Thinking now of how organizations work together roles consist of four typical elements. These are Responsible, Approves, Consults, and Informed elements. The rules outlined in the “Partnership Organization Model” figure are now further described in the “Roles and Responsibilities” figure. Remember that Responsible, Approves, Consults, and Informed are very specific defined terms.

The roles described in the “Roles and Responsibilities” figure vary over time. A high-level view of this is shown in the “Functional Roles by Project Phase Matrix” figure. In this figure the project timeline is simplified to three timeframes. They are set up, execution, and maintenance. The advantage of using such time-based visual displays of information is that they allow team members to focus on what’s most important at any point in time. They speak to the who, what and when of partnering. They also have the added advantage of being used a visual scorecard for the Partner Coordination Team. This can be done in numeric form as shown in the “Partner Project Performance Matrix” figure. It allows especially rapid understanding by the Partner Coordination Team if the cells are colored in shades of red to green.

Note that in surveys associated with entities engaging in partnership activities, making sure the above requirements and roles are property laid out, and the project appropriately managed, creates a partnership tax on the project. On average, studies show that somewhere between 15% and 20% of a partner’s effort is required inside the other partner’s company just to manage the partnership. It should also be noted that issues adding to the cost of partnerships can also arise from the partners’ lower tier suppliers versus from the partner’s themselves.