A mantra in development cooperation today
Partnership within development cooperation can be both successful and risky, DFSDP explores.
This article is based on the April session of the Discussion Forum for Sport for Development and Peace, 25th April 2006. The topic was the challenges and possibilities donors and recipients face.
- share the same values and objectives
- mutually benefit from the partnership
- respect and trust each other
- In addition, it is important that the roles are clear and accepted and that there is a collaborative decision-making with a commitment to achieving consesus, Evju argues.
The benefits of partnership
There are several positive sides when different organisations agree to be partners and work as a team to acheive the same objectives:
- sharing resources, funds and manpower will enhance efficiency.
- bringing expertise from different organisations together will benefit the recipients.
- cooperation will provide bigger impact and reduce duplication.
When it comes to partnership between local organisations in the south, it can give them a stronger voice in negotiations with donors and more impact in the world of development cooperation.
The risks of partnership
However, there are also several risk-factors involved when different organisations are uniting:
- Inability to compromise from one of the partners
- Loss of identity
- Donor-partnering makes it more difficult for local organisations to apply for funds because less funds are made available.