Business in the Community’s (BITC)How to develop good cross-sector partnerships in community investmenttoolkit provides information on how your business can develop a sustainable and successful partnership with other organisations. It includes:

• an overview of the five principles of good community investment
• key steps to building a good partnership
• recommendations to keep in mind
• examples of good partnerships
• useful links

Cross-sector partnerships are a key element of businesses’ community investment activity as they allow companies and other organisations to leverage resources, address social issues more effectively and benefit all partners.

Collaboration between sectors

Collaboration between companies and between sectors is not new. More and more organisations are looking to partner not only with charities but also with other businesses, public-sector agencies, housing associations and social enterprises.

For companies, having a ‘charity of the year’ can require time and resources. Historically the relationship has been based on fundraising for the charity involving stakeholders such as employees and clients, but sometimes it is difficult to articulate the difference made just after a year. Increasingly, businesses are preferring to extend this commitment to three years or more. Periodically revisiting the partnership objectives and commitments, focusing efforts in long term changes, contributing to the partner’s capacity building and having a multi-layered partnership is considered best practice.

Towns and cities and the creation of prosperity

The UK economy depends on towns and cities harnessing the potential of every man and woman who lives in them. Our towns and cities have always been at the heart of economic development and the creation of prosperity whether as marketplaces or as centres of enterprise, knowledge, culture, learning and innovation. However, the forces changing the way we live work and learn today, exacerbated by the advances in digital technology, are leaving too many communities behind.

Read more about BITC’s Place agenda.

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Business in the Community is building thriving communities where people want to live and work