Executive Summary

On April 28, 2010 The Resource Foundation (TRF) and The United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) co-hosted a forum on Evaluating the Dynamics of Partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations headquarters. This event brought together 65 corporate and foundation leaders, along with evaluation specialists to discuss the potential, challenges, intricacies and importance of partnerships, particularly as they relate to promoting development activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. The exchange of ideas was particularly topical given the dramatic increase in the need and demand for strategic, cross-sector partnerships that respond to changing ideas about how best to produce solutions to social and environmental problems while advancing economic opportunities for the world’s poor. It was further relevant and vital in the context of the complex and inter-related development challenges addressed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Following an introductory welcome and comments by Will Kennedy of the UNOP, Jason Saul, CEO of Mission Measurement LLC, delivered a thought provoking keynote speech about the shifting role of corporations in society over the past five years. Instead of a social contract that implied that companies “need to not do bad things” in return for right to earn profits, Saul argued that “we have burst through membrane of social contract to social capital market.” He noted that there has been a fundamental shift in which social change is now valued by the market. As the market values social change it does not stand out as an externality, but instead there are shifting strategies within companies towards business value. This is not a zero sum game in the sense that Saul has not found that companies are reducing philanthropy, but instead there is the realization that social change is part of business and that the private sector has to innovate to be able to enter new markets. Saul noted that social and environmental impact is no longer something “extra” and that business reputation is no longer the primary driver for corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts. Now that nearly every company has a strategy for philanthropy and CSR, “being good” is not enough.

This inspiring presentation was followed by two panel sessions, each of which provided a wide range of ideas and sparked lively question and answer periods. The first of these was Moderated by Bo Miller, President of the Dow Chemical Foundation, and focused on the Importance of Partnerships. Bo pointed out that “partnerships are vital and critical because no one actor can have the skills, capabilities or resources to address and solve the complex global problems that we face”. This was followed by Nancy Truitt, President of Truitt Enterprises, who contributed the foundation perspective, pointing out how their intermediary and “behind the scenes” role is different in that funding is not necessarily related to the presence of a corporation but, rather, to a need identified by an NGO. Wesley Wilson, Global Public Affairs Manager of Mars, Inc., then described how the privately owned, family held company’s approach to social responsibility has evolved and been incorporated into its core business. Rick Martinez, Director of Latin American Contributions for Johnson & Johnson, continued by explaining that their approach to corporate social responsibility is derived from the responsibilities and values espoused in the company’s Credo and stressing the importance of developing and articulating clear strategies. Loren Finnell, President & CEO of The Resource Foundation, concluded the first session by sharing the organization’s experience with facilitating partnerships between more than 170 local NGOs in 27 countries and corporate, foundation and individual donors, and pointed out that corporations and foundations have a unique capacity to effect change through funding, knowledge and influence.

The second session was moderated by Jason Saul and dealt with the Role of Corporations/Foundations and Measuring the Impact. Saul framed the provocative dialogue that ensued by presenting the spectrum of approaches to assessment. Michael Bzdak, Director of Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Contributions, discussed the heightened interest in and attention towards evaluation and impact assessment and shared J&J’s logic model framework as applied to its Bridges to Employment program. Lorie Jackson, Director of ExxonMobil’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative, shared her company’s strategic analysis for corporate giving and assessment, and how these are leveraged to determine how to best direct resources towards social investments. Susan Raymond, Executive Vice President of Changing our World, expressed two concerns regarding the overwhelming focus on impact measurement – risk and change – and asked attendees to employ a “10% rule” to funding decisions; meaning that 10% of your resources should go towards issues and solutions not readily understood and hence not easily measured. Kristi Ragan, Technical Manager for DAI, noted that we had gotten past the first generation of partnerships during which social responsibility consisted primarily of deal-making and publicity, and were now in a more productive phase focusing not only on increasing the number and awareness of partnerships but also on measuring the impact and value of these.

Despite their diverse experiences and vantage points, panelists shared the consensus that partnerships are critical to solving the world’s most pressing problems, achieving social change, and promoting development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and that this collaboration can contribute to greater impact, reach and scale. Speakers emphasized that it is essential to understand the different capacities that each partner brings and be aware of the institutional differences in aspects such as decision making, management, implementation and communication that can affect working relationships.

This half-day forum reluctantly concluded following a unanimous and very vocal request by panelists and attendees for a follow-up forum in the Fall. The Fall forum would build upon this discussion and expand participation to community development foundations and the public sector.

To read the full report covering the forum in greater detail, please click here >>