Facilitating Partnership Assessments: How to facilitate a partnership assessment process as part of developing new partnerships

Before entering into a new partnership, for instance with local civil society organizations, it is essential that the two or more partners go through a Partnership Assessment process together. In order to ensure neutrality and mutuality in the process, it is advised that a partnership adviser/coordinator or similar cross-cutting unit be employed as the facilitator. This guide is intended to be used by that facilitator. 

In this document, the facilitator will find information on:

• Building relationships between partners
• Assessing compatibility between partners
• Auditing organizational capacity and gaps for working in partnerships in the two partner organizations
• Balancing expectations
• Developing join vision and values for the partnership and setting objectives
• Exploring capacity and support needs as part of the partnership

Because there is no one way of working with partners or organizations, this document should be used as a supplementary resource to the various other resources, practices, and experiences of that particular facilitator. In the end, the facilitator needs to look at the specific situation and the types of potential partner and partnership in choose which elements of this document to include in the process.