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From interpretive planning for castles in Wales for the National Trust and bird sanctuaries in Michigan for the Kellogg Biological Station, to interpretive training in Alabama for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and museum exhibit evaluation in Wisconsin - (bottom row) and critiquing ancient temples interpretation on Malta for Malta Heritage, prehistoric archaeological site interpretation in Utah for Nine Mile Canyon/BLM, and docent/interpretive staff training for the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, we do that - and more! Heritage Interpretation: Interpretive Planning, Training and Consultation Services Serving Parks, Museums, Historic Sites, Zoos & Botanical Gardens, Heritage Tourism Sites and Facilities, Commercial Tourism Attractions, and related interpretive sites and facilities -
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Developing Successful Partnerships – Planning Guidelines for Heritage Tourism and Interpretive Sites, Facilities And Organizations
By John A. Veverka
Why Do I Need Partners? Developing partnerships for organizations/agencies in both the private and public sectors have been a management trend for the past several years. Particularly in times of tight budgets but growing demands for services, agencies have looked more and more to cost sharing and work sharing with groups and organizations. What can partnerships to for you?
These are just a few of the benefits of partnerships. But creating a "successful" partnership is not as easy as it might seem and there are pit falls if the partnership doesn’t work out. Here are some things to consider in developing and maintaining successful partnerships. Ten Guiding Rules for Making Partnerships Work:
and your designer needs graphic material from your "partner" by a certain deadline, make sure that the partner can meet these kinds of deadlines.
There are different kinds of partnerships between different kinds of organizations and agencies and how partnerships might work between then vary greatly. From government agencies to commercial tourism attractions, to commercial service providers, to non-profit organizations – partnership benefits and arrangements will vary a lot. The table on the following page gives a few examples (Ed. note - due to html formatting this table could not be included in this web version of the article.)
If you think that your organization or agency is ready for, or in need of, various kinds of partners, here are some steps for planning for your partnership. I recommend that you think through these questions before selecting or approaching potential partners.
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![]() | What are the goals and objectives of our proposed partnership (what do we envision accomplishing via the partnership)? |
![]() | How will you know if the partnership is "successful"? |
![]() | How will you know if/when the partnership is not longer needed? |
![]() | How will we administer the partnership? |
![]() | Who will write the contract or letter of agreement? |
![]() | Who will be responsible for any fiscal accounting? |
![]() | Who will be responsible for staff functions? |
![]() | Etc. |
![]() | Do we need a long-term partner(s) or will this be a short-term partnership project. |
![]() | Exactly what do we want our proposed partner(s) to do? |
![]() | Help with funding? |
![]() | Help with staffing? |
![]() | Help with administration of the project. |
![]() | Provide expertise? |
![]() | Provide credibility to the project? |
![]() | Provide "in-kind" services (printing, publications, etc.)? |
![]() | Other |
![]() | Who are some potential partners? Make a list of the organizations, companies, attractions, etc. who you think would make a good partner(s) based on the above criteria. |
![]() | How will we implement the partnership? What will it take to get things going? |
![]() | How will we evaluate the success of the partnership (for short or long term projects or working relationships? |
Once you have thought through these questions (and answered them), then you are ready to approach your potential partners about entering into a partnership arrangement with you.
Summary
This short paper was designed to help you think through some of the issues and points that can make or break partnerships. In today’s economy, partnerships, especially in the heritage tourism area, make good business sense. But like good business, it should be carefully planned and thought through to help insure success.
John A. Veverka
John Veverka & Associates
PO Box 189
Laingsburg, MI 48848