A National Perspective on Educational Partnerships.

This paper presents findings of a study that documented the initiation and early implementation of 22 projects participating in the Educational Partnerships Program, which is sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). This study of the first year in a proposed 5-year program, sought to identify partnership structures and activities associated with successful implementation. The distinction is made between programs that are interorganizational arrangements and those that are programmatic innovations sponsored by a particular partnership. A summary model, developed to explain factors of successful systemic innovation, is based on the premise that all partnerships begin with a set of conversations among potential members, which results in role clarity. Coalitions and collaborations are more likely to achieve full implementation than those with a primary partner and limited partners; the key is how well participants understand their roles and relationships. All of the partnerships implemented at least some proposed organizational or programmatic features; however, early implementation is achieved when there is role clarity and adequate provision of resources for program content. Three figures and seven tables are included. (Contains 17 references.) (LMI) c********I'A********* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * *********************************************************************** A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS Naida C. Tushnet Southwest Regional Laboratory American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Atlanta, GA April 1993 s MENT EDUCATION Otttce ot Educational Refe*O.n and Improvement LOW' A DONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION C E NTE R (ERIC) C ThiS document hat been rebtOduCbd SI recewed born the Vivian Of OrpenitehOn onometmg Mmor Changes na. been mitcte to no two teOtOduCtiOn Quality Pr,nts. of vIpor 0, Lip "tiOnll sfaled . n INS dOCI, mehl do not n,. tangy IScoeseni Othcmi OE RI bolImn 0 crohcy Tnis publication is based on work sponsored wholly or in part by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education under contract number 91-043. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of OEFK nor any agency of the U.S. government. The Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), under contract to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), are conducting a five-year study of the Educational Partnerships Program, which it sponsors. The focus of the first year, on which this paper is based, was on documenting the initiation and early implementation of 22 funded projects.1 The organization and content of the projects vary, and the projects are housed in organizations throughout the country. The study was designed to identify partnership structures and activities associated with successful implementation. Data collection and analysis separated discussions of the development of partnerships as innovative interorganizational arrangements and implementation of the programs sponsored by particular partnerships. In this way, we differentiate between program effectiveness and the effectiveness of a partnership as a mechanism for improving education. Although the full report includes findings related to project initiation and structure, vision, and leadership, this paper focuses primarily on cross-project findings related to implementation. The goal of the study is to provide guidance to both policymakers and program developers about factors associated with successful implementation of partnership programs, as interorganizational arrangements that foster particular refomis. The paper is organized as follows. A discussion of the conceptual framework guiding the study is followed by a discussion of the study design and methods for collecting and analyzing data. The paper then presents findings related to implementation and concludes with a model of successful partnership development. The report is organized as follows. This "Overview" is followed by a discussion of the conceptual framework guiding the study. The framework influenced the study design and methods for collecting and analyzing data, which are presented next. Conceptual Framework The evaluation uses a conceptual framework drawn largely from the research on innovation and change. From this perspective, the partnerships are an innovation with two distinct aspects. First, the partnerships are an innovation in organizational arrangements. Second, the parmerships develop and implement programmatic innovations. The two perspectives are important in analyzing the relationships among partnership stnicture, activities, implementation, and impact. Studying educational partnerships using the framework is particularly appropriate because educational partnerships began as a means to improving education. Partnerships between businesses and schools increased from an estimated 40,000 in 1983 to 140,000 in 1988 (Foltz, Currently, 28 projects are receiving funding from OERI.