ABSTRACT
There is a lot more opportunity for partnerships in the sustainable development agenda and it's good that partnership has become a buzzword. There's been a big shift from partnerships just being something that the chairman's discretionary fund gives to, to something that is incorporated into the core business. The golden rule for partnerships between the 'unlikely bedfellows' is for each to recognise the contribution of the other, to acknowledge their differences, identify their shared goals and commit to a joint plan of action. UNICEF and Lifebuoy brought the lessons they had learned from the formation of their partnership to life at the African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Durban in 2008. Their joint session was titled 'Strange bedfellows: confessions from public–private sector collaboration'. For an effective partnership, the conversation has to be about wanting to help some of the poorest people, but equally wanting to make sure that the business is growing.
