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Partnering is the master key element for project quality. It opens the doors to commitment and communication between the parties and provides the mastic which turns disparate groups with varying aims into a coherent team with common objectives (Baden-Hellard).There has been considerable business emphasis placed upon the development of collaborative relationships across companies in recent years. Construction is no exception. The presence of trust in the relationships has been cited as central to successful business and project outcomes (Partnership Sourcing Ltd. 1994, Latham1994). Trust is central to the development of non- adversarial business relationships, and hence provides fertile ground for the development of practices such as partnering, strategic alliances and supply chain management.The paper focuses upon the partnering concept in construction and discusses the role of trust as a key dimension for reducing adversarial relations in project working environments.