Social partnerships provide communities with the capacity to address problems, such as community breakdown, unemployment and social exclusion. In this report Terri Seddon and Stephen Billett analyse the types of social partnerships that involve education in community contexts. They find that partnerships are complex and multi-layered and successful partnerships require: acknowledgement and negotiation of the interests and expectations of all participants; development of resource and support structures; recognition of volunteer contributions; and, development of outcomes that recognise the full range of achievements and success within the partnership. The implication of the range and nature of social partnerships and their effect on VET policy are also discussed in the report.