Samenvatting

This research is aimed at providing an answer to the following question, ‘Which factors can be
identified as effective for the three global implementation partnerships – the ICRC programme
GPHI2, ICCO and the UN Global Compact – to organise the collaboration between the private sector and the humanitarian aid organisations?’ In order to answer this research question, several sub questions have been formed. Firstly, it is explained how the role of the private sector in humanitarian aid emerged. Especially, after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 the collaboration between the sectors increased and evolved from providing philanthropy into forming more meaningful partnerships. Then, the three chosen programmes to examine on effective factors are described in detail. The Global Partnerships for Humanitarian Impact and Innovation, referred to as GPHI2, is a programme of the ICRC. Through collaborations with the private sector, it is intended to innovate the ICRC internally. The ICCO Cooperation is an organisation focused on linking local actors with global businesses to provide help where needed. The United Nations Global Compact is an initiative with over 8,000 partners worldwide and its objective is to guide companies to adopt more sustainable strategies. Also,
the specific kind of partnership model, as which the GPHI2, ICCO and the UN Global Compact can be categorised, is discussed. A global implementation partnership is a platform comprising many participants from all kinds of sectors to take action on global challenges and implement solutions locally. The value of such a partnership is that it functions as a connecting element between multiple sectors so complex humanitarian aid problems can be addressed, which would be hard to overcome as a single operating organisation. An example can be the collaboration of ICCO with Albert Heijn and other supermarkets to strengthen value chains of coffee; so local farmers and retailers finally receive a fair price for the products delivered. Furthermore, both the partnering companies and the humanitarian aid organisations can benefit from partnerships, mainly from the exchange of knowledge and
expertise. Lastly, a rather essential part of this research is the term ‘effective factor’, which can be anything that improves invested resources, time and skills. More specifically, effective factors can range from clear membership criteria to an on-going time plan for the programme.
In conclusion, at least 20 out of the 22 effective factors have proven to be valuable, either in the literature, in the programmes or in both. Furthermore, a new effective factor was identified, which did not emerge in the reviewed literature; ‘having a facilitating role’ in linking partners of the platforms into projects and dialogues can have a positive impact on the programme’s effectiveness. Besides, the other factors considered the most effective were, 1 ‘clear membership criteria’, 7 ‘clarity of purpose/vision/objectives’, 10 ‘on-going timeframe’ and 11 ‘local implementation’. However, it is noted that a balance needs to be found in implementing the effective factors from the literature in the programme and finding own ways of increasing effectiveness, since the literature on effective global implementation partnerships does not yet provide a complete overview.