Ten Lessons on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships
By John Heller, Senior Director, The Synergos Institute
“Partnership” is among the most over-used and least well-defined words in the English language. To get anything done these days, we are all supposed to be working in partnership. What does it all mean and what’s the use of all this partnering? And if we are going to be working in partnership, how can we ensure that partnerships are an efficient tool? This post presents lessons about multi-stakeholder partnerships drawn from the work of the Synergos Institute, a global non-profit organization working to reduce poverty and advance social justice.
The lessons for effective partnerships below come from our experience with four initiatives: The Partnership for Child Nutrition (India), the African Public Health Leadership and Systems Innovation Initiative (Namibia), the Aboriginal Leadership Initiative (Canada), and the Agricultural Transformation Agency (Ethiopia).
1. Go it alone…if you can Not all issues are appropriate for a partnership approach. Proper issue analysis is essential to determine if others need to be involved. Generally, the more complex an issue is the greater the need to bring together diverse actors to collaborate.
2. Start-up is half the battle Partnerships are often born out of political will. A legitimate invitation is essential. Avoiding pressure to move prematurely to action and addressing questions of purpose, power, and success criteria early on increase the likelihood of later success.
3. Do your homework An early research and analysis phase allows partnerships to diagnose issues correctly (situation analysis), to assess the interests of those to be involved (stakeholder analysis) and to develop the right approach (process design).
4. Find the bridgers “Command and control” leadership may be less effective in situations requiring stakeholders from different backgrounds to collaborate. Multi-stakeholder partnerships may best be guided by “bridging leaders” who are able to translate meaning across sectors, to build trust, to co-create with others and to generate collective action.
5. Let go Working in partnership often involves letting go of cherished beliefs, altering worldviews, and relinquishing control. Helping partners shift how they think about themselves, others, and the world is often the toughest, and least attended to, aspect of partnerships. Enabling partners to let go often creates new space for innovation and collaboration.
6. Engage the community Partnerships can often operate at a level divorced from on-the-ground realities as experienced by the people we seek to help. Communities have special insights and problem-solving ingenuity. Engaging communities requires thoughtful attention to address issues of power and social distance.
7. Envision scale but start small It is key to clearly articulate a vision for change at scale while at the same time acting in small steps. Synergos has used a prototype-pilot-scale model, which cultivates co-ownership from government, business and civic leaders/organizations throughout the process.
8. Work multiple levels simultaneously To bring about broad-based change, Synergos has found it effective to work at multiple levels, targeting effort in three areas: macro level (top leadership, policy), mezzo level (middle management and oversight) and micro level (field delivery).
9. Shift the institutional arrangements A key component in achieving change often involves shifting “institutional arrangements,” altering the nature of institutions or the relationship between them in order to unlock new action, release resources, generate innovation and/or to improve responsiveness to citizen/client needs, etc.
10. Measure the tangible as well as the intangible It is often key to track both tangible changes on the ground (e.g. income, crop yields, health, etc.) as well as factors that may be less tangible (e.g. institutional arrangements, relationships, changes in attitude.). Each type of change necessary, but alone may not sufficient, to bring about a lasting impact.
The human challenges facing us are massive, growing and urgent. Many of our challenges—child nutrition, public health, agriculture and the welfare of indigenous people among them— arise from a complex interplay of social, economic, political and historic forces that are embedded in systems that are often resistant to change. If we are to achieve lasting results at scale, we somehow need to shift underlying patterns and systems. One approach is to reach across boundaries and to creatively combine the resources of government, the market know-how of business, the social connectivity of civil society, and the wisdom of communities.
About the author:
John Heller
Senior Director
The Synergos Institute
John Heller is the Senior Director, Consulting Services at Synergos. He leads our efforts to partner with global corporations to build sustainable businesses and create social impact. Previously he served as our Senior Director, Partnerships, where he was instrumental in the creation of a growing portfolio of inclusive partnership initiatives; examples include the African Public Health Leadership & Systems Innovation Initiative in Namibia, the Partnership for Child Nutrition in India, and the Aboriginal Multi-Stakeholder Leadership Initiative in Canada. Contact John at [email protected].
