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Endearing Myths, Enduring Truths: Enabling Partnerships |
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International Dimensions Provide Key Experience and LeveragePartnerships involving global corporations, international agencies, and governments operate at several levels at the same time. In some instances, these tiers are formally structured. The ‘Partnership for Careers in Agriculture for Thai Youth’, for example, operates at international, national, and local levels. The international players include the IYF and Shell International, the latter advocating the activities to its Thai business unit, and providing financial resources. The national level, essentially where convening and strategy development takes place, involves Shell Thai and several national companies, various government departments, and the IYF’s Thai partner, NCYD, where the practical activity takes place in working with youth. These different levels can be mutually reinforcing and so directly enhance the partnership’s performance. However, there can also be tensions between the different levels as diverse interests become apparent, even within the same organisation. Whether formally structured or informally operating at different levels, this highlights the need to manage partnerships vertically as well as horizontally, particularly when large and complex international organizations are involved. Receptivity and capacity of key organizations is a critical ingredient
in realizing partnership potential. Corporations like BP, Rio Tinto, Vivendi,
and Ondeo have highlighted the need for a ‘participatory and responsible’
approach to handling social and environmental issues. They see this as
a key competitive advantage in securing contracts, managing reputation
and attracting, retaining and motivating key staff. The need for this
approach is further accentuated in a climate where accessing finance increasingly
comes with complex conditions attached, particularly where public financial
institutions like the International Finance Corporation have a role to
play. Corporate headquarters therefore encourage partnerships involving
their business units, subsidiaries, and in joint ventures, both as a means
of addressing situation specific issues and as a means of enhancing the
corporation’s overall attractiveness to sources of finance and contracts.
Businesses positioning themselves in this way are building multicountry
experience in working across sectors, and can bring much needed partnership
capacity drawn from experience gained elsewhere.
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