How To Build Partnerships For Your Project
Written by: Christina Poulton
Approximate read time: 5 minutes
If you’re applying for funding you’re often asked who the project partners are. Equally, when talking to venues or programmers they also usually want to know who else is involved. We’ll explore why so many people who can give your project the green light are keen on partners (and why you should be too!) Yes, working on your project solo can sometimes be quicker and easier, but there’s a few persuasive reasons why working with partners can supercharge it.
Before we jump into it, what do we mean by partners? These are usually different from funders or sponsors and also different from people who are simply supplying something for your project e.g. if you’re hiring a venue or paying a videographer, they’re not usually a project partner.
A partner, in the context of creative projects, is an organisation that is giving resources, knowledge, people power or supporting your project in some way to make it more effective and helping you deliver. They may also be offering financial support but usually it’s about what they contribute to your project free of charge. There are examples of this in action below.
Why work with partners?
To increase credibility and visibility
If you’re in the early stages of your career or stepping up into the big leagues, partnerships can help open doors. If an established organisation, with a great track record wants to work with you it gives potential funders, sponsors or programmers reassurance. They may not know your work as a first time curator but if you have three visual arts organisations partnering on your project it gives you that credibility that you’re a safe pair of hands.
To share resources
If you’re working with several partners you can pool resources, make the project more budget friendly and show funders in-kind support, if this is needed.
It could be marketing or distribution capacity, volunteers, materials, workshop space, creative skills. Some of the best partnerships are really simple- the partner organisation has a space, for example a library, and wants to reach new communities and get more people through the door- you need somewhere to run project activity and will have participants rocking up to take part.
To bring in skills you don’t have in house
If your project has a theme- for example mental health, homelessness or climate change- partner with an organisation that brings valuable specialist skills and knowledge to ensure your project is handling the theme sensitively and effectively.
As an example, a creative writing project for genderqueer young people could partner with a helpline charity to provide advice and support if the work triggers an emotional response. It could be anything from community development officers assisting in workshops and signposting participants to support services, to a local wildlife group providing tips on the habits of british nocturnal animals and becoming the test audience for your outdoor performance.
To reduce costs
A year long project to increase footfall in the town centre delivered by local business development organisations could fund your activity in an empty shop or on the high street as well as providing promotion across the area for the activity and brokering access to the shop via the landlord.
In a very simple partnership project I worked on- we had a venue and were programming contemporary classical music. The local contemporary classical organisation had funding for the musicians and were paying to hire different venues and running their own programme. We simply joined forces- we provided the venue, they provided the artists, we shared the costs of the marketing and increased our audiences.
To increase audiences
As in the example above, working with a partner means you have 2 sets of marketing channels- 2 mailing lists, 2 lots of social media, 2 networks etc. If you’re working with 5 partners then you can multiply this. If you’ve got something brilliant but you’re working on it alone and barely have time to market it, who could you partner with who shares the audiences you want and has those networks already in place?
How to identify partners
Getting partners on board is all about building relationships. If the fit is right it might only take one phone call or meeting. In other instances you might build a relationship over time and then when the right project comes along, you’re ready to jump in. Think broader than the arts. It could be a cathedral, a youth club, an estate agent, a property development project or a community garden.
Look at the community, charity, social care, education and local business networks as well as arts networks. Attend events, online or in person, tell everyone about your work at every opportunity and be shameless in your requests for a follow up chat. If you’re emailing people out of the blue, be clear about why you’re getting in touch and don’t make them read pages of background on your work first. Explain that you’re developing a project on X and you’d love to chat about possibilities for working together.
Work out the best person to speak to- businesses often have a corporate social responsibility person or community lead. It might be that their marketing person is a good fit. If it’s more of an operational partnership, who manages the space or devises the programme of activities that your work will fit into?
Partnerships work best when they’re mutually beneficial- e.g. who could offer what you need AND who would benefit from partnering on your project?
For example a social club for isolated older people could recruit attendees for your oral history project and you provide creative activity for their members through story gathering workshops. A new shopping centre might want to show that it values the local community by showcasing your artwork and your project gives them the perfect opportunity to do that.
Top tips
Manage expectations: be crystal clear about what you can offer and the scale of your project.
Get it in writing: you might have a formal partnership agreement or just an email list of bullet points- who is responsible for what and by when? Define terms e.g. what is included in marketing support?
Think long term: It may be that this isn’t the right project or that the partner’s involvement is really minimal but keep that connection positive and the conversation going. Including your event in their newsletter this time might turn into significant support next time.
Start those conversations and enjoy seeing your project take off!