Section One - Implementing the Vision This section provides an overall picture of the Successful Business and School Partnerships initiative, defines the objectives of Successful Business and School Partnerships, explains the various partnership types, identifies the steps involved in creating a partnership and summarises the initiatives that NZBCSD businesses are already involved in. Section Two - Partnerships Partnerships Whilst developing this guide we classified the diverse range of partnership opportunities available into six generic categories - governance, mentoring, education enhancement, vocational, scholarship, and sponsorship. This section of the guide has been divided into six subsections which explain and describe each partnership type. Section Three - Facilitators Facilitators Skilled personnel are available from a number of organisations who can be utilised to help facilitate partnerships between businesses and schools. This section profiles these organisations and the services they provide.

Dr Rodger Spiller, NZBCSD Executive Director
and Managing Director, Money Matters

Investing in education provides substantial returns. The NZBCSD Successful Business and School Partnerships initiative seeks to promote this investment by New Zealand businesses to create a win-win for business and society. As a country we want to earn more and to do this we all need to learn more. To help this dream become reality, NZBCSD members and other businesses are encouraged to become involved in school partnerships.

This guide responds to a need identified by NZBCSD members for a comprehensive document for businesses interested in developing partnerships with schools. In meeting this need, a project team was set up to undertake a literature review, research the details of a wide-range of partnerships, and obtain input from educationalists and businesses. The result is this first business and school partnerships guide written by business leaders for New Zealand business decision-makers. This guide will help businesses choose the best option for their partnerships with schools. These partnerships can then be recorded and shared through the Successful Business and School Partnerships project database on the NZBCSD website, which was created as part of this project to provide for ongoing sharing and learning.

We encourage you to use this guide and our website as a basis for furthering your contribution to realising the vision of Successful Business and School Partnerships and a Sustainable New Zealand.

The NZBCSD has enjoyed the support of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in the creation of this guide and website. AUT, under the leadership of Dr John Hinchcliff, has been a pioneer in this field. For example, it initiated The New Zealand Centre for Business Ethics and Sustainable Development. The Auckland University of Technology has contributed substantial resources to this guide including Faye Langdon's and Alison Strother's time.

This initiative benefited greatly from the expertise of educationalist Ann Dunphy who worked as Project Officer and the editorial services of Catherine Gunn. A special thank-you to all those who work so hard in the business and school partnership field and have cooperated so generously in the preparation of this guide.

As the NZBCSD Executive representative on this project I greatly appreciated the contributions of the other team members and my colleagues at the NZBCSD Executive.