Partnership Strategies
Turn your stakeholder mapping into differentiated engagement strategies.
From Stakeholder Mapping to Partnership Strategy
Your power-interest analysis becomes your partnership strategy. Different stakeholders need different engagement.
Partnership Typology Ladder
This ladder runs from extractive (informing) to power-sharing (community-led), set by your power-interest grid.
flowchart TB
TITLE["Partnership Typology Ladder<br/>(Bottom to Top: Increasing Community Ownership)"]:::green
L1["<strong>LEVEL 1: Informing</strong><br/>One-way communication"]:::gray
L1EX["Example: 'We'll implement this<br/>program in your community'<br/>No community input"]:::grayLight
L2["<strong>LEVEL 2: Consulting</strong><br/>Seeking input"]:::gold
L2EX["Example: 'What do you think<br/>about our program design?'<br/>Decision remains with organization"]:::goldLight
L3["<strong>LEVEL 3: Co-Design</strong><br/>Shared decision-making"]:::leaf
L3EX["Example: 'Let's design this together<br/>based on your priorities'<br/>Joint ownership"]:::leafLight
L4["<strong>LEVEL 4: Community-Led</strong><br/>Community controls decisions"]:::green
L4EX["Example: 'You lead, we support<br/>your priorities'<br/>External partner supports"]:::greenLight
MAPPING["Connection to Lesson 1.2:<br/>Power-Interest Grid"]:::orange
MAP1["Low Power/Low Interest<br/>→ Informing"]:::orangeLight
MAP2["Low Power/High Interest<br/>→ Consulting"]:::orangeLight
MAP3["High Power/High Interest<br/>→ Co-Design (Manage Closely)"]:::orangeLight
MAP4["Primary Stakeholders<br/>→ Community-Led"]:::orangeLight
TITLE --> L1
L1 --> L1EX
L1EX --> L2
L2 --> L2EX
L2EX --> L3
L3 --> L3EX
L3EX --> L4
L4 --> L4EX
L1 -.-> MAP1
L2 -.-> MAP2
L3 -.-> MAP3
L4 -.-> MAP4
MAP1 --> MAPPING
MAP2 --> MAPPING
MAP3 --> MAPPING
MAP4 --> MAPPING
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classDef leafLight fill:#BEE7A0,stroke:#72B043,color:#000
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A Common Mistake to Avoid
Power-Interest Grid Engagement Strategies
Your Lesson 1.2 mapping classified people by power to influence your project and interest in its success:
HIGH POWER, HIGH INTEREST
Strategy: Manage Closely
HIGH POWER, LOW INTEREST
Strategy: Keep Satisfied
LOW POWER, HIGH INTEREST
Strategy: Keep Informed
LOW POWER, LOW INTEREST
Strategy: Monitor
Primary Stakeholders: Implementation Co-Design
The people directly affected aren't just beneficiaries. They co-design with expertise advisors lack.
Planning and Feedback
Include primary stakeholders in planning quality standards, and create feedback channels that let activities adapt as needs change.
Capacity and Evaluation
Build activities that transfer skills and leadership, and let stakeholders help evaluate what counts as success.
Secondary Stakeholders: Strategic Partnerships
Secondary stakeholders bring expertise or resources. Engage each by its power-interest quadrant.
Example: Chamber of Commerce (High Power, High Interest)
Controls the employer network. Chamber representatives co-design curriculum and validate competency assessments.
Partnership Quality and Sustainability
Strong partnerships need more than engagement strategies. They need equitable collaboration and capacity building.
Shared Decision-Making
Partners shape key decisions, not just react to them after the fact.
Transparent Resources
Open financial reporting builds trust and demonstrates accountability.
Recognition and Capacity
Credit community leadership publicly, and build partner capacity over dependence.
Avoiding Partnership Pitfalls
❌ Tokenistic Participation
Consultation without real decision-making power. Fix it by giving partners actual authority over planning and evaluation.
❌ Extractive Relationships
Taking community knowledge without credit or reciprocity. Fix it by sharing credit and building skills both ways.
❌ Power Imbalances Ignored
Unequal power left unaddressed. Fix it by naming the imbalance and shifting power toward community over time.