1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
CROSS SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS
Developed by Origo Social Enterprise Partners
• What are cross sector/ multi-stakeholder partnerships?
Stakeholder refers to persons and/or groups of people that affect, or are affected by, an
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organization’s decisions, policies, and operations . Consequently, the word stake, in this context,
means an interest- or claim on a business enterprise. Those with a stake in the firm’s actions
include such diverse groups as customers, employees, stockholders, the media, governments,
multilateral organizations, professional and trade associations, social and environmental activists,
and non-governmental organizations.
Business organizations are embedded in networks involving many stakeholders. Each of these
has a relationship with the firm, based on ongoing interactions. Each of them shares, to some
degree, in both the risks and rewards of the firms’ activities. And each has some kind of claim on
the firm’s resources and attention, based on law, moral right or both. The number of stakeholders
and the variety of their interests can be diverse, making a company’s decisions very complex.
Not surprisingly, business and stakeholder interests often coincide. When their interests are
similar, stakeholder and companies may form coalitions, that is, alliances to pursue a common
interest. These strategic alliances or coalitions among companies and their stakeholders are
often referred as partnerships.
Some useful working definitions of cross sector / multi-stakeholder partnerships are:
• A partnership is an alliance between organizations from two or more sectors that commit
themselves to working together to develop and implement a specific project. Such a
partnership implies that participants are willing to share risks, costs and benefits, review
the relationship regularly and revise the partnership as necessary.
• Alliances between parties drawn for example, from businesses, government and civil
society, that strategically aggregate the resources and competencies of each to resolve a
specific problem/challenge.
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The term stakeholder was introduced in 1963 but was not used in the management literature until the
publication of R. Freeman’s, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (Marshfield, MA: Pitman,
1984)
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2. • Partnerships across different sectors of society imply transcending some of the divides
between business/NGOs/governments. Interest from many governments and NGOs in
working with business is quite high so the partnership model has been replacing the
adversarial model.
• Partnering across sectors means that different sectors of society are open to
communicate and collaborate with each other, fostering and creating more inclusive-
participatory models for solving problems.
• A management tool to deliver business, social and environmental development outcomes
by optimizing the effectiveness of different partners’ resources core competencies.
Considering the above definitions, multi-stakeholder partnerships are partnerships that could
engage two or more parties from various sectors of society such as: businesses, governments,
multilateral institutions, Non governmental organizations, civil society.
It is important to bear in mind that partnerships are about sharing not shifting risks and they
should aim to find innovative ways to pool resources and talents based on each parties’ core
strengths. They ought to be designed and maintained over time in such a way as to deliver
mutual benefits for all collaborating parties.
Another point to consider is that multi-stakeholder partnerships are not static. Groups that are
highly involved with a company today may be less involved tomorrow. Controversial issues that
that are highly important at one time may be replaced by others; stakeholders that who are most
dependant on an organization at one time may be less so at another. In addition, interests and
priorities in companies can change over time so the nature and objectives of partnerships change
as well. Some examples of partnerships nowadays are presented in Table 1.
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3. Table 1
Examples of Partnerships Initiatives
PARTNERSHIP AIMS PARTNERS
The Global Compact Promoting nine core principles All UN Agencies, several
(e.g. human rights, labor, hundred companies, major
environment) business and labor groups,
NGOs
The Global Alliance for Increasing children’s access to WHO, UNICEF, vaccine
Vaccines and Immunization vaccines in poor countries producers
Business Partners for Focusing on natural Over 130 companies,
Development resources, water and agencies and NGOs
sanitation, youth development
Information and Promoting universal access to UNEP, ITU, leading telecom
Communications information and companies
Technology Task Force communications technologies
for development
Global e-Sustainability Promoting technologies that Nine major IT companies, UN
Initiative save energy, reduce waste, agencies
bridge the ‘digital divide’
Investment Advisory Increasing foreign investment UNCTAD, major multinational
Council for Least Developed in least developed countries companies
Countries
Prince of Wales Programs/projects focusing on About 80 major companies,
International Business corporate social responsibility government in
Leaders Forum developing/transitional
economies
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4. • Actors: Their roles and attributes
As explained above, cross sector/ multi-stakeholder partnerships can involve two or more sectors
of society. Nevertheless for the purposes, of this section let’s consider that society has broadly
three sectors: the public sector, business and civil society. Each has different constituents and
some examples are presented in Table 2.
Table 2
The Sectors of Society and their Constituents
Sector Examples of Constituents
• International multilateral agencies
Public • National and local government
• Public Sector Services
• Quasi-autonomous non-governmental
organizations
• Educational/academic institutions *
• Multinational companies
Business • Business associations
• Enterprise development agencies
• Social enterprises
• Financial institutions
• National Companies
• Joint stock companies
• Campaign groups
Civil Society • Community-based organizations
• Donor agencies
• Labor organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Private voluntary organizations
• Religious institutions
* May have a place in all three sectors
It is always hard to make generalizations on the roles and characteristics of these sectors of
society, but it is useful to consider that each of these sectors has a relevant and different role to
play in cross sector partnerships. These roles are not stable and more than anything they involve
complex and changing relationships. Each actor brings to the table various goals, interests and
ways of perceiving the world, its problems and feasible solutions.
It is also becoming clear that when these sectors ally to form partnerships each of them brings to
the collaboration effort different but complementary skills, experiences and attributes. Table 3
indicates some of the key roles and attributes of each of these sectors of society.
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5. Table 3
Key Roles and Attributes of the three Major Sectors in Society
Sector Key Roles Attributes Potential resources to
be offered
• Promotes economic • Access to
development • Rights driven- information
• Encourages social provides • Skilled staff with a
Public improvements information, public interest
• Develop and implement stability and focus
programs and strategies legitimacy • Surplus
to raise revenues accommodation
through taxes and transport
• Creates the framework capacity
for economic, political • Authority to
and social rights mobilize
• Provides regulations and resources from
standard-setting other public
mechanisms, as well as sources
adherence to
international obligations
• Creates goods and • Management and
services • Profits driven- technical skills
• Creates value by is inventive, • Equipment
Business increasing revenues, high capacity • Dissemination and
lowering operational to generate distribution
costs, and improving human and capacity
productivity monetary • Contacts and
• Maximizes profits for resources, spheres of
investors can operate influence
• Provides employment fast and • Human and
opportunities, innovation efficiently monetary
and economic growth resources
• Helps to build and
strengthen new markets,
tapping into new
revenue streams
• Creates opportunities for • On the ground
individual and • Values driven- know-how
community growth is responsive, • Development of
• Provides support and inclusive and experience and
services for those in imaginative knowledge
Civil
need or excluded from • People skills
Society
mainstream society • Imaginative, low-
• Protects social values cost responses to
• Ensures that the local challenges
environment is protected
• Ensures that the local
area is developed
• Monitors business
actions and policies to
ensure that they
conform with legal and
ethical standards, and
that they protect
people’s safety
• Contributes to the
achievement of
prosperity for society
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6. Document based on the following bibliography:
Hutchinson, J. (1994) “The Practice of Partnerships in Local Economy Development”, Local
Government Studies 20: 335-44.
Lawrence A.T., Webber J. and Post J.E. (2004), “Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics,
Public Policy”, McGraw-Hill Irwin , N.Y.
Macintosh, M. (1992) “Partnership: Issues of Policy and Negotiation”, Local Economy 7.3: 210-
224
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC)
(2003), “Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships Issue Paper”, Global Knowledge Secretariat (GKP),
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tennyson, R. and Wilde, L. (2000) “The Guiding Hand. Brokering Partnerships for Sustainable
Development”, The Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum and The United Nations Staff
College, U.S.A.
Stewart, M. and Snape (1996) Keeping out the Momentum: Partnership Working in Bristol and
the West (unpublished study for the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative; Bristol, UK:
School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol)
Weir A. (2000), “Meeting Social and Environmental Objectives through Partnership. The
Experience of Unilever” in Bendell (ed.), Terms for Endearment. Business, NGOs and
Sustainable Development, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffied U.K.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (2003), Doing Business with the
Poor a Field-Guide, WBCSD, Geneva, Switzerland.
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