50 FROM AID TO COOPERATIONCollaboration is the ‘new normal’As development goals become increasingly dependent on partnerships of diverseactors, how can the barriers be broken down to enable effective, concerted action?© ReutersBy Dr Darian Stibbe, Executive Director,The Partnering Initiative (TPI)In September 2014, the Open WorkingGroup on the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (OWG) will present its report tothe UN General Assembly. While specifictargets and indicators are still beingfinalised, one aspect is clear: partnershipswill be essential to achieving the goals, andthey will be needed at a level that dwarfscurrent collaboration.This is a heavy demand. While therhetoric around partnership may bescorching, the reality – particularly atcountry level – is still lukewarm. Partneringacross sectors with different interests,motivations, cultures and timescales,and often lacking in trust, is challenging.Too many existing partnerships are notdelivering fully on their potential and,with few mechanisms to support newpartnerships, the number of collaborationsis only scratching at the surface of whatis required.If we are to scale up and mainstreamcollaboration, we must do more to buildthe ‘partnership infrastructure’: thestructures, mechanisms and capacitiesneeded to make them happen at scale.Unfortunately, the issue of how this couldbe achieved is not touched on by theOWG’s latest draft.On the basis that ‘what gets measuredgets done’, The Partnering Initiative(TPI) believes that, as an essential deliverymechanism, specific ‘structural targets’should be included around partnershipsProcessing rice at a mill in Nigeria. GAIN, whichsupports public-private partnerships to increase accessto missing nutrients in diets through the fortification ofstaple foods, is one of a number of multi-stakeholderplatforms already in operation globallyin the post-2015 agenda, with indicatorsfocused on the degree to which the enablingpartnership infrastructure is in place.Towards a new infrastructure forcollaborationTo mainstream partnerships, concerted,collective action is needed at four levels:1. Systemic mechanisms: multi-stakeholderplatforms catalysing partnershipsA number of multi-stakeholder platformsare already in operation globally – forexample the Global Alliance for ImprovedGLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2014
FROM AID TO COOPERATION51Nutrition – as well as at country level,such as the Southern Agricultural GrowthCorridor of Tanzania and the newBusiness in Development Hubs that TPI isdeveloping in Zambia and Colombia.To systemise partnership development,such platforms need to raise awarenessamong all actors about the potentialfor partnership in a particular area ofdevelopment or geographic region; buildtrust and facilitate positive dialogueamong the sectors; broker potentialpartnerships (including building capacityfor partnering); and connect them withpossible sources of funding.Structural targets could be set forthe existence and quality of global-levelplatforms for each development area, aswell as country-level platforms that drivelocal action.2. Partnerships: improving quality andeffectiveness through international bestpracticeThe quality of partnerships needs to bemeasured and improved to ensure they aredelivering as effectively and efficiently aspossible. Partnerships need to:●●Be set up properly: they must be suited tothe context; have the right partners onboard; have defined objectives, roles andresponsibilities; and offer clear value toall partners.●●Operate effectively: this includes strongproject management, with partnersdelivering on their commitments,communicating well, tracking progressand conducting regular reviews.●●Manage the relationship: this meansensuring that the partnering principles ofequity, transparency and mutual benefitare observed, and that all partners areengaged and committed.Creating an agreed set of internationalbest practice standards against whichpartnerships can be measured would act asa tool for continuous improvement, as wellas help to build a common understandingof good partnering. Structural targets couldinclude the percentage of partnershipsoperating above a certain standard.3. Organisations: becoming ‘fit for partnering’Whether government or business, NGOor donor, UN or academic, one of themost common challenges to partnershipsis that organisations are rarely set upto partner effectively. Operational andadministrative obstacles can lead toconsiderable professional and personalfrustration, slow partnership developmentand missed opportunities.Through its work across sectors, TPIhas identified four key elements for anorganisation to be ‘fit for partnering’:●●Strategy: partnership must be built intoorganisational strategy, given an assignedbudget, and be advocated strongly byleaders at both international and countrylevel.●●Processes: from assessing a potentialopportunity through to appropriatelegal agreements, internal systems andprocesses must be designed to aid apartnership approach. In the case ofgovernment, this includes ensuring lawsand regulations are supporting and notobstructing partnerships.●●Skills: staff must have the right skills,guidelines and support, for example,through a dedicated partnership supportunit.●●Culture: organisations need a culture thatappreciates the strengths of other sectorsand includes a willingness to innovatethrough collaboration.TPI has worked with a number ofUN agencies and other internationalorganisations to create a Fit for Partneringassessment system, which could beused to provide a standardised rating ofdevelopment actors, with structural targetsset for the percentage of governments,institutions and international organisationsabove a certain rating.4. Individuals: building essential partneringcompetenciesAs mentioned above, building effectivepublic-private collaboration is challengingand requires a specific set of competenciesto ensure that they deliver. TPI structuresits partnering training courses around fourAlso in this sectionAfrican development inthe 21st century 54Building partnershipsthat work 58South-Southcooperation 62Investment insustainable trade 66Financialremittances 70GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2014
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