Lessons of a Coalition Builder

"The IN-FEAST partnership had a very ambitious planning for 2024. Prior research, stakeholder consultation sessions and elaborate meetings with the partnership provided us with many valuable insights that shaped the year 1 workplan. We set out to achieve a set of objectives related to three key focus areas: improving technical capacity building, improving access to finance, and improving sectoral collaboration. Specific project activities were linked to each of the focus areas, for example: establishing an online learning library, organizing a stakeholder event and offering (technical) training sessions through the Association of Insect Farming & Its Products. All of the activities were neatly planned in a Gantt-chart with responsible partners allocated to each of activity and corresponding budget lines for financial planning.

Ironically enough, while we devoted significant time and resources to improving sectoral collaboration in the work plan, we were reminded of how important it is to also allocate time, resources and energy to establishing internal collaboration within the partnership. This resulted in delayed implementation of activities, mutual miscommunications and sometimes frustrations. Especially in an inter-continental partnership in which most of the interaction happens online, the importance of the mutual relationship between partners became painfully clear. Not the official agreements, not the workplan, not the budget, but building the conditions in which partners actually feel confident working together.

At the start of the project, several meetings were planned with all partners to set a common vision, mission and working values for the partnership. Hence, it was not that we “forgot” the social component in our approach, but that is something different than taking the time it to build mutual trust and figure out each other’s preferred collaboration and communication style. Throughout the first year of the partnership, we realised how this is a continuous work in progress that cannot be accomplished in the vacuum of meetings, but rather needs to be put into practice in every activity and every communication the partnerships undertakes. In hindsight, IN-FEAST should have planned less “project” activities to allow for more “relationship” time in its first year of existence.

While the importance of building positive relationships in partnerships might sound like a no-brainer to most of us, incorporating it into work plans and budgets remains challenging due to its’ often unquantifiable parameters. Especially in an ‘NFP-style’ partnership where partners actively own and steer the agenda and activities together, compared to more traditional projects where an appointed project manager is clearly in charge. Therefore, I would like to encourage everyone to critically evaluate your partnership or project plans to see if and how resources can be allocated to deliberate activities regarding relationship building. Sometimes it is as simple as planning less and listening more."

Laura Martinussen
Project Coordinator, IN-FEAST Partnership