One of the things I love most about working with our members is that every now and again, one of them will say something that stops me in my tracks. That happened to me recently when I was doing some qualitative benchmarking, talking to comparator institutions about their approaches to managing partnerships.
It’s interesting: at SUMS we’re seeing a big growth at in the number of requests for support with partnerships activity of various kinds. In recent weeks alone I’ve created a risk-reward matrix for assessing new partnership opportunities for one member, and developed a set of good practice principles in both transnational education (TNE) and UK franchise management for another. And it was in the course of this work that I had the exchange I mention above.
A lightbulb moment
Me: “What’s your approach to managing partnerships at your institution?”
Interviewee: “We don’t”.
Ooft. Bit risky, isn’t it?! It certainly wasn’t the answer I had been expecting. But when we got right down to what he meant, it was a lightbulb moment for me. Of course they had due diligence processes (good ones, actually), and robust governance structures supporting it all. But here’s what I learned:
1. What real partnership looks like
A partnership is just that: you’re partners. You’re not a parent and child, you’re not an employer and employee, and you’re certainly not a saviour. You’re genuinely working together, learning from each other and benefitting equally. That’s when it really starts to fly.
2. We don’t manage partnerships, we build them
When it comes down to it, what actually makes partnerships happen is relationships. It’s the day-to-day dialogue, genuine mutual respect and doing what you said you would. They don’t happen through committees, papers to the Board or annual monitoring reports. If you find yourself resorting to those to keep things on track, you’re probably already beat.
3. Common sense over control
A bit of common sense goes a long way. Would it be nice and neat and tidy if every partner you worked with signed up to an identical contract? Absolutely! Is it worth losing a potentially brilliant relationship over the need to alter a clause to suit a different jurisdiction? Maybe not. (Though don’t tell your legal teams I said that, they’ll not thank me.) Getting to a position where both partners feel secure and can flourish and succeed is what really matters.
4. Partnerships as learning opportunities
I had another example lately where a Dean of School I was talking to described an instance where they had completely changed their assessment approach in a particular subject area when they saw how an overseas partner was doing it with their own students. Just brilliant. Partnerships have the potential to be so much more than a panicked lifeboat in the sea of international recruitment.
Looking ahead – sector conversations and support
I’m looking forward to being at the UUKi Transnational Education Conference in London on 9 October to hear more about where the sector’s at with TNE, and perhaps more importantly, where it might be going. If you’re there too, come and say hello. And if you think SUMS could help you with the partnership challenges and opportunities you’re wrestling with, get in touch for a chat. Because if there’s one thing we like doing, it’s working with our members as partners – learning from each other, building relationships and creating those lightbulb moments. That’s true partnership right there.
Get in touch – consulting@sums.ac.uk
