools for implementing a successful moving on strategy aimed at partnership practitioners worldwide and in all sectors.
We are grateful to the Vodafone UK Foundation’s (VUKF) support for the research and publication of this toolbook. The VUKF has participated in this research as part of a case study project for its flagship partnership (2001-04) with three UK charities: Shelter, Samaritans and YouthNet. The case study tracked the partnering journey as well as the moving on process of that partnership.
