Consortium and Partner Proposals

Prepare a proposal with other organizations: choose a structure, agree values and roles early, write the partnership agreement, handle the letter of intent, and plan how the partnership ends.

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What You Will End Up With

A partnership that two or more organizations can describe the same way, and a proposal that reflects it. You will have an agreement that says how the parties share in the joint work and who does what, with each partner keeping its autonomy while bringing specific skills, contacts or money. You will also have the supporting pieces a funder expects: a letter of intent where one is asked for, a cover letter and a title page. The agreement is the point of the exercise. It turns shared intentions into something partners can hold each other to.

Before You Start

A partnership is two or more organizations working toward a common aim. Types differ in commitment, resources and power. Misunderstandings come from partners expecting different things, so settle expectations before any paper is drafted.

  • State the added value you want from the partnership and what you offer in return: resources, skills, contacts and people.
  • Visit your potential partner, be open about your purpose and be clear about what information you need from them. Use what you learn as the basis for the goals.
  • List what you need in a partner, such as behavior, attitudes toward communities, competency and systems. A lack of shared values or organizational culture is a common source of friction.

Steps

  1. Choose a structure. A consortium may be set up so that its members are jointly and severally liable (a new legal entity is one example) or not, and a public body may assess the two differently, so check what the funder expects before you sign. For a contract, a consortium can form a joint venture company or special purpose vehicle, or work through a lead contractor and subcontractors.

  2. Meet before you draft. Hold a workshop over one or two days, with time for meals and socializing, to talk through the agreement. Allow enough time: partners need room to build working relationships, make plans, set milestones and agree how they will communicate.

  3. Agree the headings. Share your format with the prospective partner and agree which headings are relevant, adding any others you need, such as ones for money, decisions and reporting.

  4. Write the high-level agreement. A partnership agreement or memorandum of understanding sets out overall aims, preferred ways of working, principles and governance. It does a different job from the individual project agreements, which carry the detail of each grant. Agree whether the memorandum is meant to create a legal commitment, and say so in the text.

  5. Settle the money and the conflicts. The agreement should say how the partners share roles, responsibilities, risk, resources and costs, and each partner should take its own professional advice on what it must cover. Where partners are also each other's subcontractors, set rules in advance for conflicts of interest.

  6. Prepare the plan and the approvals. Once the agreement is drafted, give the relevant staff in both organizations time to read it and go through it line by line, because the people who do the work often skim an agreement and understand it poorly. Where one partner leads the proposal, get written authorization from each of the other partners for it to respond and submit on the consortium's behalf. Prepare a work breakdown plan and a Gantt chart for reporting together, to settle realistic timings and responsibilities. Bring trustees or managers into the final approval where it is needed. Build relationships with several people at each partner, including trustees, managers and staff, so the partnership survives if one person leaves.

  7. Write the application documents. A letter of intent outlines the understanding you plan to turn into an agreement. Some funders ask for one before the full proposal, as a kind of abstract. Where a government agency asks for one, it helps staff estimate the review workload, and it is not required or binding. Say clearly in the letter whether any part of it is meant to bind you, and have a lawyer check it before it goes out. The cover letter is one page on your organization's stationery, signed by an official with authority to sign for the organization. The title page gives the project title, the submitting agency's name and address, the prospective funder, the project dates and the total requested.

  8. Plan the end. Exit can be set by a fixed term, by specific goals, by defined conditions, or by mutual agreement at any time. When a partnership does end, send a formal letter confirming it and close any existing memorandum of understanding or agreement.

Using AI Safely

An assistant can produce a first draft of an agreement or a letter of intent. It cannot tell you what the text commits you to, so have a lawyer or someone with legal training review the final version before anyone signs.

  • Whether a document binds you depends on what it says and what the parties intended. Check a generated text for any commitment you did not mean to make.
  • A drafted letter of intent can read like a contract. Make sure it says clearly what is and is not meant to bind you.
  • Look for clauses that could bind you even if the rest of the document does not, such as confidentiality, governing law or exclusivity.

Common Mistakes

Ignoring liability. Partners often skip the question of whether they are jointly liable. Settle it early, because a funder may assess a jointly liable consortium differently.

Skipping formal approval. Without trustees or managers on board, a partnership can lack organizational commitment, or its validity can be disputed.

Never closing the partnership. Beyond a term or a goal, send the confirming letter and close the old agreement.

Relying on one contact. If your link to a partner is one person and that person leaves, the partnership can fail. Build links at several levels.

Rushing. Give partners time to test their expectations and build trust before anyone signs.