Done wisely, partnerships present at least three clear benefits that public leadership alone cannot offer. Below is an explanation of those benefits, a discussion of potential pitfalls and examples where states and business have capitalized on them:

• Raise the profile of pre-k and early learning. When business leaders step forward, in the form of editorials or public statements, to promote pre-k as necessary for creating a strong labor force and an efficient government in the long term, citizens, journalists and policy makers listen. Through partnerships, business leaders can have a financial stake in early learning and a say in how programs are operated, creating a stronger incentive to speak out publicly in support of pre-k. Partnerships provide tangible proof of business leader support for early learning that can in turn provide greater media opportunities.
  
  Yet, before public officials can attempt to leverage the business community and create a partnership, a coalition of private sector leaders must be cultivated to ensure business partners fully understand their role and are genuinely invested in the project. Without this proper outreach, the partnership may suffer when economic conditions worsen or business leaders' interest and willingness to invest time and resources in early learning may fade.
  
  Models:
  Smart Start
  
  Established in 1993, Smart Start is a national public-private initiative actively providing technical assistance in a dozen states. Smart Start North Carolina succeeded in raising the profile of pre-k across the state by channeling early education funding directly to all 100 counties. Smart Start funding enhances all children's early learning opportunities by supporting quality improvements in child care centers and financial assistance to help families afford early education programs. The North Carolina Partnership for Children and community partnerships made up of local stakeholders administer the funds. Ten percent of the statewide agency's 2007-08 operating budget was paid for through donations from private-sector organizations including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Wachovia Foundation, Bank of America, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
  
  The Mississippi Economic Council and "Mississippi Building Blocks"
  
  Frustrated with lack of action on the part of state leaders to provide pre-k for the state's children, the Mississippi Economic Council agreed in late 2008 to raise $10.5 million to create the Mississippi Building Blocks program, which will partner with local early education and care centers to evaluate and improve program quality over a three-year period. Funding for Building Blocks is entirely from private sources. The state's Department of Education is working toward providing program facilitators, teacher mentors, home-visiting resources and a teaching model to each participating center. Business leaders will also provide pro bono accounting and business strategies consulting.



• Invest business leaders in program success. Having business leaders invested in pre-k's success is vital for program sustainability and effectiveness. Business leaders who dedicate private resources for early education are more likely, in turn, to endorse pre-k legislation, send a lobbyist to advocate for increased public investment or become active in early education organizations. Further, business leaders bring valuable perspectives and expertise -- rooted in their professional focus on cost savings, efficiency and outcomes -- to program operations.
  
  Importantly, business leaders need a real say in partnership policy goals and implementation, and government officials who ask for business people to buy-in must then be prepared to hear their voices. Once funding is secured, partnerships should spend quickly, effectively and in a transparent way, so business partners know where their money is going and remain committed to partnership success.
  
  Models:
  Minnesota Early Learning Foundation
  
  Spearheaded by Art Rolnick of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and leaders from Best Buy, General Mills, Blue Cross Blue Shield and others, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) focuses on the implementation and evaluation of several pilot initiatives, mainly privately and publicly funded programs that offer scholarships to families to send their children to high-quality early education and care centers. MELF also provides "innovation grants" to support cost-effective early education models targeting at-risk populations like English Language Learners and children from rural communities. MELF is a prime example of fully investing a group of private sector leaders in early learning because business leaders both have a large financial stake in the scholarships and participated with economists in designing MELF's structure of parental choice. A pilot rating system for early education providers helps ensure that the scholarships assist parents to make the best possible choices for their children, and a research team led by the University of Minnesota is performing long-term evaluations of outcomes from the different scholarship models tested.
  
  Thrive by Five Washington
  
  In 2006, Washington's governor and legislature, business community, and philanthropies including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation created a public-private partnership called Thrive by Five Washington. The organization's mission is to develop a sustainable system for statewide early learning improvement, and it uses a combination of demonstration projects, parenting education efforts, and activities to raise awareness of the value of early education to meet its goals. The Boeing Company committed $500,000 to help build and sustain pilot early education centers in two communities -- White Center and East Yakima -- where there are large concentrations of Boeing employees. By investing in areas where companies' workers will benefit, organizers have added a powerful incentive for the partners to ensure the success of the partnership's early learning program.

• Improve and showcase innovative, replicable programs. Partnerships can direct private dollars to enhance pre-k quality by both investing in improvements for existing programs and supporting new models. Short-term investments, such as financing facilities construction and program evaluation, are ideal uses for private funds that can establish a stronger infrastructure for high-quality pre-k. Furthermore, partnerships can spur innovation by financing riskier models than could not be funded by public dollars alone. Such projects are made even stronger when coupled with spending on advocacy to promote the value of pre-k and showcase promising models.
  
  Caution must be taken, however, when using private funds to provide services or "slots" for children in a program. While supporting children and families directly can be compelling to business leaders, when partnerships fund services, children's pre-k slots are not secure because they depend on private, non-recurring dollars.
  
  Models:
  Educare Centers
  
  The Ounce of Prevention Fund, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and many others have partnered to finance Educare Centers in 12 U.S. cities. Educare Centers are state-of-the-art, model facilities where roughly 140-200 infants, toddlers and pre-k-age children from low-income families receive high-quality early education and care. Services at the centers are supported with funding from multiple sources, including Head Start, Early Head Start, state pre-k and child care dollars and, at some locations, contributions from parents. Total per-child expenditures reach up to $18,000, far more than even the most well-financed, public, state-run programs (e.g. New Jersey leads the nation by spending almost $11,000 per child). The Educare partnership is raising awareness of the ability of high-quality programs to positively impact the lives of at-risk students and for engaging business leaders in early education through site visits.

These goals are all compelling reasons to explore public-private cooperation on early learning, but the logistics of establishing a partnership can present difficulties and may vary across the country. Advocacy organizations, policy makers and/or private sector leaders frequently must cultivate considerable public support and political capital before engaging in a partnership. Below are some resources that can be helpful for contacting business leaders or learning more about the "best practices" of establishing a partnership.

• The Partnership for America's Economic Success, which is managed by the Pew Center on the States, is a coalition of economists, policy experts and advocates mobilizing business leaders to be proponents of initiatives for young children, including quality pre-k, dental care and home-based programs for new and expectant families. The Partnership facilitates networking and policy strategy sessions for private sector leaders across the country and hosts national conferences to build support for early learning within the business community. It has worked to advance public-private partnerships and has collaborated with businesses investing in early learning in the absence of public investment, like PNC Bank and its "Grow Up Great" project.


• "Partnering with the Private and Philanthropic Sectors: A Governor's Guide to Investing in Early Childhood" (PDF) offers more examples and advice for implementing public-private partnerships from the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices.