Literacy Basics - Employment Ontario

EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO

Are you ready for a partnership?

Before jumping into a partnership, however, it is important for your agency to assess its readiness to get involved. Even if you have identified a need that you think could be met by a partnership, now may not be the best time to get involved. For example, you may currently be working on initiatives that do not allow you to invest the time it will take to become involved in a new partnership. If now is not the right time, you might want to spend some time preparing so that in a few months from now you can move ahead with the partnership. In addition, the partnership you are considering might not be the right one for you. If you do not feel that your agency can contribute towards meeting the partnership objectives, you might not want to join into an agreement just for the sake of being involved in a partnership.

Community Literacy of Ontario developed a partnership checklist that can help your agency determine if now is the right time to get involved, or if this is the right partnership for you.

Partnership Checklist
Item	Yes, No, or In Progress
Has a written plan stating the overall partnership goals, roles and resources been prepared that meets the needs of our community, our organization and our partner organizations?
Based on this plan, do we see an appropriate, manageable and beneficial partnership role for our organization?
Do we have capacity (human and financial resources) to fulfill our proposed role in the partnership?
Does the proposed partnership clearly fit with our mission, business plan and goals?
Will a partnership provide significant benefits to our learners, our members, our community, and our organization?
If required by the role we are undertaking, will we receive adequate compensation (financial or otherwise) for our role/work in the partnership?
Will our involvement in the proposed partnership maintain and enhance our organization's reputation in our community?
Does a high level of organizational trust exist between us and any proposed partners? If not, are we willing to make the time and effort to build trust?
Do the proposed partners have complementary visions, philosophies, values, missions and priorities?
Does the proposed partner have a sound track record in managing their organization and/or working in partnership?
In the case of a more formal partnership, has a partnership agreement been prepared? Do we approve of the terms and conditions of the partnership agreement?

You can also find a similar type of checklist in The Partnership Handbook.

Designed and hosted by in collaboration with CLO

CLO gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the Ontario Government under Employment Ontario and the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) and the technical support provided by the National Adult Literacy Database in developing this web site.

All external links within this website were valid at the time of publication.