Relevance and importance

Choosing the right partner is important for all organisations. However, SMEs have less resources and therefore face larger consequences if selecting the wrong partner. Below you will find a recipe on how to select the right partners.

Overview

The selection process will go through the following stages:

1. Define selection criteria => what sort of competences do you need in order to match the tasks?
2. Other criteria will be geographical, cultural, language etc.
3. Searching process => use databases, personal networks, professional netoworks, intermediators, matchmaking services, previous project partnerships etc.
4. Contact the partners for the first time => use letter (formal Introduction), matcmaking event face to face, virtual matchmaking event etc.
5. Confirmation of partnership through letter of intent and later partnerships agreement.

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Recommendations and practical tips

A successful international partnership takes time and resources to build.

However, "Transnationality works - if you work at it".

"It is important to learn from mistakes, but the learning is not necessarily restricterd to one's own. It may be much cheaper to learn from the mistakes which others have made".

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Warnings and potential pitfalls

When selecting partners for an international partnership it is always important to meet face to face with potential partners you have not met before. However, this is often not possible because of funding restrictions. The next best thing is to rely upon recommendations on potenttial partners from others you can trust.

When you negotiate a partnership with an organisation it is useful to ask to meet the persons that actually will be working in the partnership. Sometimes this person can be different from the ones taking part in the negotiation.

Be careful and thourough when negotiating the financial aspects of the partnership. It is always useful to have the financial details in writing and also make certain that everybody have understood the meaning of this.

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