Public-Private Partnerships for Humanitarian Action

Innovation and Technology for
Development Centre
Public-Private
Partnerships for
Humanitarian
Action
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In collaboration with
July 2013
1. Introduction: background and motivation
Governments, international agencies and humanitarian NGOs have traditionally been
the main actors alleviating the suffering of vulnerable communities in the aftermath of
large-scale natural disasters or man-made humanitarian emergencies. The private
sector occasionally supported those humanitarian operations through financial or inkind donations, usually once the humanitarian emergency had occurred (in the disaster
relief phase).
However, in the last decade the role played by the private sector in the international
humanitarian system has become more active. As part of their Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) programs, companies are increasingly willing to establish crosssector partnerships with humanitarian organisations for making their specific
capabilities available to the international community. On the one hand, collaboration
with humanitarian agencies represents an opportunity for businesses to create shared
value with non-traditional stakeholders. On the other hand, humanitarian organizations,
which at one time regarded cash or in-kind donations as the only useful corporate
contribution, are now recognizing that the private sector has more to offer in terms of
material and human resources, know-how and technological innovation potential. By
partnering with socially responsible firms, humanitarian actors can access to new skills
and resources that build-up on their capacity and preparedness to respond to
disasters.
In this context, the Office for Humanitarian Action of the Spanish Agency for
International Development (AECID) has recently launched an initiative aiming at
boosting the engagement of socially responsible companies in humanitarian
operations. The first step of this initiative consists in identifying and analysing best
practices and lessons learnt in other key success stories of private-sector engagement
in humanitarian contexts. This study is the starting point for the design of a set of
guidelines, adapted to the Spanish context, for building strong and sustainable
partnerships between the private sector and humanitarian actors.
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2. Objectives and methodology
The aim of the document is to develop an exploratory study of the potential of crosssector partnerships between private-sector firms and humanitarian actors.
This aim is broken down into the following objectives:

To review the literature on public-private partnerships in humanitarian action,
with a special focus on the features making this type of collaboration different
from other ways of engaging the private sector in humanitarian contexts.

To identify and analyse a set of key case studies showcasing best practices and
lessons learnt in forging long-term cross-sector collaborations in humanitarian
contexts.

To develop a set of guidelines for the promoting of the engagement of privatesector firms in the humanitarian action of the Spanish cooperation through new
paradigms that go beyond the classical donor-recipient models.
The methodology used to achieve those objectives is based on multiple case study
research. After a desk research phase, we carried out a set of semi-structured
interviews with key persons involved in a shortlist of experiences that were selected
due to their relevance and representativeness. Table 1 provides further information on
the interviews held.
Table 1 – Key cross-sector partnership experiences analysed in this study
Case study
Partners
Sector
#1
WFP-TNT
Logistics
#2
WFP-Royal DSM
Nutritional products
#3
OCHA – DHL
Logistics
#4
Emergency.lu
Telecommunications
Spokepersons
Marco Selva
Adriana Zermeño
Marco Selva
Adriana Zermeño
Isabelle de Muyser-Boucher
Kathrin Mohr
Marianne Donven
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3. Key results and conclusions
3.1. A maturity model for private sector engagement in
humanitarian operations
Moving from philanthropic, occasional collaborations to long-term sustainable
partnerships between firms and humanitarian actors can be described as a continuous
activity that requires time for building up trust and mutual understanding between the
partners. The features that make philanthropic collaborations different from crosssector partnerships are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2 – The public-private collaboration continuum (adapted from Austin, 2000)
MATURITY MODEL
Philanthropic collaboration
Partnership
Level of engagement
Low
High
Importance to the mission
Peripheral
Central
Magnitude of the resources
Small
Big
Type of resources
Money
Core competencies
Scope of activities
Narrow
Broad
Interaction level
Infrequent
Intensive
Trust
Modest
Deep
Managerial complexity
Simple
Complex
Strategic value
Minor
Major
Value creation
Generic resource transfer
Core competencies
exchange.
Co-creation of unique value
3.2. Best practices
The best practices and lessons learnt from the experiences analysed in this study are
classified according to the dynamics of the collaboration: “initial steps”, “during the
partnership”, and “future and value renewal”.
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Initial steps: creating the partnership
At the beginning, it is necessary to create a climate of trust and mutual understanding
among the partners. This requires:

Leadership and clear vision on how the partnership creates value for both
organisations. In all the experiences analysed, the collaboration was settled
through a clear vision from top management (CEO level, ministry level) either in
the firm, in the humanitarian actor or in both, on the strategic value of
establishing the partnership. This clear vision appears in the study as a
necessary condition for forging new long-term cross-sector collaborations.

Identify and undertake, in the beginning, a quick-win project. In order to create
internal buy-in, especially from the humanitarian actor side, it is recommended
to identify some initial projects that can deliver fast and measurable results.
Private
companies
and
humanitarian
agencies
have
very
different
organizational cultures and decision-making processes, so a certain level of
culture clash is to be expected in the initial phases of the collaboration. Quickwin projects help to create trust and mutual understanding among the partners
and to overcome internal skepticism.

Needs-driven partnerships and their innovation potential. All the partnerships
analysed in the study responded to a specific need of the humanitarian
community (e.g. need of better logistics, need of better micronutrients, need of
enhanced communications in the aftermath of a disaster). The collaboration
with a private sector partner enabled the agencies to better address those
needs, through development in most cases of new products and services
directed towards the humanitarian community (innovation potential of the
partnership).

Written agreements (e.g. memorandum of understanding) from the beginning.
In the initial steps of the collaboration it is recommended to work on defining the
roles and responsibilities of each partner, the initial objectives and time frame to
achieve them and procedure for renewing the agreement.
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During the partnership: evaluation, communication and strong governance
mechanisms

Strong governance mechanisms have been identified as a key issue for
ensuring successful partnerships. Those governance mechanisms include the
formal committees at different levels (strategic, technical) that support the
management of the alliance. Those committees in most of the cases analysed
have frequent meeting schedules and their composition is also very clearly
appointed.

Key performance indicators and continuous improvement approach. Evaluation
of the benefits of the alliance is another critical success factor for sustainable
partnerships. The benefits for both partners should be assessed. Even if
different levels of complexity and specificity have been detected in the type of
indicators selected for monitoring, all the partnerships in the study incorporate
somehow an evaluation procedure and a continuous improvement approach.

Joint communication. In all the cases, partners collaborate in disseminating
together the results and achievements of their collaboration in different
humanitarian and corporate forums.
The future: renewing value within the partnership
In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the collaboration, it is necessary to
pay attention to the evolving needs of each of the partners and the request of their
respective stakeholders when redefining the new objectives and projects to be
developed within the partnership. Changes in the management team in the
humanitarian actor or economical struggles in the corporate side should not
compromise the long-term commitment of both partners. Needs-driven collaborations
that have developed strong governance mechanisms delivering (and renewing if
necessary) real strategic value for both partners, are built on stronger foundations and
show higher resilience when facing external turbulences.
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