An Inclusive Approach to Partnerships for the SDGs: Using a Relationship Lens to Explore the Potential for Transformational Collaboration

Abstract

Partnerships are positioned as critical for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations transformational agenda for 2030. The widespread use of terms such as ‘collaboration’, ‘partnership’ and ‘cooperation’ has, however, led to debates about the expectations of such relationships and calls have been made for more rigorous clarification and classification of these related concepts. Drawing upon a comprehensive literature review, we argue in this conceptual paper that the broad spectrum of personal and organizational interactions within, between and across different sectors, domains, disciplines and contexts makes the quest to delineate and categorize these diverse forms of collaboration a seemingly impossible task. We further suggest that such efforts advance a narrow view of partnership as little more than a means to an end, thus limiting understanding of the integrative and intrinsic value of working in this way. We believe that a more inclusive understanding of partnerships may be achieved by exploring them through a relationship lens that acknowledges the importance of inter-personal connections in partnerships more deeply. In doing so, the capacity of partnerships to generate the systemic change that is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development may be enhanced and ultimately realized.

Specific considerations for research on the effectiveness of multisectoral collaboration: methods and lessons from 12 country case studies

“…Therefore, research based on a theoretical framework is important as generalizability would largely be based on theoretical generalizability, that is recurring concepts and themes across contexts, rather than statistical sampling generalizability [ 18 ]. Regarding theoretical frameworks, there is a body of literature on partnership approaches towards achieving the SDGs, including on joined-up strategies across government, whole of government approaches, Health in All Policies (HiAP), and interorganizational collaborations [ 19 – 23 ]. This literature covers a range of issues from describing key determinants of success and MSC outcomes to governance, implementation and coordination considerations.…”

Considering the Human-Dimension to Make Sustainable Transitions Actionable

“…Until this point, the developed research around socio-technical sustainable transitions has provided essential insights into understanding the characteristics of transitions, behavior, context, and possible perspectives and approaches [3,19,25], both on 'macro' level and 'micro' level dimensions. However, in recent years, the scholarly debate has focused on requiring actionable approaches since the existing ones are observed as a dichotomy where changes are considered reciprocal [41] and not dynamic as they actually are. Scholars have highlighted the relevance of considering a more integrative approach [3,41], which allows the treatment of social and environmental complex problems, with the required urgency [48].…”

“…However, in recent years, the scholarly debate has focused on requiring actionable approaches since the existing ones are observed as a dichotomy where changes are considered reciprocal [41] and not dynamic as they actually are. Scholars have highlighted the relevance of considering a more integrative approach [3,41], which allows the treatment of social and environmental complex problems, with the required urgency [48]. In those lines, one of the aspects recently recognized by the research community is the relevance to link the macro-perspectives with the micro-perspectives and the emerging linkages between the different recognized dimensions [3,24,30,32,33] with a more tangible approach that gives a clearer meaning.…”

“…It is then required to explore more actor-related patterns focused approaches [35] and the individual perspectives that converge to acknowledge the differences occurring within those groups, to make those linkages effective. Scholars had pointed out that considering the transition's human-scale is critical to make them more actionable and, therefore, operational [3,17,[36][37][38][39][40][41].…”

Are partnerships in nonprofit organizations being governed for sustainability? A partnering life cycle assessment

“…In 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) formally provided a framework for "peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future", as formulated in the Global Sustainable Development Agenda [ 1 , 2 ]. As part of this agenda, all United Nations member states, after a collaborative process involving multiple stakeholders, agreed upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [ 3 , 4 ]. The 17 SDGs are an urgent call to action by all countries to promote sustainable development in social, economic, and environmental aspects [ 5 , 6 ].…”