Descripción del Diagnóstico

Prior to analysing the different models of partnership and collective action, it is useful to look at the important role that intermediary organisations are playing in helping to broker, facilitate and in many cases manage and sustain such partnerships. As outlined in Part II, establishing and sustaining alliances between non-traditional allies is not easy. There are both operational or management challenges and strategic or policy-related dilemmas associated with building such alliances, especially those that achieve large-scale impact and influence and reach many different stakeholders.

Operational challenges

There are often high transaction costs and operational or reputation risks associated with bringing together different types of organisations with diverse missions, perspectives and modus operandi, and sometimes mistrust and hostility towards each other. A 2001 study undertaken by the United Nations on partnerships with business concluded, “By their very nature, partnerships between the United Nations and the private sector bring together actors that have different interests, incentives and timeframes, offer different types and levels of resources and competencies, and look for different outcomes and benefits. These differences are not necessarily obstacles to reaching agreement on common goals and objectives. [In fact] it is the differences that actually add value to the process of joint problem solving. These differences do, however, have to acknowledged and managed.”7

There are also operational challenges in terms of undertaking due diligence and analysis of potential partners, communicating progress and problems both internally and externally, adapting to changing circumstances, managing expectations, developing exit strategies and building the necessary skills and capacities of employees to enable them to be effective in working with non- traditional partners.

Strategic challenges

In the case of large-scale and influential partnerships there may also be questions associated with the governance and accountability of the alliance. The United Nations study on partnerships stated, “the question of accountability is one of the most complex challenges associated with building cooperative cross-sector relationships, especially those that are not legally binding. Accountability can be viewed in terms of delivering on commitments made by different participants in a particular partnership and in terms of representation of and responsiveness to different stakeholder groups affected by a particular partnership.”8 _Rigorous

governance mechanisms and processes for communication, reporting and stakeholder engagement need to be established to address these challenges. In the case of alliances between private companies and public sector bodies, be they government agencies or bilateral and multilateral development bodies, there is also

the challenge of ensuring that these individual companies do not receive unfair advantage relative to their competitors or do not gain undue influence on political and policy processes relative to other private sector actors. Conversely, there is the challenge of ensuring that business or NGO-led alliances don’t substitute for, replicate, or undermine the roles and responsibilities of government, for example by hiring away the best public sector officials at higher salaries or by enabling governments to abrogate key duties to their citizens.

These operational and strategic challenges are not insurmountable and are likely to be worth tackling when weighed against the potential benefits of effective partnerships – but they do need to be addressed in a realistic and transparent manner. Intermediary organisations or individuals who play a brokerage or facilitation role can be essential in ensuring that these challenges don’t undermine the potential benefits of non-traditional alliances between business, government, and civil society organisations or between companies that are normally competitors. In the specific case of business linkages to support small enterprise development, the Ascend Group’s research for UNDP and CIDA describes, “brokerage roles that range from a light-touch approach through to a heavy-touch approach. The broker can simply be a central information resource (e.g. product database), or it could create channels through which these enterprises could communicate (e.g. connecting networks, holding conventions), or it could convene parties to examine common issues and build partnerships, or it could link enterprises directly in line with specific market or contract opportunities. The broker’s role can also include identifying opportunities, and providing or ensuring access to the provision of services associated with small enterprise development.”9

Research undertaken by Deloitte for UNIDO, UNDP and the UN Global Compact, also highlights the important role of what the researchers describe as ‘facilitative partners’.10 _{Focused on identifying innovative partnership approaches by}

large corporations to support small and medium enterprises, the research identifies many cases where third-party organisations have played an essential role in facilitating or brokering either direct commercial links – both supply chain and distribution linkages – and more general corporate support for small enterprises. Such facilitative partners include special units of development agencies or government departments, business associations, specialist NGOs and private sector facilitators.

The International Business Leaders Forum and the UK-based Overseas Development Institute offer a professional Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme targeted at building the skills of individuals. They define a partnership broker as, “a ‘go-between’. He or she acts as an intermediary within or between different parties in an active rather than passive manner, guiding a partnering process, interpreting one party to another or negotiating some kind of agreement. A partnership broker inspires others to work together, building collaboration

Third-party organisations have played an essential role in facilitating or brokering either direct commercial links – both supply chain and distribution linkages – and more general corporate support for small enterprises. Such facilitative partners include special units of development agencies or government departments, business associations, specialist NGOs and private sector facilitators.

between partners, encouraging the adoption of behaviours that enable the partnership to function effectively, and developing or protecting the principles and vision of the partnership.”11

The programme identifies two main categories of broker:

• Internal brokers – Individuals from or working for an organisation who take on the role of preparing their organisation for working in multi-sector partnerships, negotiating their organisation’s involvement in a partnership, and/or playing a key role in maintaining a partnership arrangement, tracking performance or securing mutual benefits.

• External brokers – Independent third parties contracted to plan or facilitate consultation or negotiations to develop a partnering arrangement, and/or to research, maintain, monitor, review or evaluate partnerships over time. Many of the new partnership mechanisms and alliances described in the following pages have benefited from the work of such individual brokers, facilitative partners or intermediary organisations. In different ways they have played a crucial role in researching, designing, brokering, evaluating and scaling-up business linkage initiatives and general support programmes for small enterprises. Some of the intermediary organisations or partnership building programmes that have played a key role in the area of building business linkages and promoting competitive and responsible entrepreneurship are listed in Box 20.

Type of intermediary organisation

BOX 20: EXAMPLES OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMMES, FACILITATORS AND INTERMEDIARY ORGANISATIONS

• UNIDO’s Business Partnerships programme • UNCTAD’s Business Linkages programme • International Finance Corporations (IFC’s) Business

Linkages programme and Grassroots Business Initiative

• World Bank Institute’s programme on Implementing Environmental and Social Accountability in SMEs • UNDP’s Growing Sustainable Business initiative • UNIDO and UNEP’s Cleaner Production Centres Examples of partnership facilitators focused on supporting socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurship, building responsible business linkages between large corporations and small enterprises, and supporting pro-poor business models

Multilateral development agencies

• USAID’s Global Development Alliance • GTZ’s Public-Private Partnership programme • DFID’s Business Linkages Challenge Fund Bilateral

development agencies

• TechnoServe • Endeavor

• Youth Business International

• Kickstart • Ashoka • Enablis Non-governmental

organisations

• International Business Leaders Forum

• World Business Council for Sustainable Development • Global, regional and national chambers of commerce

• Small enterprise representative associations • National corporate responsibility networks Business association

or networks

• Accenture Development Partners • Deloitte’s Business Equity Initiative • Dalberg Global Development Advisers

• A growing number of other specialist, for-profit enterprises

• Copenhagen Business School

• Catholic University of Valparaíso, Chile – Corporate Social Leadership Centre

• University of Cape Town, South Africa – Entrepreneurship Institute Private sector consultancies and facilitators Academic Institutions