Kunesh and Farley point out the need to establish communication and decision making processes that recognize disagreement among members as part of partnership building, and to establish ways to deal with conflict constructively.

Adequate resources
Both the literature and people in the field identify adequate resources as essential — “time and money” was a common response from literacy coordinators when asked what was needed for a successful partnership. Adequate time is needed for coordinators and community agency staff to meet and carry out responsibilities, as opposed to relying on volunteer or personal time. A designated coordinator to lead the partnership and to coordinate the family literacy project was seen by many as a key factor.

The collaborative planning process used in this program took a lot of time and energy to develop and implement. However, the resulting instruction and learning made it worthwhile. The collaboration made it possible to address the needs and value the strengths of each student in the process. It strengthened the goals and methods of the teachers’ classroom activities because all were working in concert.

Nurss and Rawlston 1994:4

Resources obviously also includes funding. One literacy coordinator who is interested in finding community partners to help plan a family literacy program asked if all this work developing a partnership happens before or after obtaining funding. Ideally, there would be paid staff time to identify, contact, and bring partners to the table. In reality, many coordinators find that because of their strong commitment to developing a collaborative family literacy program, they are often laying much of the groundwork in their own time.

Another aspect of having adequate resources in place for the partnership and program development is having agreement between partners on how the resources and funding will be pursued and used.

Irwin 1994

Adequate resources also include the necessary materials and information to support the partnership and develop the program. The bibliography of this manual contains some excellent references to materials on developing and sustaining partnerships.

Partnerships can also allow for the sharing of resources through pooling expertise, facilities, and equipment.