Partner or perish? Exploring inter-organisational partnerships in the multicultural community aged care sector

Given an Australian national and state policy agenda that continues to promote collaborative work, many community organisations are attempting to engage in partnerships with mixed results. This paper reports on a qualitative study conducted to explore the experiences of existing partnerships between organisations and small community groups who deliver community based support services to older people from culturally diverse backgrounds. In particular, this study sought to identify the key factors that facilitate and hinder the formation, maintenance and effectiveness of partnerships within the ethnic and multicultural community aged care (EMCAC) sector. Fourteen participants representing nine community and health service organisations located in the Melbourne metropolitan area took part in semi-structured interviews. Participants reported that partnerships between organisations are necessary and beneficial within the EMCAC sector. Organisational capacity, access to information and guidelines, and the inequality experienced by smaller organisations were key issues identified by participants. Increasing organisational capacity and reducing the inequalities experienced in partnerships may be addressed via training and education about the nature of partnerships, as well as by advocating for increased resources to smaller ethno-specific organisations. Further investigation is required to examine whether not engaging in partnerships will deem an organisation unsustainable in the longer term.