Effective Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Effective Partnerships for Sustainable Development

I have never thought of myself as an executive and, as if to make it more complicated, an executive in a business school. The closest I have come to defining myself in such a ‘professional’ manner is calling myself a ‘specialist’ or ‘practitioner.’ Having made a swift transition from engineering as a technician to a social worker was a big shift in my career. Interestingly, I occasionally find my engineering foundation influencing my way of thinking.

I have now made a career of nearly ten years as a Development Practitioner focusing on multi-stakeholder engagement. I am passionate about transforming the role and space of communities in influencing development. So, when the conversation came up about joining the Public Private Partnerships Executive Programme at Strathmore University Business School, it was a dive in an ice-cold pool. But the discussion topic interested me, so I did not have to work too hard to excite my interest.

SDG 17 focuses on partnerships for the goals to provide a framework in which we can encourage effective partnerships, on the other hand, seeks to encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

Public Private Partnerships are an emerging concept, and ongoing conversations exist on their application in developing countries. In contributing to these discussions, Strathmore Business School is trailblazing by providing a platform for academia to have discussions with practitioners to shape perspectives and conversations around the evolution of this concept.

As a practitioner in social development, the 4-day course provided an opportunity to understand the theoretical principles of PPPs, their application, and what defines their success or failure. The course structure and the mixed approach of having theory in academia, case studies, and discussions with practitioners provided a unique platform to co-learn. Participants drawn from various sectors enriched the experiential learning, providing a perfect recipe for discussions guided by real-life experiences and possible opportunities.

Over the four days, I was convinced that the balance between the commercial interests of the private sector and the duty bearers in providing quality public goods and services should not be at the expense of rights holders.

The ongoing discussions on PPPs should create space for more structured democratic participation, especially at the design stage. Furthermore, collaborations between the Private-Public Sectors should create space for the rights holders to influence future development direction.

As one of my co-learners theorized, “in the future, there needs to be an evolution of the concept to accommodate the citizenry in these processes”.

With five years to the lapse of agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals, we need to approach partnerships in the spirit of the definition by developing ways of incorporating civil society to structure engagements within partnerships as a path to sustainability.

By Titus Kuria

 Titus Kuria is a Development Practitioner interested in multistakeholder engagement geared toward community-driven development participation. He is also an alumnus of the Public Private Partnerships Executive Programme.