The current terrain of nonprofit partnerships through the lens of workforce development initiatives (2004)

Author: Marc Smolowitz, Access-SF/Channel 29 and CTN Steering Committee

Goal

To provide a preliminary set of partnership resources for a cross section of agencies currently working in the community technology arena.

 

Background

The field of workforce development continues to be challenged by the swift and changing nature of work place technologies, the continuous pool of certified candidates entering the job market, and the overall lack of incentives available to businesses that support sequential training of their in-house workers. Given the systemic nature of these hurdles, it is encouraging to note the recent emergence of workforce programs that are redefining nonprofit partnership modules. In an attempt to strike a balance among the cross cutting concerns of various stakeholders (community-based programs, human services, education/training groups) alongside the current market conditions that define the nature of employment, these endeavors are bringing together some unlikely players as a defining aspect of their strategy. How can a particular partnerships approach help to address the important concerns facing the workforce development arena? And, to what extent are these modules applicable in other community technology settings?

Participants

Moderator:
Marc Smolowitz, ACCESS SF Development / Cable Channel 29 and CTN Bay Area Steering Committee Member

Speakers:
Mike Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Technology Education Collaborative (BayTEC)
Jeff Jones, Strategic Planning Coordinator, DesignLife

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A Workshop in Three Parts

Part One: Partnerships 101 : The essential aspects of Partnerships that are likely to be important for all nonprofits moving forward.

Part Two : Case Studies: BayTEC & Design Life
Meet the region’s newest innovators in the fields of work force development, job training , employing program modules, founded on an emphasis of those unique assets that come with cross sector partnerships.

Part Three : Practicum: Smaller Working Groups create THE 5-POINT PLAN - Collaborating on Step-by-Step Action Plans for your next successful partnership.

I. PARTNERSHIPS 101 - Marc Smolowitz (15 minutes)

Partnerships 101 provides a general overview of key issues and conversation topics that currently drive partnerships discussions in the nonprofit sector. The last several years of nonprofit practice have placed a generic emphasis on the importance of collaborative fundraising and joint development programs. The goal of this discussion is to open the terrain of the discussion towards re-thinking mutually beneficial collaboration, large and small, and entering into an emerging realm of partnerships that defines potential for at every level of the nonprofit organization.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:

SEE WORKSHEET 1 & WORKSHEET 2

ESTABLISHING MUTUAL BENEFIT AT THE OUTSET
Overview of partnership options: Networking Partner (Professional and/or Colleague benefit), Coordinating Partner (Program/Affiliation), Cooperating Partners (Program/Resource Sharing), Collaborative Partners (Implies Ongoing Aspects), Fundraising (Revenue-based), Entrepreneurial (Risk Taking).

Partnerships Resources is a list of nonprofit partnership programs, resources and case studies. These resources are provided as examples of best practices and partnership innovation.

TAKING THE NEIGHBORHHOOD WALK
Identifying both new and existing stakeholders through Asset Mapping and intimate assessments of your immediate neighborhood and geography. Engaging in risk assessments with regard to your current stakeholder interests as a way to prioritize collaborative goa

GO TO: Community Development Resource List for various helpful links on ASSET MAPPING and COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.

CONSIDER THE LESS THAN USUAL SUSPECTS
Partnerships founded on choice! Therefore, convene brainstorming sessions with organizations that you want to work with, in either your own and/or other sectors that are relevant for your mission. Are there “less than usual suspects” that your organization might consider reaching out to in the area of partnerships? Look at various levels of your organization, and assess where benefit might be gained by engaging with an outside player. (Partners can be a part of defining programs, staff models, short-term initiatives, overall goals related to mission, annual objectives.)

MAKING THE CASE FOR THE MOU (Memo Of Understanding)
Sustaining Partnerships, ideas for best practices & evaluation tools. The Memo Of Understanding or MOU is a basic requirement of all partnerships, regardless of size. At its most basic level, the MOU can be the harbinger of best practice and set the stage for a successful partnership. A standard and reliable MOU will state for the record the expectations, requirements and understanding of each partner. It will include key points about time line (the term of the agreement), key definitions for the agreement (Example: For the purposes of this agreement, 5 volunteers hours = $500 sponsorship), how the partnership is to be evaluated at various stages of development, and what conditions can warrant a mutual exit from the Agreement.

II. CASE STUDIES : BayTEC & Design Life (35 - 40 minutes)

Meet the region’s newest innovators in the field s of work force development & job training.

Introducing the unique stories of BayTEC (launched---2002) and DesignLife (pre-launch---2003), two ground breaking startups that entered the workforce arena with innovative partnership models at the center of their ongoing program goals. As part of this discussion, the speakers will explain their organization’s mission and particular approach to IT workforce development. We’ll assess their noticeably different strategies for business development, career building, human services and generally taking on the workforce aspects of the digital divide. By looking closely at their current slate of partnerships, we'll identify a working list of helpful criteria for setting up first stage partnerships as well as the means to assess mutual benefits that may emerge on behalf of workforce candidates, employers and the many related stakeholders in this economy.

BayTEC: In 2001, the James Irvine Foundation funded, with much fanfare, a breakout regional startup venture called BayTEC, an IT workforce supply chain manager that emerged from three community-based IT Training Centers in the East Bay (Street Tech, Urban Voice & Eastmont Computing Center). In order to respond to the East Bay's substantial need for job-ready technology workers, BayTEC uses methods for IT training and job placement that emphasize a high-performance, responsive approach to both candidates and employers.

BayTEC’s list of regional stakeholders calls for the “melding of their particular capacities,” including: Community-based IT Training Centers, Workforce Investment Boards, Community Colleges, Job Development Organizations, Government Agencies, Local Businesses, Business Federations, Adult Education Institutions. BayTEC’s case study will outline startup details for the organization, early milestones for the organization, where things currently stand with regard to each of the above listed partnership categories, and the organization s plans for sustaining certain partnership models in to the future. Now entering its second year, BayTEC is uniquely poised in the nation as a nonprofit, regional purveyor of workforce opportunities.

DesignLife: Currently in pre-launch phase, DesignLife will begin operations later in 2003 with a focus on professional youth development through social enterprise, especially in the converging fields of technology, new media & the digital arts. Its intended employment program will contribute to a “total career pathways system for the Bay Area” that will effectively network educators, community-based organizations, and industry in support of youth mentorship goals. Towards job placement, DesignLife will maintain a system of "mentorpreneurs,” people who will provide candidates with work-based learning opportunities and support towards their continuing on a professional path that leads them beyond employment to entrepreneurship. Partners under consideration include: CA Lawyers for the Arts, GlideTech, California Partnership Academies, and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. DesignLife’s case study will outline the team that has come together to realize this venture, the motivation that drives their shared impulse to form this nonprofit agency at this particular time, and the group's specific plans for its first six months of operations.

III. PRACTICUM : Small Working Groups (40 minutes)

THE FIVE POINT PARTNERSHIP PLAN
Step-by-step action plans that will fuel your next successful partnership.
This works best in a small group setting, working through each question out-loud, and with an assigned note-taker.
The goal of these working groups is for each attendee to identify a reasonable partnership goal that each participant would like to pursue at their own organization. These can be large or small,
immediate or long term, internal to the organization or external in the community. With the help of the group and the facilitator, participants will exit the session with a clearly expressed 5-point plan for moving forward with their partnership idea in the coming period.

Question One: Define the current shape of the partnership, its immediate stakeholders, its overall category and its potential for mutual benefit.

Question Two: Define why the partnership is currently necessary and useful from your side of the potential collaboration.

Question Three: Define why the partnership is currently necessary and useful from your potential partners side of the collaboration.

Question Four: Set a short term goal for your preferred mode of making contact with the potential partner, based on being able to translate the above answers into an effective one paragraph description of your partnership idea.

Question Five: Set a long-term goal for looking back on your partnership as a successful one and define this successful program in 1-2 sentences maximum.