Note: For Phase 3, grants are for the expansion of existing partnerships and workforce development programs that have demonstrated outcomes in job placement, career advancement, and wage gains for Coloradans in the specified sectors. This resource blog provides best practices to help prospective applicants determine program alignment with Phase 3.
Overview
One of the program goals of Opportunity Now is to co-create industry-led talent through partnerships between industry and education. For Phase 3, grants are for the expansion of existing partnerships and skills development programs that have demonstrated outcomes in job placement, career advancement, and wage gains for Coloradans in the specified sectors.
At a minimum, partnerships should engage all involved stakeholders and be formalized and documented. However, the strongest partnerships truly understand each other’s needs and values and have already established mutual fit.
Some examples of mutual fit include:
- You are an industry partner who needs to develop a talent pipeline, and you’ve partnered with an educational institution with an abundance of trained talent and an urgent need to place them into employment to create positive placement outcomes.
- You are an educational institution with an industry-aligned credential, and you work with an industry partner to accept and hire credentialed graduates into their organization.
For the purposes of Opportunity Now, provisional grant recipients are required to confirm and document partnerships through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), letter of commitment, or other similar agreement, during the due diligence period.
Consider using the guide to effective partnership strategies for cross-sector collaborations. It provides guidance on the elements that a successful MOU includes:
- The nature of the partnership: identifying which entity has complete discretion, control, and supervision of the proposed solution, any grant funds received for the solution, and any reporting that may be required in connection with the solution
- The goals, responsibilities, and activities of each partner
- The intended timeframe of the partnership, operating parameters, and terms of termination
- Any financial or human resources involved in the partnership
- Intellectual property rights and assignments in the partnership
A study published in the Journal of Business Economics advises the following for organizations that have entered into educational-industry partnerships:
- Flexibility with regard to each organization’s priorities. It is important for each organization to understand the cultural differences between industries and not to impose one’s own perspectives, conventions, and approaches on other partners. For example, agreeing to use descriptive language instead of industry jargon can help cross-sector partners get on the same page.
- Honesty and fairness regarding commitments made and transparency into each other’s goals. Partners will embark on an important transfer of knowledge, and trust is an essential part of this process. Honesty and transparency will ensure that trust is built between partners.
- Clarity on each other’s aims and expectations. It is important to understand each partner’s interests, perspectives, and motivations, ask questions, and negotiate if necessary.
- Awareness of current social, political, and economic factors that might affect the partnership. Keeping up-to-date on trends in partners’ industries will go a long way to ensuring you’re staying on the same page.