A mentoring relationship or access to the training that is available within a company can help develop relevant skills and a broader perspective. There are a number of roles that local community and voluntary groups can play within partnerships. These include being 'lead partners', being partners alongside others, being members of steering or consultative committees, being deliverers of partnership projects under contract, or being beneficiaries of partnerships' activities. Thus, local groups should make informed decisions about the pros and cons of participating. Partnerships are not the solution to everything.
Different roles offer different rewards and demand different levels of commitment.
The decision about whether or not to become involved in a local partnership may involve an assessment of the longer-term benefits of opting in. By encouraging all the partners, stakeholders and members of the wider community to grow in their confidence, ability, expertise and experience, local groups could potentially bring about sustained community involvement and participation, and substantial, fundamental improvements in local circumstances. Cuts to fieldworker posts in the 1980s led to a reassessment of the way we could best support and advise members and enquirers nationally, particularly in the field of detailed technical advice. The model is based on the premise that there are experienced people in networks such as ours who, with appropriate training and support, can meet many of the advice and support needs of organisations in their area at low cost. The scheme employs a co-ordinator for two days a week, and the total cost of the scheme is under 15,000 per annum.