The importance of locating a partnership in the context of urban management objectives and processes has been discussed in Chapter 5. Ensuring that the partnership emerges from a strategic planning process is obvious and natural in some contexts, but not all. In some municipalities, strategic planning is neglected in the heat of the moment. Municipal decision-makers may be so keen to solve the problems of one service that they fail to consider the demand, service priorities, impacts and implications of their choices for the city as a whole. In other municipalities the capacity to initiate a strategic, planned approach does not exist.

Strategic planning for municipal partnerships essentially involves a comprehensive approach to the development of solutions. It entails a process of long-term planning based on sound information and stakeholder participation. It is an essential step in the preparation for PPPs to ensure that municipalities know:

•  what the objectives of the partnership are;

•  how the partnership fits within their overall goals;

•  whether a partnership is actually the best solution;

•  how it relates to other municipal functions and objectives; and

•  how it contributes to poverty reduction.

The process of developing a strategy creates a platform for decision-making linked into broader municipal management, service delivery and poverty-reduction goals. This will mean, for instance, that the proposed strategy for water and sanitation services might be developed alongside a strategy for solid waste management or energy. The aim is to ensure that a coherent pattern of infrastructure development occurs - one that recognises opportunities, constraints and livelihood implications as well as community and municipal capacities.

In particular, the strategy will need to address how proposed service improvements will be undertaken in relation to the poor. It will address key issues such as service prioritisation and linkages; the poverty and gender focus of the approach; the approach to labour deployment; and the approach to independent service providers.

Municipalities must be inclusive in this process, drawing in key stakeholders to work and collaborate with them in the development of the framework. The early involvement of stakeholders of all kinds creates greater ownership. Involving primary stakeholders (communities, employees) is essential in building the commitment needed for sustainability; despite the thorny issue of procurement, efforts to include the private sector can be beneficial as this establishes a partnering ethos at the outset.

The strategic planning process requires basic information about the demand for and existing supply of services - information that will underpin the decision-making process and form the basis for further information collection in the partnership development stage.

Strategic planning also provides the opportunity for stakeholder capacity building in partnership alternatives. This will enable more focused decision-making in the next stages, and provides sufficient information to address preconceptions and facilitate policy and operational choices. Ensuring that potential partners are able to participate meaningfully is a recurring theme in this book, and the processes a municipality develops will strongly shape how this capacity building is achieved.