Partnerships are a key driver for many international education institutions, yet their development tends to be haphazard. This approach results in unrealized potential/outcomes for most partnerships. Today, many institutions are beginning to ask how to develop more successful partnerships. This article provides a brief overview of the key considerations institutions must address if they desire successful partnership outcomes.

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Comprehensive Understanding of Partnership Opportunities

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Very few institutions fully realize the depth and breadth of partnership opportunities. Often, this is the result of institutions’ lack of understanding regarding the full scope of the types of institutional partnerships that are possible. For example, despite evidence as to the utility of multilateral partnerships, most contemporary partnerships are bilateral (especially those outside of Europe). Institutions need to consider a variety of types of partnerships; not just one. Joint degree programs, virtual exchanges, student mobility exchanges, faculty mobility exchanges, and research collaboration are only a few possibilities. Successful partnerships allow for the possibility of a variety of activities as part of the agreement, and institutions need to educate themselves as to the possibilities.

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Strategy

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Few institutions have a partnership strategy. This is a critical piece of the success puzzle as it explains why the institution wants to engage in partnerships and helps define the types of partnerships the institution wishes to pursue. It also provides guidance as to the locations in the world where and the types of institutions with which the organization seeks to partner. Importantly, a partnership strategy establishes parameters for saying no to proposed partnerships and maximizing institutional resources (especially if those resources are scarce).  

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Goal Alignment

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Successful partnerships are those in which the goals of all institutions align to support the partnership. Alignment requires agreement – not equivalency. Institutions should take care to avoid the desire for sameness that defines many unsuccessful partnerships. Too frequently, institutions focus on sameness or similarity in mission, vision, and values rather than the goals driving the partnership. While it is nice to have alignment on institutional missions, visions, and values, often, partnerships can thrive without them so long as there is goal alignment.

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Support

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Just like any other institutional initiative, partnerships need support to develop and thrive. Support takes a variety of forms, but financial and personnel are usually the two most common. Far too frequently, senior leaders at institutions of higher education sign partnership agreements that they have no intention of supporting. This is easy to do if there is no partnership strategy. Successful partnerships have support commitments in place from the start.

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Quality Management

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Because international partnerships are sometimes a metric institutions tout, signing an agreement is the end goal for many. However, if a partnership is to be successful, there needs to be a quality management team in place to implement the partnership. This is rarely a single individual. Effective partnership teams often involve both faculty and staff who share leadership and responsibilities for implementing the agreement.  

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Assessment & Evaluation

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Successful partnerships begin with a plan for assessing inputs, outputs, and outcomes. The assessment and evaluation of the partnership should be routine and engage multiple stakeholders to ensure the success and long-term health of the partnership. Assessment and evaluation are critical to ensuring that a partnership will grow and change over time to continue to meet the needs of the institutions engaged in the partnership. Further, assessment and evaluation ensure that the partnership undergoes periodic review to ensure it is functioning as intended and still meets each partner’s goal(s).

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Dissolution Frameworks

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The haphazard nature of institutional partnerships means that many institutions sign agreements with little thought as to their future. The lack of ongoing assessment and evaluation means these agreements end up filed and never reviewed again. It is natural for partnerships to end, and good partnerships plan for that ending. This avoids uncomfortable breakups and leaves the door open for future partnerships.

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Overall, the key to successful partnerships is deliberate planning prior to the beginning of implementation. Institutions that desire successful partnerships will put in the effort into ensuring the infrastructure necessary to implement the agreement is in place and functioning. They will also ensure ongoing review and adaptation to ensure partnerships remain viable and productive for all involved.