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Partnership and Collaboration Skills and Competencies

Creating and maintaining partnerships; interagency project management; structuring agreements among partners; nurturing cooperation among a variety of recreation and conservation interests; planning trail systems across jurisdictional lines.

by American Trails Staff

Skills for Creating and Maintaining Partnerships

• Understanding and working with agency requirements
• Developing a common vision among diverse interests and jurisdictions
• Evaluate appropriate partnership agreements including authorities, formats, policy guidance, and reporting
• Understanding limits, opportunities, constraints, and "cultures" of project or program partners

Skills for Managing Interagency Projects

• Working with different levels of government: federal, state, county, municipality
• Negotiating outcomes and responsibilities
• Applying regulations from different agencies
• Leading effectively to enable people to join together to accomplish a common task
• Collaborating with private land owners within and outside the trail corridor

Skills for Collaboration in Planning and Management

• Planning trail systems in cooperation with
• Acquiring land and easements for trail protection, collaborating with other agencies and organizations
• Working with multiple communities along a trail corridor
• Working with law enforcement
• Initiating trail patrols and peer enforcement
• Developing coordinated search and rescue and public safety plan with local law enforcement agencies
• Integrate trail management and administration with other resource programs

Skills for Nurturing Cooperation among Public Land Interests

• Working with the spectrum of trail users to identify conflicts and solutions
• Working with various interest groups to find common ground
• Signs, waivers, and documentation for trail liability
• Responding to legal issues and concerns

Published December 2019

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