U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Building Technologies Office – Run a Program

Step 6: Build Partnerships

Partnerships can broaden your program's reach, provide additional incentives for program participants, and add credibility.

Take the following steps to identify and develop productive partnerships: 

Identify Strong Partners 
Establish a Partnership Agreement

Identify Strong Partners

When searching for a partner, look for public, private, and nonprofit organizations with a history of collaboration and community involvement that are likely to be a trusted source for your priority target audience. Partners can distribute materials, provide forums for your program to deliver its key messages, and generate social norms around participating in your program.

The best partners will have:

  • A complementary mission/goal
  • Audiences that overlap with your priority audiences
  • Elements that add value to your program, as well as find value in your program's elements.

Local media outlets are also potential partners that could provide added exposure to the program.

In addition, partnering with local contractors will help boost participation in your energy efficiency program. Leveraging contractors' existing relationships can be a cost-effective way to deliver program messages. They can become your primary sales force for home energy improvements―as long as your program is designed to be something contractors want to sell. To boost their participation and buy-in, consider offering or arranging for sales training and marketing incentives for contractors.

Contractors Help Make the "Best Offer Ever" a Record-Breaking Success

Austin Energy, a municipally owned utility, has a long history of collaborating closely with the building contractors in its area to deliver energy efficiency programs, which benefits both parties involved. Because contractors understand that Austin Energy has made a long-term commitment to supporting energy efficiency, they have been willing to invest time and money into the technical training and equipment required to conduct work in this sector. At the same time, they have helped create strong public recognition and support for Austin Energy's aggressive energy efficiency goals—including co-marketing the utility's programs to help drive demand. To launch its "Best Offer Ever" promotion quickly and effectively, Austin Energy's Clean Energy Accelerator focused particular attention on ensuring that the program was being responsive to its contractor base, which really paid off—47 contractors completed a record 564 home energy upgrades in just six months. Read more about Austin's program in Spotlight on Austin, Texas: Let Your Contractor Be Your Guide for Big Rewards.

 

Establish a Partnership Agreement

Establish expectations and terms of partnership in advance in order to develop and maintain lasting, productive partnerships.

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"Sell" the value to the partner when recruiting them to participate by framing your request in terms of what's in it for them.

 

You can draft a partnership agreement, which defines the roles of and expectations for each partner, by using the Creating a Partnership Agreement worksheet. The partnership agreement need not be a formal legal document, but rather a guide for bringing all parties to agreement about what the partnership looks like. It should outline what each partner will provide; each partner's role; the approval process for any joint materials; and the terms, scope, and duration of the partnership.

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Planning Worksheets: Creating a Partnership Agreement

Partners Compete for Points in Bedford and Northern Westchester County

Bedford, New York's Energize Northern Westchester program has created a communitywide competition as a way to encourage local nonprofit organizations and community groups to champion energy efficiency upgrades among their members. Organizations taking the challenge register to compete for grants to fund green projects in the community of Bedford and northern Westchester County. Groups can earn points by:

  • Hosting an information workshop to educate homeowners about home efficiency
  • Leading a homeowner to complete a home energy assessment
  • Getting a homeowner to complete a home energy upgrade.

Through these competition-driven partnerships, Energize Northern Westchester is able to penetrate the target audience in a way that would have taken much more effort without these collaborations.

 

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