Evolving Partnerships

Asking for partnerships is one thing, getting them launched another, and making them work a different science entirely. Jem Bendell offers deep insights into how NGOs and intergovernmental organisations like the UN are adapting - and often being forced to adapt - to the new order they have helped catalyse. -- John Elkington, Executive Chairman of Volans and co-founder of SustainAbility NGOs and UN agencies can work with business where they can achieve really significant impacts together. These collaborations should scale our ambition and speed our progress, not make us more cautious or slow. When companies are doing bad things it's essential they are challenged, and it's essential that any collaborations with them do not let them escape criticism and deliver really significant change. There needs to be a new ambition. This book provides guidance on how to engage business for greater social change. -- Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director, Greenpeace International "Evolving Partnerships" by Jem Bendell is a must-read for all those who are interested in fostering collaborative solutions between the public and the private sector, between governments, business and civil society. As sustainability challenges become ever more pressing, there is a growing premium for effective and scalable partnerships. This guide gives valuable insights on lessons learned and outlines viable approaches to achieve greater effectiveness and impact. It is especially timely ahead of Rio +20 as governments are eager to experiment with fresh approaches to bring about much-needed change. -- Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact

This guidebook seeks to distill the author's 15 years of experience with the advanced strategic planning of partnerships. Its aim is to enable those involved in cross-sectoral partnerships to achieve a greater scale of impact and effect social change.

By bringing together their respective competencies and resources for the greater good, governments, business, civil society and multilateral agencies have been seeking innovative ways to work together to respond to the myriad global challenges of our time: the impact of climate change; human security; the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases; the generation of new investment, entrepreneurship and employment; and financing for development. The appetite for such partnerships appears strong. Over 90% of corporate executives responding to a World Economic Forum survey felt that future partnerships between business, government and civil society would play either a major role or some role in addressing key development challenges. This trend will only be increased by the Western financial crisis and the retreat of the state from many areas of societal concern. In the last 15 years, many new partnerships have been formed, and many new people exposed to partnership ways of working. There have been remarkable successes, but also a range of concerns about effectiveness and accountability.

Partnerships can work, but can they work better? Many practitioners are now asking how they can achieve a greater scale of impact to match the magnitude of the social and environmental challenges we face. When considering how to equip their organization or programme with the necessary skills to engage with companies in new ways, many leaders of NGOs or UN agencies hire staff from the private sector. Although such staff exchanges are important, it is not sufficient to rely on private-sector staff to develop and implement strategic forms of engagement. Rather, engaging business for social change is a specialism in itself. This book seeks to distil some of the author's 15 years of experience and key learnings on the advanced strategic planning of partnerships for people who work within civil society or public-sector organizations and who already partner with companies.

Much of the research focus to date has been on operational issues, rather than on the strategic challenge of evolving partnerships to achieve a greater scale of impact....