Partnership – What’s It About?

When we talk about partnerships at Milparinka we are usually talking, not about partnerships between organisations, but connections between individuals  that brings about opportunities for one person at a time. This is an example of one partnership and what we each bring to it.

Ben tells us he is interested in cars, loves being around  and talking about them, now has three part time jobs where he washes them and he loves car and motorbike racing. Ben can concentrate  on jobs for short periods of time and needs very specific  roles  to stay on focus.

Cars are not something that Milparinka knows a lot about so we needed to work in partnership with someone who knew about cars and could help Ben extend his involvement  in them. Our role in a partnership was being able to understand with Ben, his interests  and what he could do, what support he may need and the best ways that this could happen. It was also to provide the support that Ben and his family felt they needed for Ben to make this work. Ben already had a job at cleaning cars and enjoys this and wanted to be involved in car racing. We went with Ben to the racing track and looked around at the things he might be interested in. Working in the Pits didn’t look right as everything happened so quickly and needed quick reactions and great focus. Ben came across the racing cars, that between races were being constantly polished in public view so people could see all the advertising and said this is something he could try.  This meant that when we made contact with the owner of the racing car we were able to introduce Ben as someone who loves cars, has experience in looking after them and had already identified a role in which he thought he could help them with. This was an important part of our role in the partnership, knowing what it could look like and what each person could offer.

The owner of the car, was wrapped to meet someone who also loved cars and welcomed Ben’s involvement. His role in the partnership was to give Ben a role and ensure that he had efficacy  and a  valued role  when he joined them. The day Ben rolled up to start he had only met the owner and not the rest of the crew. As soon as he walked in all of the crew said hello, knew who he was and  had a uniform and his orientation worked out. When the driver came off the track in the racing car and  got out of the car and saw Ben he immediately said “hello, you must be Ben, welcome”. The owner of the car had played his part in the partnership really well. Ben is now a regular member of the racing team – his job polishing cars – his role – being a member of the team.

The lessons that we get from this:

• Developing partnerships that work are not always complicated or need the most senior levels of the agency involved. This partnership was developed from Ben and a staff member knowing what  Ben wanted and pursuing ideas that made sense to him
• Partnerships that work for people don’t have to start as relationships between organisations that create opportunities for lots of people. Partnerships that start with a focus on one person can and do  work better for many people.
• Partnerships are not about one person looking after someone else. Its about each person brings something to the table. When they start from a shared interest, in this case, cars, it’s a head start.

Milparinka has lots of partnerships that look like this one. Partnerships that are developed to respond to the interests of one person and after a while become relationships with mutual and shared responsibilities and commitments. Five years ago we had a lot more organisational partnerships than we have now. While organsisational partnerships have their place they are certainly in the minority at Milparinka. Our partnerships are built around one person at a time. This is because we have learnt when we start from the perspective of one person at a time  partnerships that work are those that are developed around shared interests and relationships.