For the success of the partnerships, the Mayor of CMM and the coordinator from Tagusvalley pointed out the style of leadership exercised by the head of AEVH, this being of a relational type. The following quotations show other success factors:
- “The existence of careful planning, constructive dialogue between partners, appropriate school leadership that is appropriate, involved, dedicated and resilient” (Mayor of CMM).
- “Relationships based on personal bonds, friendship, proximity, personal and institutional trust, institutional tradition (…). Partnerships are long-lasting and should remain ad eternum, they cover various areas”, the Mayor of CMM also states.
- “The existence of careful annual planning; constructive dialogue that has led to adaptations to the EMPRE project (…). Appropriate leadership in AEVH – the head is very focused on the matter of entrepreneurship education (…); intervention with other community actors, leading to partnership functioning, which benefits the project’s application” (Coordinator from Tagusvalley).
- “Relationships are based on trust, personal bonds, geographical proximity, institutional tradition, they are long-lasting and not limited to the EMPRE Project” (Tagus Valley).
This evidence agrees with the conclusions in the work by 1 and 2, who mention leadership as a determinant factor of success of partnerships between School and Community, as well as the need for strategic thinking in schools that values school experiences promoting the development of appropriate skills for the demands of today’s society. It is noted that it was not possible to associate any evidence of these factors in the content of the documentation analysed.
In his interview, the head of AEVH also accepts that one of the success factors of the partnerships formed is“the effort by those directly responsible for implementing the EMPRE project in the school, recognizing the importance and need for the involvement of human resources for partnership success and the role of intermediate leadership as determinant for the success of the partnerships formed in the scope of the EMPRE project”.
The interviewee from the School Group also stresses as factors of partnership success, “careful planning and constructive dialogue; leadership is important, namely intermediate leadership, i.e., by the project coordinators in the school; relationships based on trust, the personal knowledge of those in charge, proximity, institutional tradition”, that is to say, “long-lasting relationships that go beyond EMPRE”.
In fact, trust has also been identified as an important variable determining whether a partnership can be maintained or not. In 3 it is necessary to pay greater attention to the partnership processes. Factors such as trust, commitment, open communication, flexibility and the capacity to manage conflicts should be considered. Indeed, in a partnership it is important to communicate easily with potential stakeholders to minimize resistance to its creation and maintenance.
Another question arising from the interviews held was the reference by the head of AEVH and the leader of Tagus Valley to “organizational learning” achieved through the partnerships formed, which ties in with the conclusion of 4. Learning processes are often the result of partnerships between schools and local institutions, corroborating the possibility of going beyond the boundaries of education, training and work systems, as proposed by 5.
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