The Partnering Initiative and UN DESA (through the 2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator), Partnerships2030 (a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and the Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies are jointly running a campaign, over the course of 2023, aimed at raising awareness and supporting governments and stakeholders to develop the partnership enabling factors that will develop, improve and scale up multi-stakeholder partnerships in support of the SDGs and beyond.
Unite to Ignite: A campaign to invest in the enabling environment to accelerate partnerships for the SDGs and beyond
Partnership enabling factors
If we are to raise the game and become systematic in delivering far more, and far more effective partnerships to deliver towards the SDGs and beyond, we need to put in place a targeted effort to build the enabling accelerators for widespread, systematic partnering. These include:
- inclusive mechanisms (such as national SDG bodies) for stakeholder engagement and facilitation of partnerships
- institutional and individual professional partnering capabilities
- partnerships utilizing best partnering practice in their development
- effective monitoring and evaluation approaches in place
- supportive policy and financing to drive incentives and create a pro-partnering enabling environment.
Activities
The campaign hosted a series of virtual and in-person events catering to different audiences leading up to the SDG Summit in September 2023. The events aimed to raise awareness of the partnership enabling factors with key decision-makers from governments, donors, business, the UN, and civil society; inspire action to build those enabling factors; and gather insights and experiences from various sectors and stakeholders.
The events, including a global survey, desk research and dedicated interviews, informed the development of a study on the state of partnership enabling factors, including challenges to their incorporation, and what’s required to build them up at scale.
The campaign culminated in a Partnership Symposium held in the margins of the SDG Summit in September 2023 where the report was launched.