TPI’s impact framework is based on the elements that need to be in place for partnering to be scaled up globally. It is underpinned by the extensive research and thought leadership TPI undertakes to drive forward the state-of-the-art of effective partnering.
1. A partnership-supporting international and national policy
TPI works extensively with the UN and multi-lateral system to promote the role of business and of multi-stakeholder partnerships in delivering sustainable development at outreach events around the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and the UN General Assembly. Typical of multiple interventions, TPI co-curated UN DESA’s Partnership Exchange at the 2018 HLPF and held an event to build understanding on how to make partnerships work with World Vision at HLPF 2019.
TPI played a pivotal role in the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), a multi-stakeholder platform to advance the effectiveness of development efforts by all actors. TPI engaged the private sector into the GPEDC, including through Business Forums at the High Level Meetings and, as the representative of business on its steering committee, strongly influencing the GPEDC’s thinking on the private sector.
TPI’s think pieces and policy documents influence the global discourse to move from the rhetoric of ‘we need partnerships’ to the reality of massively scaling up the use and effectiveness of collaboration for the SDGs. TPI’s seminal Roadmap for the systematic engagement of business as partners in development – developed through a global consultation – was the first report to set out a clear framework for partnering at the country-level. With World Vision, we looked in more detail at one of the critical mechanisms to achieve the SDGs: Delivering on the Promise: In-country multi-stakeholder platforms to catalyse collaboration and partnerships for Agenda 2030, launched at its own side event at the UN General Assembly.
2. An ‘infrastructure’ in place that can systematically catalyse collaboration
TPI created a major new programme, Business Partnership Action (BPA), to develop locally-owned and run country-level platforms or Hubs that systematically bring together government, business, donors, the UN and NGOs to demonstrate the alignment of interests, facilitate innovation and directly support ‘win-win’ multi-actor partnerships.
BPA led the creation of hubs in Zambia (Zambian Business in Development Facility), Colombia and Mozambique. TPI also supported the East Africa Business Humanitarian Forum, the Asia P3 Hub. and the Kenya SDG Partnership Platform.
In addition to its policy paper on platforms, TPI codified its and others’ experiences in building platforms in its publication: “Platforms for Partnership: Emerging Good Practice to systematically engage the private sector in the SDGs“. With the Partnership Accelerator, TPI published a research paper, Partnership platforms for the Sustainable Development Goals, to understand the platforms that governments and the UN have developed to support partnerships, drawing out what it takes for them to build effective platforms.
3. Partnerships are set up to follow best practice to maximise impact delivery
TPI provides direct support to partnerships around the world as well as codifying effective partnering practice through a range of tools and guidance. Support includes 1) brokering new partnerships; 2) developing strategies (including the transformation of IHP+ into the International Health Partnership for UHC 2030 to support multi-stakeholder action in-country towards universal health coverage; and the Sanitation and Water for All partnership to build their new strategy and develop regional roadmaps for implementation); and 3) evaluating partnerships (including the mid-term review of the Scaling Up Nutrition global partnership, and a review of the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network).
TPI’s extensive range of tools and guidebooks include the latest thinking on how to partner effectively. They have been downloaded by tens of thousands of people around the world, and incorporated into countless organisations internal guidance for partnering.
4. Organisations are ‘fit for partnering’ with the right leadership and strategy, systems and process, staff competencies and support, and the right culture in order to partner with excellence;
TPI pioneered the concept of organisational fitness for partnering, initially working with UNICEF both to develop their private sector partnering strategy and understand what institutional change was required to implement it.
Since then, TPI has worked with multiple international organisations to analyse and build their institutional capacity to partner effectively – from developing partnering strategies to creating new legal agreements, from supporting processes to building skills. Organisations with whom we’ve worked include the UN: WFP, FAO, IFAD, PAHO, UNESCO; NGOs: World Vision, Care International, Counterpart International, Water.org; Foundations: J&J, Z Zurich; Donors: Millennium Challenge Corporation; Companies: BG Group, Microsoft, Shell.
5. Individuals have the right partnership competencies (the mindset, understanding of other sectors, human relationship skills and technical partnership knowledge) to be able to build effective partnerships.
TPI has trained over 4,500 people in in-person trainings, and several thousand additionally through online training courses. It offers both tailored training for organisations around the world, as well as open access training.