The tripartite alliance wants a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture to be brought to finality urgently and have taken it upon itself to "reconfigure" the role of its members going forward.
The decisions come after an alliance political council held between the ANC, the SA Communist Party (SACP), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) at Luthuli House on Thursday.
In a joint statement, the partners said the meeting dealt with the current challenges in the "movement and broader society".
"The alliance partners are in agreement that the alliance relations are currently at their lowest levels and committed to a series of measures to address this situation," it said.
"Alliance partners raised issues in a frank and honest manner and agreed that the nature of the issues raised requires ongoing engagement. All parties agreed that the alliance must return to holding regular meetings."
The next meeting is scheduled for November.
The partners also want the Alliance Secretariat will develop a paper on the modalities of a reconfigured alliance and agreed that Zuma's inquiry into state capture "must be brought to finality as a matter of urgency".
There was also a consensus that workers' assets in the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and Public Investment Corporation (PIC) must be treated with "meticulous care".
The prerogative of the president, premiers and mayors to appoint and release members of Cabinet, executive councils and mayoral committees was also discussed at the meeting.
"Alliance partners highlighted the importance of appropriate consultation and reconfirmed the necessity for the Alliance to make meaningful input into strategic decisions," it said.
The meeting comes after deepening tension in the alliance, with Cosatu and the SACP calling for Zuma's head to roll. Thursday's meeting was the first time since the president's Cabinet reshuffle in March that the alliance partners formally met. The crisis in the alliance grew worse earlier this month when Zuma, in a surprise midday Cabinet reshuffle, axed SACP boss Blade Nzimande from his position as minister of higher education and training.