What are some different ways that groups can partner with the project?
Sarah: One big goal of our project is making information available and accessible. On our website, we feature highlights and big ideas from reports, data, and journal articles developed by subject matter experts in a way that is clear and easy for the reader to quickly digest. Partners can work with us by suggesting materials for us to write about, contributing their own articles, or cross-posting our content through their networks and platforms. Partnerships are therefore a key link to those experts working on service delivery and other direct family planning programs.
Another partnership opportunity at the global, regional, or potentially country level is through our knowledge-sharing activities. For instance, we are currently co-hosting a number of workshops to improve knowledge exchange among FP/RH professionals.
Finally, FP/RH projects looking for specialized help with knowledge sharing and capacity strengthening can reach out to us directly.
What would you say a successful partnership looks like and how do you measure success?
Sarah: It’s really important to nurture a professional partnership just like any personal relationship. Give it time to cultivate and grow. Sometimes it takes a while for projects to find a groove before figuring out a really productive activity to work on together. You may be talking with a partner with similar interests and a similar mission, and it seems like there’s a lot you could do together. But it could be weeks or months before you find that specific activity.
It’s important to think very concretely about goals. Ask yourself, “What is our goal and what are we going to accomplish together?” Some of the best partnerships that I’ve worked on, including groups like IBP Network, Family Planning 2020, and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition working groups, have had a very specific deliverable that was based on a shared goal.
Under the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Project, we developed indicators to measure successful partnerships that measure aspects like mutual goals, deliverables, respect, and trust.