Partnerships: Lessons Learned Partnership for Indian Education

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PartnershipsLessons LearnedPartnership for
Indian Education

• Carlos Rodriguez, Ph.D.
• American Institutes for Research

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Overview

• Todays Talk
• History Context
• Results and Findings on Partnership

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Why Partnerships?

• Educators are recognizing that the preparation of
  young people for the future is beyond the
  capacity of education alone.
• Educational partnerships form a continuum of
  support with differing levels of participation

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History Context

• Problem
• Few minorities in STEM in the health
  professions pipeline
• Large underserved, minority areas
• Local, State Federal possible solution
• Grow Your Own through community,
  partnership-based networks

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History Context

• The PHPE Program (Partnership for Health
  Professions Education)
• Demonstration Program
• Seven Sites New Jersey, California, Washington,
  Hawaii, Texas, Oklahoma, and (later) Georgia.
• All different geography, populations and,
  therefore, partnership models

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History Context

• The Diversity of PHPEs
• NJ North mostly, Puerto Rican/ African
• CA Central Valley, Latinos/ Immigrant
• WA Five states Native Emerging Hispanic
• HA Across 5 islands, Native Hawaiians
• TX Rural Border South Texas, Mexican Americans
• OK Whole state, Native African Americans
• GA Primarily Atlanta Black/ Afr. Americans

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Partnership Logic Model
Legislative Objectives
Inputs
Long-term Outcomes
Disposing Conditions
Intermediate Outcomes
Outputs (Short-term)
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Results and Findings-Partnerships

• Critical Factors of Partnerships
• 1 Maintaining Membership
• 2 On-Going and Effective Communication
• 3 Collaborative Relationships
• 4 Shared Vision for Action
• 5 Effective Management
• 6 Adaptability of Partnership

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1 Maintaining Membership

• Energetic facilitator who is the energy behind
  getting the partners together.
• A core decision-making group of about 8-15 people
  who commit to meet regularly.
• Reflect the diversity of the students and the
  community in partnership members.
• Ask partners Who is missing from the table? and
  nominate new partners as needs arise.

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1 Maintaining Membership (cont.)

• Practice (or teach) cultural competence amongst
  partners (e.g., teach understanding of the goals
  and needs of different groups).
• Build the partnerships on more than just money
  people come to the table around a concept.
• Get buy-in from the highest person at each
  institution or council while balancing
  representation of diverse community groups.

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2 On-Going and Effective Communication

• Choose key representatives who have
  decision-making power at their home institutions)
  to have at the table.
• Initiating facilitator repeatedly talks to the
  head of an institution and describes the
  advantages of the partnership to that person.
• Promote structured, continuous communication
  through regular, formal meetings.
• Meet continuously with any dissident partners
  until the solution is worked out.

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3 Collaborative Relationships

• Shared decision-making consensus strategies.
• Ensure that each partner has an equal voice.
• Affirm collaboration.
• Attend partners institutional/group meetings,
  i.e. partners get to know what the partners are
  about.

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3 Collaborative Relationship (cont.)

• Learn early the culture of the partners and
  likely barriers, such as financial issues.
• Promote understanding of each others culture and
  goals through group discussion.
• Promote the partnership to the local community.
  Identify, acknowledge and honor the members of
  the partnership publicly.

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4 Shared Vision for Action

• Develop a common vision.
• Link partnership goals to the goals of the
  partners, do not force partners to meld their
  goals to the partnership. The goals developed by
  the partners should reflect all partners.
• Develop a formal agreement based on a commonly
  developed, shared vision.
• Demonstrate interagency ownership including
  shared credit and recognition.

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5 Effective Management

• Have your first project be a simple and effective
  one that all partners approve and that can serve
  as an early success.
• Identify potential barriers and make plans to
  address them.
• Recognize that it takes time to develop the
  necessary levels of trust.

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5 Effective Management

• Practice sound fiscal responsibility and update
  partners regularly on financial matters to build
  trust.
• Meet directly with specific individuals if there
  are problems.
• Follow-up on any issues/concerns raised by any
  partner.
• Encourage support of individual partnership
  activities.

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6 Adaptability of Partnership

• The partnership should be able to adapt to new
  circumstance and to address any challenges.
• Integrate existing community structures.
• Complete an inventory of existing partnership
  programs and identified gaps.

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Conclusion

• Collaborative efforts around a shared vision and
  goal can yield desirable outcomes for
  underrepresented minority population groups.
• Partnerships give students, educators,
  communities, the opportunity and means to create,
  recognize, and accept a responsibility to prepare
  and cultivate a diverse workforce.

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Attributes of Effective Partnerships

• Common vision, overarching goals, shared norms
• Trust
• Complementary resources
• Compensatory resources
• Extraordinary Results doing with each other
  what cant be done alone