ACFID’s Guidance on Collaboration & Partnerships has been revised and is now available to members and aspiring members via the free online Good Practice Toolkit. The Guidelines were initially developed in 2017 and this current revision ensures the Guidelines support the current Code requirements, which were strengthened last year to improve the practice and response in the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. They have also had a design make-over, easing navigation through such a rich resource.
The ACFID Code of Conduct, through Quality Principle 5, recognises that development and humanitarian responses are optimised through effective coordination, collaboration and partnership. The Code places a strong emphasis on mutuality and accountability in partnership. Understanding of partnership principles and partnership practice has evolved considerably in recent years, and the Code’s three Commitments emphasise the importance of joint negotiation, shared goals, and effectiveness in partnership approaches.
This Guidance has been produced to help ACFID members understand, meet and implement these Commitments. It also offers advice and examples of how to strengthen practice over time, above and beyond the requirements in the Code.
It has three parts;
- Collaboration Practice Note which focuses on why and how NGOs might collaborate with others;
- Guide to Developing & Managing Partnerships which discusses the approaches and processes that ACFID members might consider to guide the development, formalisation and management of partnerships and which are required to be compliant with the Code of Conduct; and
- Partnership Agreement Template which provides a broad structure to help ACFID members think about the way one might structure a partnership agreement and the types of areas that might be useful to address.
Commenting on the new Guidelines, ACFID’s Standards & Code Lead, Emily Moreton said:
“Collaboration amongst development actors to achieve shared social or development outcomes and impact is at the heart of the work of ACFID Members. Partnerships of all types are critical to achieving effective development outcomes and investments must be made to ensure they are effective. This Guidance certainly provides a solid foundation to support our NGO’s in developing, formalising and nurturing such partnerships, and we are delighted to release this revised refreshed version for the benefit of our members.”
Read the updated guidance here. If you have any feedback or questions, please contact the ACFID Code team at [email protected].