The Partnership Brokers Association

Development of confidence and competencies is critical

and PBA is at the forefront of developing the new profession of partnership brokering by setting standards, building capacity and promoting professionalism for those operating in this role. We are first and foremost a vocational training organisation and have already built an international reputation for our training work.

Our training programme

The heart of all the Association’s work is our flagship 4-day vocational training course Partnership Brokers Training. With a track record of over 4,500 graduates coming from all sectors and more than 80 countries, the reach and impact of our training is already quite significant. DATES, LOCATIONS and APPLICATIONS for 2024 & 2025.

” The course made a big difference to my sense of being a ‘professional broker’ with the right skill sets, knowledge and sense of purpose. My colleagues and the partners I work with noticed the difference and I have found myself facilitating meetings and coaching others in a way I could not have imagined before.”

Graduate, Partnership Brokers Training (NGO sector)

This is far more than a typical training course. It offers the opportunity for personal reflection and insights as well as providing a vehicle for building a global movement seeking to influence decision-makers and impact systems to improve and scale multi-stakeholder partnerships and non-traditional collaboration worldwide. Those who complete the course successfully receive a certificate signed by their trainers and they join the PBA Global Alumni Network.

Alumni can continue their professional training with the 5-day Advanced Practice for Partnership Brokering Training or consider professional accreditation by enrolling them in the PBA Accreditation Programme. Read more about professional development options for alumni of the Partnership Brokers Training.

PBA also undertakes commissioned training – whether of our seminal 4-day course or more tailored shorter courses introducing people to partnership brokering – perhaps for the first time.  Download our free handbook which is used during our introductory course, Brokering Better Partnerships.

We offer an Online Certificate in Brokering Remote Partnerships for partnership practitioners who work with partners across time zones and geographical boundaries or rarely meet face-to-face.  Visit the Remote Partnering site for more information or contact info@partnershipbrokers.org.

Our training philosophy

We have an international training team that enables us to put together co-training pairs with complementary attributes and from different backgrounds and experiences. We believe that our co-training approach helps to model collaborative working.

“I had been trying to broker a strategic partnership for nearly two years…During the 3 months of mentored professional practice, I employed the concepts, skills and tools of partnership brokering I had taken with me from the Partnership Brokers Training…and within weeks the partnership arrangement was formalised.”
Accredited partnership broker

We encourage our trainers to challenge each other and to welcome challenges from course participants so that our materials evolve as new experiences and information become available.

Our trainers operate as part of a Trainers Community of Practice that meets on-line 3-4 times and face-to-face once a year to share experiences of the training they have delivered; refresh both the training materials and their practice as well as build a sense of community that underpins the training work and provides critical friendship and on-going support.

Compiled by our Training Director, with input from the International Training Team, Weaving Threads aims to capture and convey our training philosophy and to provide a strong foundation for all our training and capacity-building work.

To increase the diversity and scope of brokering practitioners, enrich global partnership practice, and extend partnership brokering skills to organisations and communities currently underserved, we are offering bursaries and subsidies to individuals and organisations. You can support this through PBA’s Access Fund.