GWF Partnership Program Overview and Application

Overview:

The GWF Partnership Program aims to connect dedicated Ghanaian schools with other partners worldwide to help alleviate the schools' needs. Partner schools go through a rigorous application process to ensure they share the same vision as GWF. All Partner Schools must meet three criteria:

1. They must show a sincere need for assistance from GWF. This could be in the form of volunteers, resources, funding, training, or other.

2. They must offer affordable education and/or an extensive scholarship program.

3. They must be able to show a dedication toward improving their education.

Once accepted, school and organization define the school's needs and create a detailed plan aimed at achieving its educational goals. In order to achieve these goals, GWF then seeks other partners worldwide (these could include other organizations and NGO's, corporate sponsors, schools, clubs, religious institutions, or individual people) that are willing to make a similar commitment to helping the school improve its educational services. Eventually, it is always our aim to nurture our schools to a level of sustainability.

Program Benefits:

In the beginning...The GWF Partnership Program uses differential diagnosis and maximum school input to determine the schools needs and strengths. Together, the school and GWF then work to create a detailed plan for achieving the desired educational outcomes based on those needs and strengths, often calling upon the help and expertise of other partners worldwide.

During...GWF recognizes that money alone cannot change a school's philosophy and approach toward education. Therefore, during the partnership we hold all schools responsible for achieving or maintaining a certain level of professionalism and dedication in their educational practices (with GWF's help when needed). GWF expects schools to locate their weaknesses and improve upon those weaknesses throughout the partnership. Schools are often tested and expected to improve upon those tests as well. Failure to do so results in failure to secure the necessary funds needed to achieve its goals. It is essential that both parties, school and organization, are committed towards improving the education for the students' sake and willing to be held accountable for the performances of their students.

After...The educational outcomes of the partnership are created with sustainability in mind. As each new objective is met, the school is expected to take more and more responsibility both financially and in regards to the decision making process. Therefore, both parties must recognize that the roles and relationship within this partnership are dynamic and constantly changing to reflect the specific needs of the school at that particular time. Ultimately, we hope that all schools will be able to run with little to no outside support from GWF.

Application Process:

Step 1: Initial Application

The initial application allows GWF to become familiar with prospective partners. Here, an individual will fill out a general information application on behalf of a specific school, program, or educational institution detailing the current status of that particular agency, including their educational goals and objectives, problems and possible solutions, and how they believe GWF can be of assistance. This application allows the program review board to assess your agencies goals, needs, and requests, and evaluate our resources to determine if we are able to accept the application. Once an Initial Application is approved the applicant will be contacted and a date will be set for step two in the applications process, the interview.

Step 2: Interview

Once the Initial Application is approved an interview will be set up between a member of the GWF staff and the prospective partner. All interviews must be done at the school's or agency's premise. During this process, specific issues regarding the Initial Application are addressed and more individual and in-depth questions are asked about the applicant's goals and objectives as well as the applicants themselves. Questions are never predetermined, rather they are created by the GWF Board with the Initial Application in mind. Approval is based on many factors including, but not limited to, the willingness and desire shown by the applicant to achieve their stated goals, the feasibility of a working partnership between the parties involved, as well as the available resources and support that is readily available from both parties. The best way to determine a school's dedication towards education is to visit the school.

Step 3a: Volunteer Trial

The final step in the application process places a GWF volunteer at the school. The volunteer is there to help the school to begin achieving its desired educational outcomes, to assess the school's procedures and resources, and to begin forming a Partnership Contract with that school. Volunteer trials should be for at least three months.

Step 3b: Partnership Contract

Once the application process is finished a partnership is formed. The partnership then assesses the needs and objectives as defined in the Initial Application and, together, both sides develop a detailed plan for achieving the desired educational outcomes. This plan is simply referred to as the Partnership Contract. In this contract problems are identified, goals are set, steps for achieving those goals are listed, funds are calculated, labor is divided, and timelines are set. All final decisions are carefully documented and agreed upon by both parties. Subsequent meetings will be scheduled to assess the progress of each project, at which time amendments can be made. This Partnership Contract, in a sense, is the blueprint for achieving the partnership's goals.

Partner Obligations:

As in any relationship the key to a successful partnership is responsibility and communication. Both the partner school and the GWF team are responsible for fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities as laid out in the Partnership Contract, as well as communicating promptly and constantly throughout the extent of the partnership. It is important for partners to understand that mutual cooperation and effort are imperative to the partnership and what schools are willing to contribute, will ultimately determine the results and goals achieved.

While the Partnership Contract is not legally binding, the name is intended to express the seriousness with which we hold the document. Changes or amendments may be made when necessary upon approval by both the GWF team and the parties involved with the partner school. Furthermore, if either partner fails to meet any responsibilities laid out by the agreement, the Partnership Contract can be terminated.