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Genuine partnerships are not an end in themselves - they are practiced and promoted in order to strengthen the capacity of the partners and ensure that the results of the partnership will be both relevant to target groups and sustainable in the long term. Capacity building is often a supply driven activity in which the so-called 'partners' do not share common goals, values or expectations. Traditionally, partnerships took place along the lines of a principal-agent relationship (donor-recipient), in which the principal holds authority and the latter is simply a receiver of support. In recent years, however, there has been a shift towards a more collaborative, mutually beneficial type of partnership. In this new partnership model both parties join their resources to achieve common benefits. An equitable partnership, characterised by mutual accountability between partners, needs to recognise that each party has different objectives and brings different capacity to the partnership. This highlights the need for mutual respect of each partner organisation's mission and values, as well as agreement on the terms of the relationship. The success of a partnership depends on the extent to which ownership, power and commitment are shared by the organisational partners. Ethics and principles play an important role in the partnership because they enhance the degree to which ownership, power and commitment are respected and shared (Horton et al., 2003). This study offers a brief summary of current thinking on issues
of partnerships and accountability. Provided below are some guidelines
that must be considered for a genuine partnership to take place
and the paper concludes that partnership accountability, a process
which involves addressing a complex set of asymmetries, enables
partner organisations and their respective stakeholders to maximise
capacity and move beyond meeting (contractual) proposed objectives. Click on the links below for further information: |
| Updated: 11 April, 2006 |