1. Why do you engage (or want to engage) with private sector business?
2. What are the issues that matter to you?
3. What are your red lines?
4. What can or can’t you offer?
5. What are the risks you could face?
6. What is the decision-making process?
7. How do you protect yourself?
A company’s values should match yours, so it’s helpful to have in mind what exactly you want to evaluate.
You will need to clearly know your red lines. What are the kinds of companies you absolutely will not engage with?
Make sure you are clear about what benefits you have the capacity to offer, and that the benefits you get out of the partnership match the effort you put in.
Put a decision making process in place so you always know where the buck stops.
Think about the steps you can take to protect your organisation and put expectations and obligations of partnerships in writing.