Develop with cooperating agencies firm, written agreements outlining exactly what each agency will contribute and receive from the overall Even Start project. Too often, program planners collect general letters of support and then find themselves trying to specify working relationships at the same time they are trying to hire staff, recruit, order equipment, and so on. Save time and effort by getting specific agreements first (16).

The Partnership Resource Kit (1995) describes a partnership agreement as a vehicle you would use to formalize you and your partners' commitment to the relationship. Such an agreement must be "clear, concise, straightforward, and unambiguous" (19). The agreement must ensure that

• the terms of reference, objectives, procedures, roles, authorities and timelines are clear, detailed enough to guide the process, written in clear language, and available to all stakeholders
• any administrative questions are addressed in relation to financial records, reporting, etc.
• mechanisms are in place to detect early signs of problems, and that corrective measures are identified
• expected services are identified
• eligibility criteria are identified
• financial, human resource, communication/information management, and accountability needs and commitments are established
• evaluation requirements, performance measures, and reporting arrangements are established
• flexibility is built into the agreement to allow it to be adapted to changing external/internal circumstances (24)

How you prepare your partnership agreement depends on what types of information you need to have included. For example, do you need to specify the amount of funding that will be allocated to each partner? Are there details regarding ownership of property, such as office equipment or sets of books, or insurance requirements that should be included? How the partnership will be monitored and evaluated should be addressed in the agreement. Provisions for changing or terminating the partnership if necessary should be included as well (adapted from Partnership Resource Kit, 25).

There are different types of partnership agreements that you can use or adapt. For a sample agreement, see Appendix C.

When we interviewed family literacy coordinators in 1995, four out of five of them said they did not use partnership agreements in their work with community agencies, although two of them thought it would be a good idea at some point, to clarify roles and responsibilities. Of those who didn't use a partnership agreement, most said they felt it was too formal and might appear too inflexible and demanding. They felt it might "scare potential partners away," and they might lose opportunities, particularly in smaller communities where there is a limited base of partners. The exceptions to this were during fundraising and on joint funding and grant applications.