The Invisible Partnership
Millions of cities are facing the same challenge: How can we make this place more attractive? In the Scottish town of Dunfermline, we met a Community Planning Partnership, that caught our attention. To our surprise, the leader of it told us that “the more invisible, the partnership and I can be, the better.”
By The Empty Square
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Millions of cities are facing the same challenge: How can we make this place more attractive?
Public-private partnerships seem to be one of the good answers. When local stakeholders agree to invest in their own neighborhood and create a common vision, things happen, and places improve. Dozens of variations on Business Improvement Districts and Town Center Management have long proven that.
In the Scottish town of Dunfermline (pop. 50.000), 20 kilometers from Edinburgh, we met a Community Planning Partnership that caught our attention because of its organic and voluntary, yet very strong, structure. A structure based, not on rules and regulations, but on the individual freedom that lies in contributing voluntarily to the whole. In other words, a structure based on culture.
The art of creating such a partnership lies not in formalizing, much less forcing, but in coordinating.
A strong bottom-up involvement has grown due to the leader’s understanding of the fact that most people really want to do an effort when it comes to things that occupies them on a personal level. By fanning the flames of existing passions and combining related people and interests – all within the same overall framework – lots of ideas have grown into projects that together shape a more prosperous and sustainable future for the city.
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash
The culture of involvement builds on relations and trust. Positive changes happen simultaneously on both a personal and a place level while people take small steps towards a joint venture.
Is a non-formalized partnership fragile? Nobody signed a contract and nobody gets paid.
It could be fragile. On the other hand, nothing is stronger than culture. When people are inspired to contribute to the whole, knowing that what they do matters and makes a difference, something very resilient is taking shape. Results inevitably follow.
The art of nurturing such a partnership lies in listening, combining, coordinating, and letting all involved share the honor.
As the leader said: The more invisible, the partnership and I can be, the better.
While all other partnerships fight for visibility, this one dresses in an invisibility cloak.