Building block Network Building

#Building networks #Building blocks

The public-private partnership (PPP) as a network of educational and knowledge institutions, companies, and governments is an important asset for the partners, because it provides access to knowledge, contacts and facilities. The PPP initiates networking events, knowledge sessions, or offers a platform for sharing information. It may also offer personnel such as in the recent initiative to form work pools for the exchange of shortages and surpluses of personnel. The PPP often has an agenda-setting role in this respect, for example when it comes to national or broader societal challenges. Often the value and appeal of a network is also reflected in the profiling of the region or at a physical location. 

Account management to maintain and develop new relationships in the network is an essential function of the PPP. The facilitating function requires that the underlying building blocks and core tasks of the PPP, including education, research, innovation, and infrastructure are at an adequate level. 

What’s it all about?

• The activities are aimed at connecting partners and expanding the ecosystem or network with new partners. The PPP has a desk that connects partners with each other through training initial and post initial, lifelong learning, infrastructure and projects like innovation projects. Another task is a marketing function to improve and increase the awareness and image of branches, training and professions. Responsibilities also often include disseminating knowledge and sharing experiences between the partners. The partners are responsible for the core tasks of education, research, innovation, and facilities.

What happens next?

• Updating existing courses, for example with new themes, and/or developing new modules or courses. 
• Companies play an important role in specifying the requirements that the educational offering must meet.
• Other common activities are the realization of continuous learning lines (the effect of new content in the education chain), teacher professionalization and recruitment promotion.

What kinds of partners are required?

• The linking organization requires a manager who is recognized by the different worlds and also has experience in both education and business. The manager and their core team are good networkers and bridge builders. Communication and social competencies in combination with entrepreneurship are important ingredients for success. The core team can be relatively small because core tasks such as education and projects are carried out by the partners. The organization is often not part of one of the partners but works between the parties. That’s why it often has its own legal structure and governance such as a cooperative or foundation.

What kinds of agreements do you need to make?

• Contributions of the companies/institutions are mainly in-kind. Often, a one-off larger investment is needed in the first instance to take the educational content to a higher level (quality impulse, also in terms of teaching professionalization), followed by a maintenance phase to keep the curriculum up to date. 
• For the school it means free roasting of teachers for development tasks.

Where can I find a good example?

• NexTechnician: online community
• Centre of Expertise for Creative Innovation: the impact network
• EnTranCe: The Energy Barn for expert meetings
• Topcenter E-Commerce: advice desk for entrepreneurs on how to bring supply 'online'
   

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