This book has emphasised that the development of a partnership strategy will depend on the extent to which the problem is accurately perceived. An understanding of the potential causes of service deficiency, be they political, economic, social, environmental and/or institutional, is required. Training may be necessary for those municipalities that do not have the capacity to analyse the problem context. Alternatively, external specialists can be brought in to assist in the analysis, but it would then be crucial that the process was 'owned' by the municipality and that, ultimately, the findings could be understood and taken on board.
The capacity of the municipality to define the partnership objectives will fundamentally depend on the political will of key leaders to acknowledge that the diversity of their cities and the range of urban stakeholders will bring with them a range of objectives, some of which will conflict with one another. Once this political will is in place, it is necessary to consider the skills that are needed to coordinate and structure objectives into a form that can be used for decision- making purposes. Municipal actors must have the skills needed to recognise where objectives converge, even if they have originated from different perspectives.
Yet the very process of capacity building and the focus on services (that may develop as a result of the partnership development process) will bring with it (either directly or indirectly) a greater ability to recognise what the real (rather than perceived) objectives are. This will then result in revised objectives and the need to negotiate and coordinate approaches that respond to these redefined needs.