What leadership skills underpin successful partnerships between academia, practice and community? A study of five partnerships in South Africa

We evaluated five W. K. Kellogg-funded Community Partnerships between academic, health service, and community partners in South Africa. Across the five participating partnerships, 668 partnership members completed self administered questionnaires to assess the operational, functional and organisational characteristics that contribute to stakeholders’ perceptions of the skills of their partnership’s leadership. Across the five partnerships and six stakeholder groups, more than half (53%) of leadership skills were explained by ten factors. Each partnership displayed its unique footprint of factors that accounted for its leadership levels. Similarly, each stakeholder group had its unique signature of factors that were associated with its leadership. Two factors (communication mechanisms and operational understanding) accounted for more than 25% of leadership skills; management capabilities and participation benefits contributed 4% and 3%; and effectiveness, benefits to difficulties ratio of being a member, engagement in education, flow of information and sense of ownership accounted for 2% to 3% each. Leaders, managers, administrators, researchers, civic agencies and funding bodies involved in partnership working will need to pay attention to these

characteristics as well as other factors.