Experience gained

They say that experience is not transferable. Everyone will certainly agree with that, but let us try anyway to effect a transfer of experience from the work and teamwork gained in Posázaví.

Time
This is the most important thing which must be invested in a partnership. After all, everything begins with a get-together, to create a friendly atmosphere. At first there are only two, three, four … If you are thinking only about meetings and sessions or similar “official” meetings, you are wrong. You will soon find that you are missing direct contact. It is necessary to sit in peace in pleasant surroundings and have a chat, and squabble, and reach an agreement. And that all takes time.

Personalities
It is always necessary to have workaholics, those who will organize, put their time at the mercy of others, are willing to take on responsibility themselves and are always at the table if something is being discussed. The more workaholics you have on board, the better your journey in teamwork will be. It is necessary to pamper the workaholics and not leave them isolated. Above all, they must be rewarded, and also encouraged. It cannot be done without workaholics - create a professional team from workaholics.

For every joint effort you need devotees and volunteers. They will help you implement projects, bring in new ideas, new approaches, and also new aims. Without devoted volunteers it simply cannot be done. And if you think you can manage it with civil servants or a firm of professional consultants, you are mistaken. If you do not involve local people in the partnership, it is a big mistake.

Among personalities, we must also include despots, who want to turn everything to their own end or push through their own ideas, to win every dispute - and you will find many of these disputes in every partnership. Beware of these despots because they can pull the partnership apart. Weaker ones go along with them, form pressure groups, and it can all end in collapse. It is necessary to keep despots occupied, give them a feeling of importance and uniqueness, and, they must have their own space. Try to exploit their interests for a common goal. They must not be left out of it, involve them.

Idealists. Without visionaries it is not possible. Although you sometimes think they make things up or talk nonsense, give them a fair hearing (remember Verne). If you do not have a vision, where to get to in the region, you will stagnate and will cease to develop. Of course every vision must have its foundation in the present, so try to adjust it during a lengthy discussion, but do not condemn it.

It is necessary to create a team. And remember: a group of friends is not enough, even though it might be at the outset. You have the personalities around you, just give them the opportunity. Try to educate them as well and lead them to responsibility. And do not forget to thank them and praise them for their success.

Balance of partners
The principle of partnership itself is based on balance and equal access. Everyone in the region must have the same starting conditions in access to working in partnership. Everyone must have the same opportunity of access to information about the principles of working in partnership, and about the strategies and visions that you want to achieve by means of a partnership. If a potential partner feels discriminated against at the very beginning, you will most likely pave the way for major problems for yourself in the future. Transparency is very important.  In sectional interests (e.g. in contributions) it is possible to set a principle of solidarity, but it is necessary to keep it within reasonable bounds. Solidarity is not equality, but the stronger ones helping the weaker ones and the wealthier the poorer.

Variety of partners
With regard not only to the Leader method, but also to the simple principle of representation of all interest groups, try to address as wide spectrum of active partners as possible. Their diversity weakens the influence of lobbyists, filters attitudes that have the character of an ultimatum, eliminates “rebellions and revolutions” and forces you to consider the standing and interests of a wide spectrum of inhabitants. You need to attract representatives of both, the public sector (local authorities, associations of local authorities, and state-run organisations) and the private sector (the business community, non-profit-making organisations) to partnership. Some sources speaking about the Leader method require more than 50 per cent representation from the private sector; the public sector then has a minority in decision-making. Some sources even suggest just a third representation from the public sector, a third from the business community and a third from non-profit-making organisations. The requirements for non-profit-making organisations are then further divided into those concentrating on the social sphere, nature conservation or on work with children. Even with the business community representation from various fields is desirable.

From the above-mentioned requirements it follows that it is desirable to address various groups. Even from our experience it is clear that it is an asset if people with different experience, knowledge and specialisations are engaged in the development of  a region.

And, incidentally, a minority representation from the public sector is appropriate also to eliminate any threat by a change of political parties following an election. Such after-election changes happen very seldom in the business community and non-profit-making organisations.

Cultivate successors
Nobody knows when, for various important reasons, they will have to stop “toiling”. The organisation cannot just slam on the brakes or stop meeting deadlines, however, because it is “in” a lot of long-term projects. Try to integrate young people and students into development processes.  Working with secondary schools in the region will bring in new blood and also new ideas and requirements. There will certainly be at least one active person among their students or teachers, who will join you at first as a volunteer and eventually perhaps become a member of the executive team.

Even the management – executive and supervisory boards, scheduling committee or similar bodies – has to be modified for curative reasons, otherwise there is a danger of sterilised thinking and stagnation of the whole process. A sufficient awareness of processes which are current in the region, and of structures which manage and organise all that, is a preparation for new “officials”. It is necessary to inform them at length and in depth about all procedures you apply in the region. Without this basic education about teamwork and partnership in the region, it will be difficult to provide new personalities willing to get involved.

However, do not change the visionaries, but stop burdening them with ensuring performance.

Sources of information
Today there are conceptual materials in every region (area plans, development plans, micro region strategies…) on which it is possible to base development plans. You will thus save yourself a lot of time and funds. Do not forget the plans of individual partners. It is also necessary to take into account higher degrees of strategy and, if you do not want to accept them, focus on changing them to accommodate your requirements.

Visions and strategies
A short sprint with one activity does not give a chance for surviving the cross-country running in less favourable period; it is necessary to set goals you want to achieve in the region. You have certainly come across the concepts such as community planning, priority determination and others. Free yourselves from hostility to those concepts and focus on their meaning.

In the first stage of partnership teamwork it is sufficient to determine short-term goals (e.g. forming a working group, organising a meeting or implementation of a small project). It is good to discuss even this goal and primarily to determine a clear approach, which everyone will agree on. It is good to avoid decision-making by a poll; it is always better to get to a mutual agreement by solving an issue.

The second stage of partnership teamwork is already based on corporate planning and determination of clear approaches. It is also good to think about the middle-long planning – namely planning in about 5-year horizon. For this preparation use the principles of community planning, whose aim is gaining wide support for the approach prepared. A facilitator is an important person for community planning. Consider if he or she shall be from the region or outside of it. The collaboration with external facilitators, of a high professional standard and not directly interested in the negotiation results, was rewarding for us. Professional methods will lead to clear results that have to come out of the meetings where all active partners from the region participated in. Pay attention to good awareness of all groups by preparation for those meetings. You will be accused of disobjectivity and concealing by neglecting this principle; try to prevent that. A few more invitations will not ruin you. Also a good method how to get the information about holding a planning among people is advertisement in local periodicals.

The first step of strategy preparation is determination of the present state in the region in all spheres including the partnership teamwork. On the basis of this analysis of history and present, it is possible to start preparation for all other things then.

Do not frighten the participants away with foreignism as strategy, vision etc. in invitations. They will certainly accept if they come to a friendly informal meeting, where they can express their requirements and opinions. And if you add the promise that non of the opinions would stay neglected, they will come in a sufficient number for sure. If the facilitator is then sufficiently captivating and helps the participants with presentation of their own requirements, you will pass the halfway point. The second half of the success is incorporating all data in a written form of strategy and determination of realistic goals.

Short-term goals should be within an easy reach. There is not anything worse than unfulfillment of at least essential requirements, that is to say. They should also mean a certain progress, however. The goals cannot be reached so easily then. Positive results are the best for strenghtening teamwork.

All strategy stages must be unambiguously and concretely specified – including setting the time horizons, when the individual steps should be reached.

Remember, by planning you prepare the steps that you shall go up by implementation of your projects, and partnership is a banister which you can hold by their completion. The steps must be firm and non-slip and you have to maintain the banister so that you do not fell down.

The opportunity goes with those ready ones
Have still other plans and activities ready in your drawer in case of an optimistic development (a new subsidy arises), but also in case of “a failure” (if you do not succeed with a grant expected). It is necessary to have a life plan for the period you will not be able to finance your activity with participation of one of the projects and everything will depend on your income.

Strong entities – support in crisis
Crises come and go away, but strong partners stay. And it does not matter if the strong entity is a local authority or a union of local authorities, a businessman or an NGO.

Working together with professionals
Find professionals, experts for professional matters. You will certainly find them even among partners. And if there is not one of the professions (lawyers, financial and tax advisors), it is good to hire them. There are spheres of activities where amateurism is not rewarding.

Another side of the coin is unnecessary hiring consulting companies for basic matters, as planning or even determination of priorities in the region. Always rely on your knowledge of the region in these spheres. No external company has your information and if you count by the end of work, how much time you spent with the company and assess their information with regard to your inputs, perhaps, you will be surprised. Apparently your data will predominate, which the company worked out only administratively.

Information channels
It is necessary to have the information channels created. And they must be two-way. The best is to build an information motorway, it must be quick, reliable and safe. There is a choice of various possibilities: websites, network of coordinators or project managers, own printed matters and public media, questionnaire or enquiery polls.

Websites are an ideal way how to publish a wide spectrum of information about your activity, strategy and projects you implement. We recommend its creation by one of the editing systems for providing the filling speed without the necessity of employing PC experts. The initial investment shall return by minimum operating expenses. You can divide the websites into public and intern part, which can be accessible after giving the password. The public part must contain all the information about the structure of your organisation, about basic documents and all others you decide to publish. If you also connect it with a calendar of events or regional news, you will ensure higher attendance especially of people from the region. It has paid to us to connect the websites with the tourism sphere. Do not forget the discussion forum and requests and replies for providing a partial feedback on the website.

Coordinators, or if you like project managers, are important liaison workers at the place where they work. They should have some knowledge from facilitation sphere, which they can use for negotiations within local meetings.

Information centres are important information units, whose priority is, otherwise, to provide information service in tourism sphere, but they can help you with information distribution in the place of their activity. The aim is then to supplement the infocentre activities with a contact point, where it will be possible to get the thorough information about happening in the sphere of the region´s  development.

For informing the inhabitants it is possible to use the local newsletter and periodicals issued, where they will like to publish your press news or reports. Another stage of ensuring an information flow is to issue own periodical or newsletter. This sphere is already heavy on manpower, of course.

Questionnaire and enquiery polls. There it is necessary to differ distribution of questionnaires to families from an active statistic survey through enquierers. Those active or dissatisfied will fill in the questionnaires for you and their relevance is not the follow-up to others from the point of survey. The enquiery polls should take into account the structure of people they will address. All groups of inhabitants should be addressed. However, the enquiery poll is more time and finance consuming.

Innovation of ideas
It is good still to follow the happening in the region, changes of needs and demands, peopole´s opinions, but also the development of already completed project, for enrichment of own experience. It is also important to know the social and development trends in the country and in Europe. Simply not to fall behind.

Feedback
Communication with partners in order to get the reactions and opinions on ones own activity is very important. You will eliminate repeating of own mistakes. One can learn from mistakes, that is to say, but only fool learn only from his or her mistakes. Make surveys, statistics, set the indicators that you will evaluate (number of projects completed, number of active partners etc.)

It is about reflexion among partners, among individual bodies of your organisation, among local authorities, even among executive managers. It is very important to monitor the public reactions.

Critical club
Leave the space for critics. It is rewarding to meet the critics too. The best is to hold regular meetings with those who do not have the same opinion. A unique way, how to prevent crises, is naming issues and discussing them at a round table. It is better to undergo a coordinated squabble, then to leave space for quiet whispering in the background. However, the rule here is too: the written is given. That is why we recommend, from similar negotiations resolving problematic issues, to take written minutes too and subsequently to publish them. Many times it can spare a repeatable resolving of the same issue.

Crisis staff
It is useful to have worked out defence mechanism against an internal destruction. Not everyone can stand a long-term teamwork. Expressly determine decision levels in case of a crisis. It shall be, in fact, determination of crisis communication of decisive bodies. It is useful to have determined procedures in case of time pressure for setting the system. Leave these procedures to be agreed on by all partners, or all the better, create them on the basis of community planning.

Centre
Your team must have a seat. First condition is a choice of a good accessibility by all transport means; not everyone disposes of a car. By the choice of an appropriate place it is useful to address the partners first if they do not have one available, by coincidence. It is necessary to consider the necessity of meetings, holding planning meetings, but also of working somewhere. In the centre there must be all strategic documents available, which have been worked out, namely not only in the region.

Multi-resource financing
If you base the covering of expenditures arisen on basis of your activity only on one financial resource, it is the best way to doom. There are known a lot of cases, when the organisational structure was covered only from a grant, and after its termination the finances were missing at once. And no-one wanted to give them: “We did not have to pay anything last year after all!”

The members´ and partners´ payments are a cornerstone of every financing; here an important notice: “It is not rewarding to be benevolent at the very beginning”. The individual participants discussed their own payments at the very beginning of our partnership and set the way of payments for other organisations joining in. The fact, that low contributions do not motivate to own activity, was an important argument. Especially business people expressed themselves that a low contribution amounting to hundreds had been an insignificant one for them, and it would not push them anyhow to check the whole system of partnership and to get involved actively.

The grants accepted are another important financial resource, of course. Even there it is necessary to look for various sectors, independent on each other. But one has to be careful with their statement by concurrence of grants in one year. Grants and subsidies are not only provided by the state and the European Union, but also by a regional authority or other various foundations and funds. There are many possibilities. Protect yourself from getting the grant only for the money itself. There must always be a good reason for implementing the specific project in the region. It should be based on planned needs and goals.

Own activity of the organisation is not less important income source, always based on essential documents of the organisation. Already by their creation it is necessary to think about which activity you will live on, and to incorporate the activity into the main or supplementary activities. Have issued the trade license for it then; it is difficult to invoice without it. The consultancy work and working out of projects will be certainly among the most often activities.

A stable income division will provide you a stable development. And in spite of all difficulties with money, you will succeed in working according to your partners´ and your own desires. It is good to get together and discuss the putting together the income possibilities with partners too.

Political temptations
Yes or no? Based on our own experience, a non-political approach gives a chance for longer development and it is not necessary to change the strategic plans due to resolutions of political parties. It is not even necessary to be a façade for election campaigns for politicians. But is not our own activity also a kind of realization of certain politics, in fact? Of region´s development politics? Unfortunately one cannot omit the political sphere because we often get in contact with it, or we try to use it. And that is not only a problem of the Czech Republic, generally, you can also see it in other countries of the European Union. The point is, how you will set your approaches to political parties, whether the political parties will understand your activity being a very important one in the region, and whether they will support it in their plans. Nevertheless, your organisation should be independent.

Image
If you are successful, you have a good reputation. It is simply said. It is necessary to keep one´s eye on partners and employees, so that they do not yield to enticement of corruption, so that it does not come to embezzlement, so that, so that, so that. There could be thousands of these “so that”. You will never be able to keep your eye on everything. However, the interpretation of your organisation as generally trustworthy and transparent is important. If you publish certain problematic issues about yourselves, based on internal inspection, and you will inform your partners in time, it is always better than keeping it from them. You can never compensate the loss of confidence. A confidence of your organisation is the biggest guiding principle you have to protect. In case you lose the credit of confidence, whether inwards or outwards, the partnership will break up and nothing more can be completed. Without people “down there” it simply does not work.

There are of course spheres of image which are important to grow like a precious little flower: presentation, promotion, a uniform graphical design of materials, or how else it could all possibly be called. It is your identity print you are leaving in public memory. There the uniformity and long-term persistence is worthwhile. Should you often change the logo and colours, you use for your presentation, the public will have problems with identifying yourselves. There the unification of employees´ “working uniforms”, their business cards and maybe business cars is rewarding. Immediately after your arrival, everyone will recognize just yourselves.

Of course image creation is a long-term run. One works on it bit by bit.