Subject Line: Year 2 planning — when good partnerships deepen and struggling ones find their truth
The examples in this newsletter are drawn from real partnership experiences. Names and identifying details have been altered to protect privacy.
Who's This For
You're approaching the end of Year 1 — or maybe you're already there. The first annual report is written (or about to be). You've had successes worth celebrating and challenges worth examining. Partners have learned each other's working styles. The initial excitement has evolved into something more textured.
Now comes the question that most funded projects avoid until it's too late: Is this partnership working the way we thought it would? And should Year 2 look like what we planned, or something different?
This newsletter is for PIs, project coordinators, and partnership professionals navigating mid-project transitions. It's for anyone who has reached that point where you know enough to assess what's happening — but face the choice between honest recalibration and comfortable continuation.
It's also for anyone who has pushed through a second year doing exactly what the proposal promised, even when everyone involved quietly knew it wasn't working.
Mid-project recalibration is uncomfortable. But the partnerships that emerge strongest are the ones that face the discomfort rather than deferring it.