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Seven features of successful strategic alliances

1. Values
   To be successful in an alliance the organisations need to hold a shared set of values about the cause they are championing and about ways of working together. These values will influence the way the parties approach the alliance and how they work together.
   
   
   
2. Leadership
   Partnerships require champions in each of the participating organisations, and these individuals need to take direct responsibility for achieving the partnership goals. Partnerships also require the unequivocal support of the leaders of the participating organisations.
   
   
   
3. Clarity of mission and strategy
   Strategic alliances need a compelling mission, realistic objectives and a clear strategy for achieving them. Each partnership needs to have great clarity over its goals, achievable objectives with win-win opportunities for both organisations.
   
   
   
4. Board commitment
   The boards of all participating organisations need to be strongly committed to the partnership and willing to support it through the good times and the difficult times.
   
   
   
5. Resources
   Strategic alliances need to be properly resourced and there needs to be great honesty and realism about the time and financial commitments each organisation will have to make to the partnership. When it comes to reporting on how the resources have been applied, the financial reports need to be tailored to the needs of the partnership and not to necessarily follow the standard reporting formats of the participating organisations.
   
   
   
6. Open and honest communications
   Managers need to recognise that many different stakeholders such as funders, board and committee members, staff, chapters and volunteers, may be affected by a strategic alliance. Each requires regular and thorough communication. Formal communications should be supported by plenty of informal communication, ideally at board, senior management and staff levels.
   
   
   
7. Commitment to good faith negotiations
   When the alliance is being established there should be three ground rules. Without prior agreement of all partners:
   • there should be no material changes in the partnership proposition
   • negotiators must be named and there should be no changes during negotiations
   • there must be no negotiations with other external parties.