This article was published in May 2017 on Perspectives of the The Himalayan Times
The greatest
misconception about partnership is that we often think of them exclusively in a
financial perspective, considering them, and this happen especially in the not
for profit sector, as synonymous of grant.
Instead “doing partnerships”
should be a multidimensional endeavor based primarily on trust among two
parties who willingly decide come together for a joint goal.
In the most successful
partnerships, organizations share a long term vision, have the same values and
attitudes and a common working approach.
Obviously partnerships
can also involve a monetary dimension but this is just one element of a bigger
“cake”.
One very key element of
this multidimensional exercise is learning and I feel there is so much to be
done here in Nepal on this regard when we talk about partnerships.
Recently I was inspired
by the concept of peer learning that is being promoted by GlobalGiving, the
largest global crowd funding community working on the not for profit sector.
GlobalGiving approach is
radically different from any other crowdfunding web site where people post
their projects hoping that someone will notice them and make a donation. Unfortunately
it is never work this way.
Instead, GlobalGiving is
first most a “community” in the real sense: they are engaged and committed to
support their not for profit organizations, all screened and reviewed to make
sure that they are already doing a great job.
Learning and sharing are
two key aspects of its work.
In the last few months I
had the opportunity to come across the Peer Exchange Visit organized
together with the network of GlobalGiving partner organizations in Nepal.
Rachel Smith, Director of Programmes,
GlobalGiving shared with me through mail “GlobalGiving
believe that by nurturing people, communities and places, we can make the world
a safer, happier place for all. Our mission is to connect people to the
resources they need to support their communities to thrive. We do that in
different ways including facilitating 'peer learning, an approach that
encourages shared learning between like-minded people with a common goal”.
The first event was
organized by SABAH Nepal, a social business working to enhance the livelihoods
of vulnerable women home based workers.
The latest was organized
by ECCA, a leading not for profit that also acts as social enterprise whose
motto is “On the path of Conservation and Better Livelihood”.
Among other things, ECCA
has been a pioneer in the field of “Child Clubs” and in June will organize a National
Conference to disseminate the best practices in the field.
With such a rich
background and great expertise, ECCA was an obvious choice to lead a peer
learning day supported by GlobalGiving whose offices are based in Washington
and London and works in developing countries exclusively through its network of
local organizations.
The day was first focused
on sharing the latest development from each member of this informal and loose
network, eight organizations and then
all the peer learners had the opportunity to visit Pushpanjali Secondary
School, a community school in the Valley that has been working with ECCA since
many years.
There they had learned
about how the school has been running successful safe water programs and how
its child club promotes the environment.
Tara Prasad Adhikari from Volunteers Community Nepal, was
one of the participants, said “this peer
learning exchange visit has played an effective role in supporting, developing
and empowering each other organization to do the programs in a new way”.
Dil Maya Lama from Global
Action Nepal shared “I am very impressed
to see the students of Pushpanjali Secondary School working together in nature
club and organizing different activities. They are also involved in safe water
programs and community involvement programs which have helped to see the impact”.
According to Rachel,
GlobalGiving uses Peer Exchange Visit to “exchange
ideas, challenges, achievements and more with the aim to improve their
community development work.
“Knowledge,
skills and networks”, shares again Rachel “are as important as money, if not more, and
I'm excited by how collaborative and willing people are to make positive change
happen”.
While it will be up to
the members of the network to internalize the learning and improve their work,
there is no doubt that the Peer Exchange Visits is a best practice to emulate,
a very effective tool not only to promote collaborations but also to create
positive impact in the society.
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