The Partnership Network is a multi-organizational initiative that aims to have a positive impact on the system by working together and developing, improving, or uplifting efforts that work – in service to our neighborhoods.

The Partnership Network is a network of intermediary organizations that provide skill and knowledge building opportunities to the community development sector. Intermediaries include Design Center Pittsburgh, New Sun Rising, NeighborWorks, the Bayer Center, Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience (PULSE), Coro Center for Civic Leadership, and Neighborhood Allies among others.

In all their work, the Partnership Network focuses on building the capacity of community based organizations to improve the lives of residents across the City of Pittsburgh and surrounding boroughs. Neighborhood Allies serves as the convener for the Partnership, bringing intermediary organizations together to address issues and opportunities in the capacity building sector and facilitating meetings to ensure collaborative process runs smoothly. While the larger network meets on a quarterly basis, a smaller committee made up of multiple intermediary partners from the network will meet on a monthly basis to closely monitor capacity building efforts and ensure consistent effort toward Partnership goals.

The decision to convene capacity building partners comes from a six month analysis of the capacity building system led by Neighborhood Allies and stewarded by Ivette Mongalo Winston and Seth Hufford. The purpose of the analysis was to understand the existing capacity building sector and the role of Neighborhood Allies within it, to maximize the collective impact of the sector on the lives of residents and the communities in Pittsburgh. Ivette and Seth alongside a project team from Neighborhood Allies, engaged in interviews with intermediaries or capacity building partners and focus groups with community based organizations, foundations, and government institutions.  The analysis produced recommendations for immediate next steps for Neighborhood Allies and the capacity building partners:

1. Convene intermediaries on a regular schedule to summarize each intermediary’s services,
2. Develop a centralized hub for community organizations to access important resources and learning opportunities, and
3. Create a set of shared goals based on shared data to identify and track efforts.

To establish the future direction for the Partnership Network, Neighborhood Allies worked with its partners to develop a Request for Proposal for a project team to help the Partnership develop its strategy, identify performance metrics, and develop an operational structure and feedback processes.

Those interested in the RFP can visit the link to learn more: https://neighborhoodallies.org/resources/request-for-proposals/ or reach out to Shikha Jerath at Shikha@neighborhoodallies.org.

Thank you to our allies at the following organizations for your contribution in the creation of the Partnership Network:

The Forbes Funds

Leadership Pittsburgh Inc.

Coro Center for Civic Leadership

New Sun Rising

The Design Center

Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG)

Growth Through Energy & Community Health (GTECH) Strategies

Program To Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE)

Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience (PULSE)

The Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management

NeighborWorks  of Western Pennsylvania