Years after the all the phases of the partnership cycle, and final phase in the process may have been planned or arrived unannounced; adjourning. Every partnership must eventually consider these important and necesary issues of transition and ending. Some partnerships may use this time to renew goals and commitments. Others may find that it is time to let organizational partners go or end the partnership altogether.

Have an open and honest discussion with your partner(s) to understand when a coalition is transitioning into a stage of renewal or ending. Every partnership relationship is different. What motivates and engages each organization or individual to participate and to continue working collaboratively is different. Properly assessing your situation will help determine the best course of action. If people are bored or burned out ask, “Is the work of this group done? If not, then why are people feeling this way?” (Strengthening, 2011)

SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF THE PARTNERSHIP
Sometimes early termination of a partnership might be required due to unforeseen circumstances, organizational challenges, changing contexts, insufficient progress, changes in programme environment, a breach of core values, or other factors. Regular communication and monitoring measures should therefore be put in place from the outset, and responsibility for corrective action should be clearly assigned (UNICEF, 2017).

Partners, both individually and collectively, need to have a ‘moving on’ strategy in mind - possibly from the very beginning and even articulated in the initial partnering agreement. There can be four different ‘moving on’ scenarios, please see graphic at right (Tennyson, 2011).

What Is a Partnership Exit Strategy?

A partnership exit strategy is a plan for what will happen when you want to leave your partnership; every successful business should have one!. This strategy describes and outlines the form that the transition will take. Just like you’ve written a business plan to guide your business throughout its life, you should have one that guides it to a conclusion (Wood, 2020.

3 Examples of Transition and Ending Strategies to enhance the success of a partnership:

1. Sell Your Stake to a Partner or Investor: If you aren’t the sole proprietor of your business, it’s possible to sell off just your stake to a business partner or other investor. This can be a relatively “business-as-usual” exit strategy, depending on the buyer (Wood, 2020).
2. Liquidate Your Business/Partnership: As an exit strategy business plan goes, this one is the most final. If you liquidate, you’ll be closing your business and selling your assets. This being said, however, liquidation doesn’t have to mean defeat—just an ending to a chapter (Wood, 2020).
3. Take Your Private Partnership Public With an IPO: Many entrepreneurs dream of one day selling their business to the public for a large profit. However, in the realm of small business exit strategy planning, this method certainly isn’t for everyone. Business conditions need to be just right for this option to be possible (Wood, 2020).