Partnering Skills - the basic philosophy

Abstract

These are challenging times, surrounded by considerable uncertainties. Issues are complex, interests are high and often conflicting, and convenient paradigms or ideologies no longer exist to guide us. The solutions of the past, where governments, civil society or firms had clearly delineated responsibilities and actions, have reached their limitations as highlighted by large numbers of failures and a long line of consecutive crises. Solutions to societal problems have to be developed and implemented in collaboration with other actors, which creates the need for a partnering society (Van Tulder, 2010). Effectively operating in the “partnering space” that appears between the traditional spheres of state, market and civil society, requires new combinations of specific attitudes and skills.