The Partnering Initiative uses the term partnership to specifically to describe a formal working relationship between organisations from different sectors of society (business, government and civil society):
“…Partnership is a cross-sector collaboration in which organisations work together in a transparent, equitable and mutually beneficial way. The partners agree to commit resources, share the risks as well as the benefits to work together towards a shared goal.”
The benefits to partners derived from successful partnerships can include:
- Access (to knowledge): mitigating risk and reducing potential conflict by greater understanding of the operational context;
- Innovation: developing new ways of addressing old issues and complex challenges as well as maximising new opportunities;
- Effectiveness: creating better suited products and services;
- Efficiency: achieving reduced (or shared) costs and better delivery systems;
- Access (to people): drawing on a wider ‘pool’ of specialists, technical expertise, experience, skills and networks;
- Human resource development: enhanced professional skills and competencies in the work force;
- Reputation and credibility: improved organisational reputation and credibility;
- Long-term stability: greater ‘reach’ means more development impact a direct objective of government and civil society, but it is also critical to the sustainability of business.
Read more on: http://thepartneringinitiative.org
© The Partnering Initiative, a global programme of International Business Leaders Forum in association with The University of Cambridge Programme for Industry.
