Practising Positive Partnerships in the Ethnic and Multicultural Aged

Care Sector

Networking, Coordinating, Cooperating, Collaborating?

Dr Irene Bouzo

Senior Policy Officer

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria19 September 2013

Outline

1.About ECCV

2.About ECCV/Monash University Project

3.Practising Positive Partnerships Model

4.Partnership Continuum

5.Good examples

6.Resources

About ECCV

• 200 members• Established in 1975• A peak advocacy organisation• We lobby all levels of government • The voice of Victoria’s migrants and refugees

The ECCV/Monash University partnerships research project

The aims•explore the experiences of partnerships in the ethnic aged care sector

•assist ethnic and multicultural aged care organisations to establish positive collaboration

•strengthen service delivery and access to services for older people from CALD backgrounds

“If I touch you is that a partnership?

Practising Positive Partnerships Model

“You can’t do it by yourself… so you have to work with others.”

“It’s the geography... limited funds… there’s a lot of work to do...”

1. External Influences

• Government policies and resources can restrict or support

• “Natural formation of partnerships”

“Perhaps if we think a bit more like-mindedly…we can be a bit more effective in working together”

2. Trusting Relationships

• Trust promotes strong relationships

• Time, effort and commitment maintains partnerships

• Compatible personality styles, sharing common goals, exchanging information foster trust

“I’ve just been invited to participate after all those years…”

“We found it easy to because we’ve done the back work”

3. Professional Capacity

Drivers in promoting and sustaining partnerships are a person’s:•Professionalism•Commitment•Enthusiasm •Passion•Values

•“You're not going to work with someone who you think can’t deliver...”•Some people are really interested in what we’re trying to achieve so you can tell they’re enthusiastic about the common goal.”

4. Organisational Capacity and Unequal Power

Smaller ethno-specific org’s have limited resources•Juggle service delivery and admin tasks•Restricts staff at meetings•Disadvantaged in decision making

Larger groups have time, resources, staff

“They had the final say about what we can do and where we can go…they would take our advice but the final say was theirs”

5. Ideal Partnership Checklist

• Has our partnership project established these at the project outset?

Equal spread of obligations and responsibilitiesEqual power and financial responsibilityShared acknowledgment of expertiseEqual balance of inputs and outputsShared aims and shared workloadShared ownership

Himmelmann’s Partnership Continuum (2001)

• A common gaol

• Networking = exchange information

• Coordinating = info exchange = altering activities

• Cooperating = info exchange + activities + sharing

resources

• Collaborating = info exchange + activities + resources + willingness to enhance capacity of the other organisation

A Productive Partnership Journey – ECCV & PCV

Networking•Meetings, AGMs

Coordinating•ECCV position papers•PCV CALD Strategy

Cooperating •Joint Golden years magazine•Presentations; joint forums

Collaborating •Joint strategic policy directions, joint resources •Equal partnership sustainable partnership

Resources

• Practising Positive Partnerships in the Ethnic and Multicultural Aged Care Sector: Networking, Coordinating, Cooperating, Collaborating?

Full report and Executive summary

And • Golden Years issue 103 December 2012

www.eccv.org.au

• VCOSS Partnership Practice Guides 1, 2 and 3 www.vcoss.org.au

• VicHealth Partnerships Analysis Tool

www.vichealth.vic.gov.au

Practising Positive Partnerships in Ethnic Aged Care

• It’s the right thing to do

• It’s a good thing to do

• It works well

www.eccv.org.au