Partnership Development Resources

We have included a range of links to useful partnership related tools and resources to help you build, manage, sustain and evaluate your own partnerships.

Partnership Guides and Tools

  • Partnership: The Benefits
    The Institute of Public Health in Ireland have developed some user friendly guides and resources about the benefits of partnership practice. Their website also includes some interesting research about the impact of multisectoral partnerships designed to tackle health inequities.
    Visit the Institute of Public Health in Ireland’s website

  • The Partnership Initiative
    The Partnering initiative (formerly run as a programme of the UN’s International Business Leaders Forum) has developed a huge range of resources to support partnership practice across all sectors. Their website includes a range of toolkits, case studies, research articles and guides to support effective partnership work.
    Visit the The Partnering initiative’s resource page

  • Practical Partnering Toolkit
    Commissioned by the Australian Government, the Practical partnering toolkit provides a valuable and easy to use set of resources about key elements of partnerships.
    Download the guide (pdf)
    Tools
    Case Studies

  • The Partnership Toolkit: Tools for Building and Sustaining Partnerships
    This toolkit provides an introduction to good partnership practice, using simple, easy to understand language and tools.
    Download the toolkit (pdf)

  • From words to action: The Stakeholder Engagement Manual
    The Manual as a whole is intended to provide practical guidance and support to those practicing stakeholder engagement. The Handbook outlines a comprehensive approach to successful and strategically aligned engagement, and includes a broad range of practical tools and templates.
    Visit the Stakeholder Engagement Manual

  • Working in Partnership: Practical advice for running effective partnerships
    This guide has been developed to provide tools and resources for partnerships in community development. It includes information about the key enablers of effective partnerships and tools to support you put them into practice.
    Download the guide (pdf)

  • VCOSS Partnership Practice Guides
    These guides provide information, tools and resources that examine the three stages of partnering: preparing to partner; commencing the partnership; and, sustaining the partnership.
    Visit the VCOSS’s website

  • Partnerships making them work
    While this guide was originally developed for businesses, it is also a useful resource for community organisations wanting to know more about partnerships.
    Download the guide (pdf)

Partnership Evaluation / Working in partnership

  • Fundamentals of Evaluating Partnerships
    This guide applies the CDC Evaluation Framework to partnership evaluation. The Framework lays out a six-step process for the decisions and activities involved in conducting an evaluation.
    See the Fundamentals of Evaluating Partnerships Guide

  • VicHealth Partnership Analysis Tool
    This tool is designed to assess the effectiveness of partnerships and identify areas for ongoing work.
    Visit VicHealth Partnership Analysis Tool

  • Partnership Self-Assessment Tool
    This tool is designed to measure a partnership’s level of synergy, identify relevant strengths and weaknesses. This can be useful to support discussion about members experience of the partnership and their satisfaction with the way the partnership operates.
    Visit LMG for Health’s website

  • The Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory
    This tool asks members to rate how a collaboration is performing against 20 success factors.
    Visit the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory’s page