Building sustainable partnerships and managing expectations of work-integrated learning stakeholders

Building sustainable partnerships is an integral component of designing and coordinating successful work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. This chapter discusses a practical approach to building partnerships in WIL with consideration of activities such as identifying stakeholders, communicating expectations, building trust, fostering reciprocity, and enhancing sustainability. The complexities of managing multiple partnerships and addressing risk are also discussed with reference to tools and tips to assist with these tasks. The information presented in this chapter is an integration of practical knowledge gained through experience and information from stakeholder management, project management, and social network literature. The endeavor of creating sustainable partnerships in WIL is complex. This chapter suggests using a four-step approach to plan, commence, embed, and conclude WIL partnerships. The actions required in each step are shown in the framework for external stakeholder relationship management at the end of the chapter. Using this framework, it is possible to manage diverse stakeholder expectations and achieve successful WIL outcomes.