Checklist for assessing the viability and long-term health of international partnerships
COMPATIBILITY AND FIT
General institutional compatibility with IUSD
- Similar missions
- Similar areas of excellence (to build synergy)
- Complementary areas of excellence (to fill gaps)
Compatibility with the international goals of IUSD
- Will this partnership support achievement of the goals in international teaching,
research, engagement, and institutional advancement?
Fit with the range of existing partnerships
- Does this partnership build on areas of strength for IUSD?
- Does this fill gaps and not stretch institutional resources too thinly?
Quality and integrity of potential partner
- Accreditation
- Ranking
- Academic Programs
- Business and partnership practices
PARTNER DESIRABILITY AND MUTUAL GAIN
What interest from IUSD exists already?
- Is this partnership in an area of the world of interest to IUSD?
- Do faculty and/or programs from IUSD already have connections with the
potential partner?
- Does this partnership build on IUSD’s strengths or fill gaps in targeted areas?
- Does the partnership mirror the international connections in our surrounding
community or peer institutions?
- Is the partner in a nation that is a source of international students, or a place
IUSD students would like to go?
- Will the partnership be of mutual benefit to all participating institutions?
MAINTAINING COMMUNICATION
Have productive discussions with the potential partner already taken place?
- Has trust and rapport been built?
- Has mutual understanding (including what the partnership means) been reached?
- Have common projects and interests been identified?
- Have relevant decision-makers been engaged?
- What level of commitment has been determined?
- Have possible roadblocks and negative impacts been identified and addressed?
- Have resources and financial arrangements been negotiated?
- Have regulatory issues been addressed?
- Have language issues been addressed?
- Who is the IUSD champion for the partnership?
MANAGING PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Do resources and structures exist to support the partnership over time?
- Does faculty and departmental buy-in exist?
- Is funding for travel available?
- Are revenue neutral exchange structures in place?
- Are course articulations possible?
- Can/has a system of regular communication be/been established?
- Does each side have a team or office to manage its part of the partnership?
- Does each institution have the capacity to provide language instruction, cultural, and national framing for work with the partner (or can it be developed)?
Has (or will) the proposed partnership undergone appropriate reviews at IUSD?
- Has it followed agreed-upon procedures?
- Has it obtained necessary approvals?
- Has it been discussed by all relevant constituencies?
- Has it been reviewed by legal counsel?
- Is a system of on-going review and re-evaluation in place?
- Is an exit strategy in place (if appropriate)?