Be partnership ready.
Many purpose-driven organisations know strategic partnerships could help them grow their impact. Fewer have a clear, shared view of what they offer a partner, what they need in return, and where to focus first.
The logical next steps are to clearly understand what you need to do to be fully partnership ready, so that your investment and energy in seeking out and retaining partners are fully rewarded.
This page has plenty of information and options for you depending on where you are at. You can simply contact us by email here or book a free enquiry session at a time to suit you via the booking link below. Alternatively, read further and understand what we see across the sector, how our Partnership Growth Diagnostic works, and the options for taking a next step when the timing suits you.
“Welcome if you have just taken our partnership readiness quiz. You are in the right place for more information and support.”
Bruce McKaskill - Founder/Principal.
You are a purpose-driven organisation considering the value of meaningful partnerships or sponsorships.
You don't yet have a clear strategy and shared approach to building partnerships.
You are competing for a shrinking pool of revenue or funding in your sector and looking for creative ways to grow.
You are not quite clear on the value to the market of your audiences, assets and expertise.
Responsibility for partnerships sits across a few roles and nobody fully owns it.
When someone leaves, the relationships they built might leave with them.
Partnerships and sponsorships are often run as transactions or depend on personal relationships. Both approaches can serve an organisation for a while, but they tend to limit how far a partnership can grow and how long it lasts.
Moving towards a more strategic approach starts with a clear and shared view of:
what you have to offer,
what you need, and
where to focus first.
Do any of these sound familiar?
What actually changes when an organisation is partnership ready.
Organisations that are partnership ready tend to share a few things:
The board, executive and management team hold the same view of what the organisation brings to a partner.
Conversations with potential partners start from a clear offer, and the organisation has a considered view of which partners are a good fit and why.
Relationships are managed as an organisational asset, so they continue when people move on.
Growth Through Partnerships.
The easiest way to test your partnership readiness is through our Partnership Growth Diagnostic. It aims to clarify an organisation's readiness and attractiveness as a partner, moving boards, executive and management teams towards a shared understanding of what they offer and what they need.
It’s the first step in finding and leveraging genuine abundance: the assets, expertise and audience reach that make your organisation valuable and attractive to a strategic partner.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
A working session for your leadership team.
In the workshop, your team does the discussing, debating and scoring, and the facilitator holds the structure and asks the harder questions.
It begins by establishing and acknowledging the status quo, then moves participants to look at the organisation from a different perspective. Using the Partnership Growth Quadrants, the group works through a series of 20 questions and agrees a score for each one against partnership growth criteria.
The group then sets its scores against a partnership growth matrix and decides together what needs to change to attract and keep more strategic partners. Because everyone in the room works through the same process, the group leaves with conclusions they have reached together and are ready to act on.
Fit Strategy has developed, tested and refined the workshop for over a decade.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES FROM THE WORKSHOP
Clarity
The group’s perspective is changed and the barriers and opportunities for growth become clearer to everyone.
Alignment
As all stakeholders engage and experience the same process, group alignment to the key priorities emerges.
Confidence
As the group uncovers a logical pathway, energy and momentum to pursue partnership growth become real.
You also receive a written report with an analysis of your scores and recommendations on where to focus first, which gives the board and leadership team a shared reference point for the decisions that follow.
Three steps in the Diagnostic process.
Business familiarisation
Before the workshop, Fit Strategy gets across your current partnerships and growth position, so the workshop time is spent on the questions that matter most.The workshop
The facilitator guides your team through 20 questions across the four quadrants of partnership readiness. The group debates each question and agrees on a score.Report and debrief
A written report analyses your scores and sets out recommendations on where to focus first. A debrief session gives you the chance to talk through the findings and ask questions.
LOCATION
Online or onsite
NO. OF PARTICIPANTS
2 to 15
DURATION
2.5 hours
Investment
The Partnership Growth Diagnostic is offered at a fixed fee of $3,500 plus GST online, or $5,000 plus GST onsite (plus out-of-pocket travel costs). This covers business familiarisation, the facilitated workshop, the written report and the debrief.
If it would help to discuss the Diagnostic with your board or leadership team first, the overview PDF sets out the process and outcomes in a format that is easy to share, or simply book a free enquiry session via the button at the top of the page.
Is the Diagnostic right for you?
The Diagnostic tends to be most useful for:
Purpose-driven organisations, including not-for-profits, peak bodies, member associations, arts, cultural, health and education organisations, and public sector agencies
Boards and leadership teams who want a shared, strategic approach to partnerships
Organisations with existing partnerships or sponsorships that would like them to deliver more over a longer period
Organisations preparing to approach new partners and wanting to be clear on what they offer first
It may be less suited to organisations looking for someone to source sponsors on their behalf, or seeking support with a single event sponsorship. If that is closer to what you need, we are happy to point you in a useful direction.
About the facilitator
Bruce McKaskill is the Founder and Principal of Fit Strategy. He helps purpose-driven organisations across the arts, health, education, emergency services, community and government sectors find and build partnerships that grow their capability and impact, and has been doing this work for 25 years.
The Partnership Growth Diagnostic draws on that experience. Bruce has developed and refined the framework for over a decade, and it reflects what he has seen work for organisations of many sizes and stages.
When the Diagnostic is most useful.
Organisations often come to the Diagnostic at a point of change. Some of the moments where it tends to add the most value:
Before developing a new strategic plan, so partnerships are built into it from the start
When funding sources are shifting and the organisation is looking at new ways to grow
After a change in board, CEO or senior leadership, when a shared view is especially helpful
When a key person who held important relationships is moving on
Before approaching a significant new partner
Every month spent approaching partners without a shared view can mean time and goodwill spent on conversations that don't progress. A 2.5-hour workshop is a small investment of leadership time for the clarity it brings to those decisions.
Frequently asked questions.
Who needs to be in the room?
The workshop works best with a mix of board members, executive and the people who manage partnerships day to day. Between 2 and 15 participants can take part. We can help you decide who to include during familiarisation.
Can the workshop be run online?
Yes. The Diagnostic can be run online or on-site, and the process and outcomes are the same in both formats.
Is 2.5 hours enough?
The familiarisation step means the workshop time is spent on discussion and scoring, with background already covered. Most groups find the session gives them a clear, agreed view of where they stand and what to focus on first.
What do we need to do beforehand?
Fit Strategy will ask for some background on your current partnerships and growth position, and may have a short conversation with one or two people in your team.
How long until we receive the report?
Within 5 working days of the workshop.
What happens after the debrief?
Some organisations take the recommendations forward themselves. Others ask Fit Strategy to support the next stage through its growth services.
How do we get started?
Book a free 30-minute conversation with us if you are ready to talk through scoping a workshop to suit your organisation.
What our clients say.
Working with Fit has been instrumental in reshaping how we engage with our stakeholders. Their strategic approach has helped us move beyond transactional relationships to build lasting, outstanding partnerships, positioning TAFE Gippsland strongly for the future.
Justin Fallu, Director, Partnerships and Engagement, TAFE Gippsland
Fit are no ordinary consultants, they embed themselves in an organisation like it’s their own. They bring effective processes and formidable passion to growth projects like ours. From their initial diagnostic work, through stakeholder alignment, to strategic brand positioning, when it comes to growth, Fit gets the job done.
Cris Massis, CEO, RACMA
I've been consistently impressed by Fit’s ability to efficiently unify the board and team around a coherent vision for the future of the organisation. Their strategic approach in working with stakeholders to unearth key insights has been crucial in considering how we position the brand and drive impact.
Kate Dundas, CEO, United Nations Global Compact Australia
The insights gathered at the diagnostic workshop were incredibly valuable and helped us clarify the growth challenges and opportunities we currently face, guiding us in our next steps towards a successful growth strategy.
Sarah Fitz-Gerald AM, President, Squash & Racquetball Vic
