Home > How to Start an MRC > Technical Assistance Series > Coordinating With Your Local Response Partners >

Coordinating: Developing Shared Missions and Objectives

As a general rule, it helps to look for partnering organizations with similar goals and objectives compatible with the MRC. Such overlap also makes it important to:

• Avoid interfering with one another’s efforts
• Coordinate timelines
• Build on one another’s budgets and resources

Moderate funding levels from one donor organization can be leveraged into more substantial amounts when your fund requests are combined with those of other agencies addressing similar community issues, particularly when this collaboration enhances the community’s overall capacity to respond to public health needs and emergencies. Partnering organizations that share objectives can collaborate effectively to develop mutually beneficial strategies.

You may need to address how to manage volunteers working for a response partner and for the MRC. This dual role is not inherently a problem, but policies pertaining to utilization and prioritization will be essential to ensuring that volunteers are aware of where they are needed. It also can create tension between the partners, each of whom may see the other as appropriating a scarce resource.

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

 

Last Updated on 8/18/2006