National Adult Literacy Database

This report is the result of a project led by Ontario's College Sector Committee for Adult Upgrading (CSC), in partnership with three other provincial organizations involved in adult literacy and upgrading: Community Literacy of Ontario (CLO), Ontario Association of Continuing Education School Board Administrators (CESBA) and the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition (ONLC). The goal was to determine how opportunities for partnerships between provincial organizations could be identified and developed.

The project's goals included outlining the challenges and benefits of developing common approaches at the provincial level; creating dialogue among four stakeholder organizations regarding implementation of Essential Skills in adult literacy and upgrading programming; developing the common message and content to be included in Essential Skills training for practitioners; and testing the usefulness of this type of approach among key provincial stakeholders with a wide range of views and operational requirements.

Interviewed at the end of the project, the participants reported feeling satisfied at the effectiveness of a partnership approach. They felt the project showed that organizations with different structures, needs and cultures could work together effectively.

The project report identifies ten Best Practices derived from data collected and discussions held, which the partners agreed would help future partnerships succeed. The Best Practices deal with matters like partners' joint ownership of a project, terms of reference, communication and goal-setting.