Knowing and upholding organizational values is key to successful collaboration. Values should be clearly defined, openly discussed, and referenced regularly to guide decision making and resolve conflicts. Partnerships also benefit from setting standards, responsibilities, and codes of conduct to facilitate open communication and ensure all parties are heard. Preventing issues from arising is better than dealing with conflicts once they emerge. Building understanding and finding the best shared solutions requires ongoing hard work from all involved.

1. Collaboration not Conflict
Grace Smith, DSC Associate Trainer

2. The Value of Values

3.  Know your own organisation values
 Be open about them within and outside the organisation
 Printed on everything, everywhere.
 Discussed/referred to at meetings, in decision making and problem solving
 Agreed standards of behaviour that uphold the values
 Set out clear responsibilities for each partnership member
 Create and USE a code of conduct for meetings and the running of the
partnership
Living the Values

4. Relationship/Partnership Analogy
Making Partnerships Work

5. In small groups think about what makes
the communication easy in the early part
of a relationship.
What things do we do and say?
How does this apply in our partnership
context?
Example
Relationship: we hang on their every work
Partnership: Need to listen to each other
Discuss in Groups

6. Conflict – A Definition
PEOPLES’ DIFFERENCES
WORKING AGAINST
EACH OTHER

8. Reflection and Action
Think about some of the
things we have listed –
how ‘in place’ is this in
your partnership?
What can you/others to
do address any absences?

9. • Prevention is better than cure.
• The best relationships are hard
work
• There is rarely ONE right way –
collaborate and find the BEST way
3 things to remember

10. Your Trainer today was Grace Smith. DSC Associate Trainer
For further information about DSC Training please contact
Cathy Shimmin, Senior Training Manager
Directory of Social Change
07967 027304
cshimmin@dsc.org.uk
www.dsc.org.uk
An Independent voluntary sector at the heart of social change