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Brokering

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‘Shaping Sustainable Change’ is published

PBA is delighted to announce the publication of Shaping Sustainable Change: The role of partnership brokering in optimising collaborative action. The idea of writing the book was first discussed in 2014 and, a year later, was given impetus by the positioning of multi-actor partnerships as central to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, increasing attention was being paid to the role played by individuals and organisations who acted as ‘boundary spanners’ and ‘bridge-builders’ for these relationships. Shaping Sustainable Change aims to make the case for partnership brokering and share information on this emerging profession. In order to offer a useful blend of theory and practice, the book combines the knowledge and experience of PBA’s international network of associates and alumni with perspectives from wider literature and the academic arena. The first section explores the profile and key activities carried out by partnership brokers, and the skills and competencies required to undertake this role. This is followed by examples of partnership brokering practice in relation to different contexts, sectors, themes and partnering phases. The process of compiling the publication has involved a committed group of authors, peer reviewers, editors and proofreaders to whom we are immensely grateful. We hope that the book does justice to the work of partnership brokers everywhere and reinforces the importance of their contribution to building transformational collaborative arrangements for a more equitable and sustainable world.

You can purchase your copy here.

 

London PBT course, 23-26 October

Our next Partnership Brokers Training course in London, UK, will be held on 23rd – 26th October 2018. Please go to our training programme page for the course brochure and application form.

WEF to host another PBT course in Geneva

Following the success of last year’s Geneva PBT course, the World Economic Forum will host the PBT course once again on 30-31 October and 1-2 November 2018. The course brochure and application form are available on our training programme page.

Partnership Brokers Training in London enrolling now!

We are pleased to announce that following the great interest in Partnership Brokers Training held in London in March 2017 we have just started recruiting for another course in London, scheduled for 9 – 12 October 2017. More information on the training can be found in the course brochure, which can be downloaded together with the application form from Partnership Brokers Training Programme page.

Multi-agency collaboration in the humanitarian sector

Applications now open for Partnership Brokers Training 4-day training course for those brokering multi-agency collaboration in the humanitarian sector.

“The course was highly applicable to the type of work I do with consortia and networks, and the kind of challenges I am faced with on a day-to-day basis. The material was relevant and helped give perspective to those challenges. The course also enabled the participants to step back and reflect on our own work in relation to what we were learning. I really appreciated the whole experience and went back to my role energised and ready for action.” Rachel Houghton, CDAC Network

Dates: 13-14 and 16-17 January 2014, London. The training is run in association with the Start Network, CDAC Network, and the Humanitarian and Leadership Academy.

Due to limited space, you are advised to get your application in promptly to avoid disappointment. The deadline for applications is 02 December 2013. Click here for some brief information. For more details and application information: https://partnershipbrokers.org/w/training/level-1/

Good for Business? an enquiry into the impact of Microsoft’s investment in partnership brokers training

Over the last few years Microsoft has invested significantly in partnering capacity building. It chose to specifically focus on partnership brokering due to the fact that those fronting Microsoft partnerships were very often taking on the dual role of Microsoft representative to the partnership whilst also driving the partnering process forward to help it to add value to all parties.

“We believe the results are significant—for our employees,our partnerships, our business and wider society—but we wanted to be sure…hence this enquiry.”

The Partnership Brokers Association has completed an enquiry piece to look at the value the training has brought to the company. We hope you find the report useful, stimulating, and above all valuable, to building the picture of  the value of partnership brokering to an organisations partnering approach.

Download the report here

 

Partnership Brokers Training in Malta

In collaboration with Microsoft, PBA has run Partnership Brokers Training in Malta. Bringing together 18 practitioners from business, academia, government, NGO and inter-govenmental sectors, lead Trainer Greg Butler says “The skills these leaders are developing can be directly applied to advance partnerships aimed at improving support for teachers and students’ education and learning.”

Click here for the news from the Times of Malta. Download the news article here.

Partnership Brokers Training in Amsterdam

The first Partnership Brokers training Level 1 took place in the Netherlands in June 2012, hosted by NCDO.

17 Participants completed this 4-day  training. The course took place in a wonderful space – very much appreciated by all the participants! – in the city centre of Amsterdam. As one of the participants commented ‘although it is right in the heart of Amsterdam it feels like a quiet and perfect place to learn and reflect’.

This first Dutch group had a mixed back ground with people from government, businesses, NGO’s and  some social entrepeneurs. Most participants expected to learn more on structuring and understanding partnerships and to gain tools on how to build and manage partnerships. Throughout the week people commented that it was a ‘rich and high quality course’ and gave them ‘lots of food for thought’. People also felt that this course was ‘exactly what they needed’, and was ‘a great mix of theory, practice and reflection’.

The group has established a LinkedIn group to keep sharing experiences and knowledge (partnership brokers).

The next Amsterdam Partnership Brokers Training Level 1 will take place on 26, 27, 29, 30 November 2012, with plans developing for May 2013 and November 2013. More information is on the Level 1 page: https://partnershipbrokers.org/w/training/level-1/

NCDO is a Dutch expertise and advisory centre for global citizenship and international cooperation. NCDO carries out research, provides information and advice, stimulates public debate and is actively involved in the field of training and education.

 

 

 

Level 1 trainings under development

New Level 1 training courses are being planned in:

  • USA (Seattle)
  • Canada (Toronto)
  • Europe (Amsterdam)

Contact us of you would like details when information becomes available.

Level 1 Ghana

A second partnership brokers training course has just taken place in Ghana – commissioned by Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd for their community development staff and some of their key NGO and regional government partners.

To date ‘in-house’ partnership brokers training has been commissioned by Microsoft (in USA, Europe, Middle East and SE Asia), AusAid (in Fiji), GTZ (in India) and the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador (Canada). If your organisation is interested in an in-house version of this course please contact us for more details.

Partnership Brokering Project – Survey findings

A pleasing number of people from the global network of partnership brokers (114) responded enthusiastically to our recent survey. Responses indicate an interesting level of consensus about the way forward for this work and we (the staff team and the International Development Group) will be using the findings as a basis for the comprehensive development plan from January 2011.

We feel our general direction has been warmly endorsed and have summarised the findings below. A full summary of responses can be downloaded here.

Warmest good wishes for the Festive Season and for all the important work that will be undertaken by you and other partnership brokers in 2011!

Survey headlines include:

Training
  • Expansion of open Level 1 training courses to new regions warmly welcomed (SE Asia, Africa and USA specifically mentioned)
  • Strong endorsement of sector-specific Level 1 options – Health and Extractives sectors achieving highest rating
  • Respondents indicated a high need for single sector or individual organisation trainings for every sector – business, donors, governments, international agencies and NGOs
  • Some made the case for small groups for Level 1 making it possible to be highly personal and responsive to individual brokering challenges
  • Many endorsed Level 1 being a residential programme in a ‘retreat’ setting as an important aid to getting participants out of their comfort zones
  • Warm enthusiasm for other post-Level 1 training opportunities with the following emphasis:

–          Cross-sector exchanges (88 rated this as ‘high importance’)
–          New Leadership training (78 rated this as ‘high importance’)
–          Specialist topics (55 rated as ‘high importance’) – with negotiation, communication, reviewing and personal development being singled out as topics
–          Level 1 refresher courses (46 rated as ‘high importance’)

  • 55 respondents thought a Masters level qualification (Level 3) would ‘add significantly to knowledge and influence’ on partnership brokering –a long-distance course being an important component and a strong emphasis on practice
Research
  • An overwhelming majority, 88.7%, of respondents said that there was a demand / need for evidence demonstrating the impact of brokering.
  • The theme that received the highest marks in terms of ‘usefulness’ was “A comparative analysis of brokered versus un-brokered partnerships.”
  • Suggestions for other research topics were largely variations of the ones proposed (see LEARNING section of website for more details)
  • Research into internal versus external brokering was suggested
  • There was considerable enthusiasm for being involved in research from the respondents
Network, Institute & Influence
  • Strong interest in a community of practice as long as it was well moderated – with particular enthusiasm from many in developing regional chapters / networks (ie linking Level 1 graduates from different cohorts but living and working in the same region)
  • Interest in some international and regional events to ‘put brokering on the map’ with decision-makers and leaders in all sector
  • Considerable support for an international professional institute of partnership brokers – though some expressed a level of dissatisfaction with other professional institutes and hope that this would be different.

Tailored Partnership Brokers Training

The 5-day residential basic training for partnership brokers is now well known. Open cohorts (global or regional) are running at the rate of 7 a year. But we have also developed other models – both ‘in-house’ / single organisation cohorts and for established partnerships. We have undertaken pilots with a number of organisations including Africa Development Bank, AusAid, Government of Newfoundland Rural Secretariat, and Microsoft. And they work! Next to explore are adaptations to single issues / themes and we are in discussions with a view to Level 1 courses targeting the extractives sector, humanitarian relief agencies, and donors.

If you would like to know more or explore with us the possibility of a tailored version of the basic training contact us.