Abstract
While funders are seeking larger-scale collaborations and partnering on a watershed scale, many groups and individuals often resist such arrangements due to concerns over autonomy and self-protection. There are many ways to successfully partner with all types of entities – be it government, non-profit organizations, local groups, and/or landowners – and reap many benefits while avoiding common pitfalls.
Whether through more formal contractual agreements and sub-granting, or through less formal collaborations including advisory groups and committees, the accomplishments of the Council over the past 10 years throughout the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille watershed would have been impossible without the ability to work successfully among a diverse group of partners and stakeholders.
Benefits of partnering include reaching a broader audience, creating stronger ideas, avoiding duplication of efforts, and efficient use of time and resources. Challenges facing collaborations and partnerships are accountability, fiscal management, and issues concerning control and decision-making. Three key elements to creating successful partnerships are trust, communication, and leadership.
Drawing on the Council’s experience, examples of successful formal and informal partnerships are explored, focusing on the acquisition of a $1 million EPA Targeted Watersheds grant for the basin through a partnership of the Council, the Blackfoot Challenge, the Flathead Basin Commission, and the Watershed Restoration Coalition of the Upper Clark Fork.
Start Date
31-3-2005 7:40 PM
End Date
31-3-2005 8:00 PM
Document Type
Presentation
Successful Watershed Partnerships
While funders are seeking larger-scale collaborations and partnering on a watershed scale, many groups and individuals often resist such arrangements due to concerns over autonomy and self-protection. There are many ways to successfully partner with all types of entities – be it government, non-profit organizations, local groups, and/or landowners – and reap many benefits while avoiding common pitfalls.
Whether through more formal contractual agreements and sub-granting, or through less formal collaborations including advisory groups and committees, the accomplishments of the Council over the past 10 years throughout the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille watershed would have been impossible without the ability to work successfully among a diverse group of partners and stakeholders.
Benefits of partnering include reaching a broader audience, creating stronger ideas, avoiding duplication of efforts, and efficient use of time and resources. Challenges facing collaborations and partnerships are accountability, fiscal management, and issues concerning control and decision-making. Three key elements to creating successful partnerships are trust, communication, and leadership.
Drawing on the Council’s experience, examples of successful formal and informal partnerships are explored, focusing on the acquisition of a $1 million EPA Targeted Watersheds grant for the basin through a partnership of the Council, the Blackfoot Challenge, the Flathead Basin Commission, and the Watershed Restoration Coalition of the Upper Clark Fork.