A look at the evolving nature of "partnerships" in development

A look at the evolving nature of "partnerships" in development

New York—19 November 2013

For many years, the dominant model for development has been the donor-recipient concept, where the “haves” give to the “have-nots.” And, certainly, this was true when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were forged some 13 years ago.

But the world has changed much since then, and while the donor-recipient model still generally prevails, there has been an increasing recognition that development “partnerships” come in many forms, from south-south exchanges to direct assistance from the private sector.

This transition was analyzed at an informal dialogue meeting held at the offices of the Baha’i International Community on the topic of “MDG 8: Learning from experience: Where do we go from here?”

The fifteenth in a series of discussions between diplomats, UN officials, and representatives of civil society on the post-2015 development agenda, the meeting featured opening remarks by Ambassador Jean-Francis Régis Zinsou, permanent representative of the Republic of Benin to the United Nations, and Navid Hanif, director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination at the UN.

Amb. Zinsou started by saying that MDG 8, which calls simply for the world to “develop a global partnership for development,” is in fact critically important to the success of all the goals, because “it provides the means for the implementation” of the other seven MDGs.

At the same time, he said, MDG 8 is the most difficult to reach because it set no measurable targets or specific commitments.

Any attempt to reframe a similar goal in the post-2015 development agenda, he added, would also need to take into account the fact that today “we are not talking about ‘a partnership’ – we are talking about ‘partnerships’” that will encompass the whole range of new actors and trends in development.

And the focus, said Amb. Zinzou, should ultimately be to provide resources for poverty eradication, which he considers to the main overall goal of any new development agenda.

Mr. Hanif agreed that the targets set for MDG 8 – which included improvements to the international trading system, dealing with debt, improving information and communications technologies – were imprecise and vague.

“Many labeled it as the weakest link,” he said, adding that its “weak accountability” meant that its achievement “was based largely on goodwill.”

In looking ahead to a new version of MDG 8, he said, the international community should consider a “partnership” goal with a “robust accountability and measuring mechanism.”

“It should also be inclusive, people-centered, and transparent,” said Mr. Hanif, “and it should promote mutual learning and have feedback loops from the local to the global level.”

Mr. Hanif noted that the incorporation of the agenda for sustainable development into new overall development goals will also require “comprehensive partnerships” that will of necessity require greater involvement from civil society and the private sector.

Such an agenda, he said, would address all the global challenges such as “climate change, inequality, migration, unemployment, and de-carbonization of our economies.” It would also encompass a re-thinking of the concept of partnerships to include “the full range of development partners” and implement “effective monitoring and accountability” while at the same time maintaining ODA as a vital source of financing and support from governments at the highest levels.

The meeting was held on 19 November 2013, and it was co-sponsored by the Baha’i International Community and International Movement ATD Fourth World.

To read notes of the meeting, click here.