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Working in Partnership Partnership Policy & Guideline

Uganda Programme October 2011

S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n P a r t n e r s h i p P o l i c y & G u i d e l i n e - U g a n d a

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Contents

1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Reasons for working in partnership ................................................................................................................ 4

3. Types and categories of partnership ............................................................................................................... 5

4. Guiding principles for working in partnership .............................................................................................. 8

5. Capacity building in partnership ..................................................................................................................... 10

6. The partnership management cycle .............................................................................................................. 12

7. Overview of partnership tools ....................................................................................................................... 19

8. Reference documents....................................................................................................................................... 19


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1. Introduction

Save the Children implements a combination of emergency and development programmes in western,

northern, north-eastern and central Uganda within the thematic areas of child rights governance, child

protection, education, HIV/AIDS, health & nutrition and livelihoods & food security. Our vision is a Uganda in

which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. And our mission is to

fight for children’s rights and to deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children’s lives in Uganda.

In situations where this is necessary or preferable, Save the Children will implement programme activities

directly, although always in coordination with government authorities and other relevant actors. Circumstances

that may dictate direct programme implementation by Save the Children include a) situations where a donor

attaches to a grant decision the precondition that such an operational modality is applied; b) situations where

Save the Children wishes to pilot a new methodology or where appropriate partners cannot be identified, e.g.

in connection with sudden-onset emergencies that require significant logistical capabilities.

In all other situations where this is possible, Save the Children will implement programme activities in close

cooperation with local partners as this is believed to be the most effective and sustainable way of ensuring that

we deliver on our objectives and generate lasting and positive improvements in the lives of Ugandan children.

Hence, whilst maintaining our organisational capacity to engage in direct programme implementation whenever

this is required, Save the Children’s preferred and chief operational modality in Uganda is implementation

through partnerships.

This Partnership Policy & Guideline is an updated and merged version of the Policy and Guideline on Partnership

and the Implementation Guideline on Partnership, both issued in 2010. The present document addresses why and

how Save the Children works with partners in Uganda, and it provides relevant provisions and guidelines for

the management of our partnerships, including a number of relevant tools.

Like everything else we do, Save the Children strives to excel in our partnership approach and we base our

engagement with partners on the same values that underpin all our other relations and actions:

Accountability We take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving

measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, children.

Ambition We are demanding of ourselves and our colleagues, set high goals and are committed to

improving the quality of everything we do for children.

Collaboration We respect and value each other, thrive on our diversity, and work with partners to

leverage our global strength in making a difference for children.

Creativity We are open to new ideas, embrace change, and take disciplined risks to develop

sustainable solutions for and with children.

Integrity We aspire to live to the highest standards of personal honesty and behaviour; we never

compromise our reputation and always act in the best interests of children.

Since Save the Children operates in a rapidly changing environment, the contents of this Partnership Policy &

Guideline will be updated on a regular basis. Any advice readers of this document may have that will bring our

actions more in line with the above values or improve our partnership approach will be highly appreciated.


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2. Reasons for working in partnership

Building partnerships with different societal actors, and working with those partners to encourage and promote

the realisation of children’s rights, is at the very core of Save the Children’s Theory of Change:

Placing partnerships at the centre stage of our Theory of Change reflects a clear recognition within Save the

Children that only through joining hands with local humanitarian and development actors can we achieve our

ultimate goal of ensuring the universal realisation of children’s rights. Working in partnership underpins the

framework of the Millennium Development Goals and it constitutes a cornerstone of our work because we

believe that partnering with duty bearers as well as societal actors that hold duty bearers to account is the

most effective and sustainable way of promoting the global recognition and observance of the UN Convention

of the Rights of the Child.

Experience from around the world tells us that, when managed well, a partnership approach to programming

comes with the following significant advantages:

Reach Working with local partners who possess unique knowledge of, and are in close contact with,

the communities in which programmes are going to be implemented makes it possible for us to jointly

identify and reach the most vulnerable and precarious children and those who suffer the gravest child

rights abuses and violations. Moreover, by pooling our resources and making strategic use of our

complementary capabilities, together with partners we can eventually reach more children than if we

were to work alongside each other, each implementing programmes on our own.

Impact By working with partners who have a solid understanding of local conditions, dynamics and

complexities and who, in many cases, have specialised technical skills to offer, we can effectively tailor

our programming to the actual circumstances in the targeted communities and deliver relevant and

focused quality interventions, thereby achieving greater impact of our work. Also when it comes to

THEORY OF CHANGE:

how we work to create impact for children

We will…

… build partnershipscollaborate with children, civil society organisations, communities, governments and the private sector

to share knowledge, influence others and build capacity to ensure children’s rights are met

… be the voiceadvocate and campaign for better practices and

policies to fulfil children's rights and to ensure that children’s voices are heard (particularly those of children most marginalized or living in poverty)

… be the innovatordevelop and prove evidence-based, replicable breakthrough solutions to

problems facing children

… achieve results at scalesupport effective implementation of best practices,

programmes and policies for children, leveraging our knowledge to ensure sustainable impact at scale


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advocacy work, our chances of having a significant impact on legal frameworks and policy and budget

decisions are markedly enhanced when we build constituencies with local partners and jointly pursue

issues that affect the lives and rights of children.

Sustainability Working with local partners helps to enhance the ownership by communities and

authorities towards programme activities, which is again crucial in ensuring the durability and

endurance of achieved results. More importantly, by applying a partnership approach we are not just

able to support governmental and non-governmental actors in developing protective structures and

delivering essential services to children here and now: we are able to strengthen the capacities of duty

bearers to shoulder their responsibilities towards children in the longer run, and we are able to

support the growth of civil society actors who can stand up for children’s rights and hold duty bearers

to account.

Hence, Save the Children believes that the scope, depth and longevity of our humanitarian and development

programmes around the world are enhanced through local partnerships that entail pooling of resources,

strategic use of complementary capabilities, exchange of knowledge and ideas, joint development of

methodologies and, very crucially, organisational and capacity development. This is also the case in Uganda

where we will pursue the following goal and objectives for our partnership approach during the strategic

period 2010-14:

Our goal: By 2014, Save the Children has a strong and vibrant network of Ugandan partners who have the capacity to

actively promote and defend children’s rights.

Our objectives: To support and strengthen the capacities of our national and local government partners and other duty

bearers holding responsibilities towards children to perform their roles as promoters and defenders of

children’s rights and uphold their accountability towards children.

To support and strengthen the capacities of our civil society partners to deliver quality programmes for

children, advance children’s rights through advocacy, build robust constituencies and alliances and hold

government and other duty bearers to account.

3. Types and categories of partnership

Save the Children believes that partnering with a broad range of actors in Ugandan society is favourable to the

promotion and protection of children’s rights. We work with government partners at national and district

levels as well as with a wide range of civil society partners, including Non-Governmental Organisations

(NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and child-focused coalitions and networks.

In addition to partnering with actors that fall within the respective spheres of the State and Civil Society (see

the societal model below), we also occasionally engage in partnerships with actors that belong to the sphere of

the Market, i.e. corporate partners in the private sector, as well as with actors who belong to the overlapping

intersections of the three spheres, such as research institutions and the media.


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Model of Society

Looking first at the sphere of the State, this covers the full range of governmental entities and branches

operating at various administrative levels throughout the country. As Save the Children considers government

to be the main duty bearer in relation to promoting and upholding the rights of children, partnering with

government entities within key sectors such as education and health is obviously very relevant to do. Under

normal circumstances, Save the Children will not give funds to government partners for implementation of

activities but we will work closely with them and support them in developing child-friendly legislation and

policies, setting up protective structures for children and executing their supervisory and coordinating

functions in relation to child-related programmes within their respective jurisdictions. Hence, our main focus in

partnering with national and local government actors in Uganda is to support the enhancement of their

capacities as duty bearers and their accountability towards children.

Turning to the sphere of Civil Society, this is where the main thrust of Save the Children’s partnership

work takes place. We believe that a strong and vibrant civil society is a prerequisite for long-term poverty

reduction and the realisation of children’s rights. Not only do civil society actors, such as local NGOs and

CBOs, contribute significantly to the development of protective community structures and deliver essential

services to children and their families where government capacity is wanting. They also play a very crucial role

in advocating for children’s rights and in holding government to account on child-related issues. Hence, apart

from partnering with civil society actors due to the fact that in many cases those are actually the providers of

services to children in Uganda, Save the Children seeks to bolster the organisational development and

strengthen the capacities of such partners so that– together with likeminded actors – they may eventually

constitute an independent, strong and proactive network of civil society organisations that engage with

government on children’s issues and act as ‘watchdogs’ in relation to children’s rights.

On occasion, Save the Children may also partner with actors who belong to the sphere of the Market. We

recognize that private sector operators play an increasingly important role in relation to the promotion and

protection of children’s rights in emerging economies, whether as employers, investors or other. This also goes

for Uganda whose economy and work force are rapidly expanding these years. Hence, apart from having

corporate sponsors who fund certain parts of our work, we may enter into partnerships with companies who

demonstrate corporate social responsibility and who wish to take on an active role within their respective

areas of manufacture or commerce with an eye to promoting and protecting the rights of children.

Finally, Save the Children frequently partners with actors who do not fall neatly within any of the three

mentioned spheres but rather pertain to the areas of intersection between them. For instance, research and

State

Civil Society

Market


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media institutions are considered to be very important types of partners to Save the Children as their

potentials for generating and transmitting knowledge about children’s living conditions and for putting children’s

issues on the public agenda are apparent. In such partnerships, Save the Children will explore the possibilities

for raising the profile of child rights issues in the Ugandan public domain.

Taking into consideration all the different types of partners mentioned above, we may now, for the purposes of

this Policy & Guideline, define partnership in the following way: A formalised relationship between Save the

Children on the one hand and an actor pertaining to the sphere of the State, Civil Society or the Market (or one of the

intersections hereof) on the other, working together on the basis of mutuality and respect for children’s rights towards a

set of agreed objectives that bring about positive and lasting changes in the lives of children in Uganda.

In our daily work, Save the Children operates with five main categories of partners: Core Partners, Project

Partners, Strategic Partners, Government Partners and Child-led Partners:

Partner

category

Partner

description

Intervention

logic

Core

Partners

A Core Partner is a strong, independent, child-

focused and rights-based Ugandan civil society

actor with high programme implementation

capacity and a long positive track record of

cooperation with Save the Children. Apart from

implementing certain activities itself, a Core

Partner takes on the responsibility of coordinating

the activities of other partners to Save the

Children within a given geographical area.

As Save the Children seeks to develop robust and

sustainable local capacity for management and

coordination of child-rights programming by civil

society actors in Uganda, we will engage with and

strengthen selected Core Partners who already

have considerable organisational capacity to

deliver, support and oversee such work.

Project

Partners

A Project Partner is a civil society organisation or

some other non-governmental entity in Ugandan

society who enters into a formal agreement with

Save the Children with the purpose of

implementing a project or an agreed set of

financed activities that serve to promote and

protect the rights of children.

Save the Children works with a variety of civil

society and other non-governmental actors with an

eye to implement projects and activities that serve

to promote and protect the rights of children. Our

cooperation involves direct actions on gaps and

violations of rights, strengthening structures and

mechanisms and capacity building.

Strategic

Partners

A Strategic Partner is a civil society organisation

or some other non-governmental entity in

Ugandan society who signs a Memorandum of

Understanding with Save the Children with the

purpose of pursuing joint strategic objectives

related to children’s rights.

Save the Children has many important allies in

Uganda who share our concern for children and

with whom it makes very good sense to partner

around certain strategic issues and objectives. Such

cooperation does not normally involve a financial

contribution from Save the Children.

Government

Partners

A Government Partner is a governmental body or

entity at national or local level who signs a

Memorandum of Understanding with Save the

Children with the purpose of engaging in

cooperation that serves to promote and protect

the rights of children in Uganda.

Save the Children considers government to be the

main duty bearer in relation to promoting and

upholding the rights of children and hence a very

important partner category. Normally, we will not

give funds to government partners but we will

work with and support them in many other ways.

Child-led

Partners

Child-led organisations constitute a partner

category in itself as they require special strategies

and approaches from our side. Such formal

associations of children and youth have come

together because they wish to work towards the

fulfilment of children’s rights through direct

action, peer support and sensitization or through

advocacy and monitoring.

Save the Children finds it important to partner

with and support organisations and networks

whose constituencies are comprised of children

and youth. Depending on the needs and aspirations

of the individual partner, we may contribute to

advocacy, peer-to-peer and networking initiatives

and provide capacity building in support of the

partners’ general organisational development.


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In addition to the five categories of local partners listed above, Save the Children has a number of international

counterparts in Uganda, including UN agencies and other INGOs, with whom we now and then form consortia

or other contractual arrangements in order to collaborate within certain programmatic areas. However, such

international counterparts are not considered to be partners in the more narrow sense of this Partnership

Policy & Guideline and they will therefore not be dealt with further within the framework of this document.

4. Guiding principles for working in partnership

Before taking a closer look at the principles that guide the cooperation between Save the Children and our

partners, let us first turn to the criteria or minimum requirements that we apply as a basis for deciding whether

to engage in a partnership in the first place.

Save the Children operates on the foundation and fights for the realisation of the UN Convention on the

Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Our organisational Vision and Mission clearly reflect this as does our Theory of

Change and our overall programming framework, which we call Child Rights Programming. We cannot expect

of our many different partners in Ugandan society that they attach the same prominence to the UNCRC or

that they operate on the basis of a rights-based approach. However, we do expect and require of all partners

that they agree with the guiding principles of the UNCRC and that they commit themselves to abide by these,

including the principles of non-discrimination, children’s participation and the best interest of the child.

As state-party to the convention, the Ugandan government has endorsed the principles enshrined in the

UNCRC and this endorsement is, per default, extended to all levels of government throughout the country.

Hence, whenever Save the Children engages with government partners at national or district level, we do this

under the presumption that the guiding principles of the UNCRC will be upheld in the partnership.

When it comes to non-governmental partners, however, Save the Children finds it necessary to assess their

readiness and capability to comply with the UNCRC principles and work for the promotion and protection of

children’s rights. Although we do not expect to share values and approaches with each and every partner

organisation, we certainly always want to ascertain that our partnerships are built on a shared commitment

towards children’s rights and that any organisation with whom we partner will act with impartiality vis-à-vis

children. Moreover, we always take into consideration the legality and neutrality of a potential partner:

Minimum requirements for all non-governmental partners: The partner commits to the guiding principles of the UNCRC, including the principles of non-

discrimination, children’s participation and the best interest of the child

The partner commits to observing Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding Policy or has similar in place

The partner commits to observing Save the Children’s Whistle-blowing Policy

The partner’s reputation is not inconsistent with the vision, mission and values of Save the Children

The partner is not politically affiliated or otherwise compromised on its neutrality and impartiality

The partner is authorised to work in Uganda and legally registered with the authorities, if so required

The partner does not appear on the US, UK, UN or EU lists of terrorist organisations

The partner is not known or suspected to be involved in any illegal or criminal activity

In addition to establishing that these minimum requirements are all met, Save the Children will always assure

itself that a prospective non-governmental partner who is going to receive, utilise and report on project funds

actually possesses the necessary implementation and monitoring capabilities to do so and has in place the

required administrative and financial systems – or at least the commitment to develop such with some external

support. All of this will be done through an assessment process, which is intended to be a mutual and


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reciprocal exercise that allows both parties to ascertain the suitability of the other and the appropriateness of

the proposed partnership. Finally, Any corporate actor who candidates to become a Strategic Partner to Save

the Children will be screened in accordance with our global guidelines for corporate partnerships.

Turning now to the principles that guide our cooperation with partners, it is worth reiterating that Save the

Children engages with actors who are characterised by a high level of organisational development, such as our

Core Partners, as well as actors who have the potential to become important change agents for children but

who are still faced with various challenges in terms of their organisational capacity. However, regardless of our

partners’ varying levels of organisational complexity and development, we base our engagement with all of

them on the same core values, i.e. accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity and integrity (see

page 3), and all our partnerships are guided by the same key principles:

Mutuality For Save the Children, a partnership is not merely a sub-contracting relationship let alone a

donor-recipient relationship. When we partner with another actor we do so because we believe that

the partner in question will add value to our work and has something significant to offer in relation to

bringing about positive and lasting changes in children’s lives. Hence, whilst there might be some truth

in the statement that complete equality between two partners is difficult to assert if one of the parties

brings into the relationship all or most of the funding required for implementation, Save the Children

genuinely believes that all our partnerships should build on mutuality and reciprocity. This is certainly

also the case when we engage in capacity building with our partners as we strongly believe that learning

goes both ways in a partnership and that both parties can and should be enriched by the cooperation.

In our partnerships, therefore, we put emphasis on joint decision-making and sharing of knowledge.

Relational focus Since Save the Children’s reasons for engaging in partnerships go beyond the

immediate delivery of services to children and to a large extent revolve around our aspiration to build

local capacities and support the growth of a strong and independent civil society that promotes

children’s rights, we focus a lot on the relational aspects of our partnerships. We endeavour to

continually gauge and cultivate our relations with partners through dialogue and we take pains to

systematically monitor and evaluate the partnerships themselves – not just the immediate results that

these bring about. For the same reason, we normally operate with a long-term perspective when we

engage in a new partnership, focusing from the outset on where and how far we want to go together

and trying to avoid that our relation with the new partner is merely perceived within a grant period

horizon. This being said, we will of course discuss and agree on relevant exit strategies with all

partners, depending on the circumstances under which we cooperate.

Clarity For a partnership to be manageable and effective, it is very important that there is agreement

on, and mutual understanding of, the purpose and objectives of the cooperation and that clarity

prevails in relation to the respective roles and responsibilities of the involved parties. When working in

partnership, Save the Children will do its best to ensure that mutual expectations are expressed and

recognised from the outset and that there is clarity around the scope of the cooperation as well as the

objectives, envisaged results and work methodologies to be applied. In a partnership, both sides

commit to contribute and deliver in certain areas, and, expecting our partners will do the same, we will

definitely strive to be as clear as possible with regard to our investment in the relationship and the

support we can offer along the way.

Openness Save the Children believes that honesty and trust are absolute prerequisites for working in

partnership. One of our core values is accountability, and by this we do not just refer to being

accountable to donors and member constituencies but certainly also to communities, families and,

more than anyone else, children. Similarly, in our partnerships we put much emphasis on mutual

accountability and transparency and we attach much value to dialogue, feedback and openness. Since


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we work, learn and grow together with our partners, we also need to exchange ideas, experiences and

sometimes even constructive criticism. In order to facilitate such dialogue, we make sure that

partnership review meetings take place on a regular basis and that other avenues for feedback are open

to both parties.

Independence Although we wish to create close ties with our partners, engage in processes of

mutual organisational development and cultivate strong bonds between staff members at various levels

of our organisations, Save the Children values its independence and does not wish to encroach on that

of our partners. On the contrary, we ascribe much importance to supporting our civil society partners

in strengthening their organisational autonomy and in diversifying their financial sources of income. We

also stress the need for both parties to maintain independent organisational visibility as this is crucial

for each of us in terms of operating on the basis of acceptance, undertaking evidence-based advocacy

and soliciting funds from donors. In relation to our government partners, we also make sure to

safeguard our independence so that our partnerships do not prevent us from addressing relevant

concerns and remonstrating with the main duty bearers in society if and when this is required.

Finally, when engaging with Child-led Partners our cooperation will be guided by special considerations around

children’s safety and security and other principles for children’s participation, which must always be voluntary

and inclusive. We will apply measures for tackling the inherently unequal power-relations that exist between

children and adults, and we will always consider children’s evolving capacities and busy schedules in connection

with such partnerships. We will ensure that all adults working with Child-led Partners hold the required

interpersonal skills for communication with children and youth, and we will agree with such partners on

relevant and child-friendly feedback mechanisms that will enable them to hold us effectively to account. Last but

not least, we will of course be extremely careful not to put children at risk if and when we engage with Child-

led Partners in advocacy campaigns or other activities that revolve around potentially contentious issues.

5. Capacity building in partnership

Save the Children considers capacity building to be an important and integral element of working in

partnership. As clearly reflected in the goal and objectives for our partnership approach on page 5, enhancing

the capacities of duty bearers as well as those who hold duty bearers to account are considered to be crucial

elements in Save the Children’s strategy for the promotion and protection of children’s rights in Uganda.

Apart from attaching value to the mutual enhancement of capacities that tend to arise from working in

partnership, we deliberately seek to engage with our partners in formalised and structured capacity building

processes in order to support their organisational development. In particular, this is the case with some of our

civil society partners in relation to whom we do not solely focus on their capacities for delivering services to

children in the short term but whose growth potentials as change agents and opportunities for becoming

strong and independent promoters and defenders of children’s rights are equally important to us. In other

words, as much as our capacity building efforts seek to ensure high programming quality and effective

implementation of particular projects, they are also carried out with an eye to bolstering a growing movement

for children’s rights in Uganda.

Whenever a Core Partner or a Project Partner agrees with Save the Children to implement a project or a set

of project-funded activities, a capacity assessment will be carried out by Save the Children so as to ensure that

the required capacity for implementation is available. If and when gaps are identified, a capacity building plan is

drawn up together with the partner and the resources required for carrying out the plan are sought covered

through the relevant project budget or otherwise. In connection with this process, Save the Children and the


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partner in question may also discuss and agree on broader capacity building objectives and measures in support

of the partner’s wider organisational development.

Similarly, capacity building activities may, depending on the nature of the cooperation, be agreed with Strategic,

Government and Child-led Partners who do not usually receive funds from Save the Children for

implementation of activities but who may benefit from trainings and other capacity building initiatives, provided

that resources are available for the purpose.

In all cases, the execution of agreed capacity building activities will be monitored, documented and form part of

the regular partnership review meetings that take place between Save the Children and our different partners.

When looking at an organisation’s overall capacity to be successful in carrying out its mission, capacity can be

conceptually understood and analysed in terms of the organisation’s internal set-up, its programme

performance and its abilities to relate successfully with the external world1:

To be: For an organisation to be able to effectively fulfil its mission and achieve results, it needs to have a clear

vision of what it is striving for, a set of core values, effective leadership and governance structures, a

comprehensive strategy and appropriate financial, HR and other policies and systems in place.

To do: The organisation’s area of work, for example health, education or livelihoods. This dimension includes

a range of capacities related to programme management, such as programme development, budgeting,

monitoring and evaluation, financial and narrative reporting as well as specific technical skills.

To relate: An effective organisation needs to have positive external relationships with other organisations and

actors – it needs to be able to communicate and relate with the surrounding world and engage in networking,

advocacy and fundraising.

When assessing the capacities of our different partners, Save the Children will be looking at all three areas

mentioned above and, depending on the circumstances, may be in a position to offer relevant capacity building

support within either of them. Our support may take place within technical and/or child-specific areas, e.g. child

protection, child participation or children’s rights, or it make take place within wider areas of organisational

development, such as strategic development or programme, financial or HR management.

1 Source: INTRAC

Context

Internal

organisation:

”To be”

Programme

performance:

”To do”

External linkages:

”To relate”


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6. The partnership management cycle

This chapter describes the various steps in Save the Children’s partnership management cycle and the

appropriate actions and tools that pertain to each step. The details provided below are intended to guide Save

the Children staff and partners in establishing, managing and developing our partnerships successfully. Please

note that in cases where one or more Project Partners are to be coordinated by a Core Partner, the latter

party will participate in all the below processes on an equal footing with Save the Children.

Save the Children’s partnership management cycle consists of six key steps:

1) Partner assessment and selection

The dialogue on possible establishment of a partnership between Save the Children and a potential partner may

be initiated by either party. It may be prompted by an upcoming funding opportunity or an existing grant, or it

may – in the case of Strategic, Government and Child-led Partners – be detached from any potential or

acquired funding.

Core and Project Partners

When Save the Children is looking for a Core Partner and/or one or more Project Partners to implement a

project within a given theme and geographical region, we shall take steps to systematically identify all the

potential partners in the area who are aligned with our strategic priorities and who can be expected to have

the required organisational capabilities to implement such work. In order to identify potential partners for

project implementation, we shall, in addition to taking into consideration our existing partners in the area,

consult the NGO registers that are maintained at district administration offices as well as the NGO database

that is maintained at the NGO forum office. Further, we shall ask relevant staff to point out potential partners

in the area and seek advice from our international counterparts, when relevant.

1. Partner assessment

and selection

2. Defining and making plans for the partnership

3. Formalising the partnership

4. Implementation, capacity building

and joint monitoring

5. Evaluation of the partnership

6. Decision on continuation

or closure

Exit


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In connection with the identification process, we will take into consideration the following questions:

What are the most important partner selection criteria in relation to the planned project/activities?

Does the grant come with specific donor conditions that have a bearing on our choice of partner(s)?

Which technical skills must the partner(s) have in order to undertake the tasks at hand?

Would it benefit our purposes and performance to work with several partners?

Do we have existing partners that fit the selection criteria, and, if so, what are their track records?

Once the identification process has been completed by the relevant Programme Manager, relevant Partnership

Manager and one of the Partnership Advisers and it has been provisionally established that a partnership

between Save the Children and a prospective Core or Project Partner is of potential relevance and interest to

both parties, Save the Children will send a Letter of Intent (tool no. 1) to the prospective partner with a

proposal of engaging in a mutual organisational assessment process.

The main objectives of the organisational assessment, for which purpose a Partner Assessment Guide & Form

(tool no. 2) is applied, are a) to establish whether the prospective partner lives up to Save the Children’s

minimum requirements for non-governmental partners; b) to ascertain to what extent it possesses the

organisational capacities required for effective project implementation and grant management – or at least has

the potential for, and commitment to, develop such capacities with some external support; and c) to identify

potential areas for longer-term organisational development.2

It is important to stress that Save the Children considers the partner assessment to be a mutual and reciprocal

exercise – we see it is an opportunity for both parties to acquaint itself with the other and for posing vital

questions in order to establish the suitability of the potential partnership. When we engage in the partner

assessment process we aim to look beyond the prospective partner itself and focus on the match between our

organisations, trying to answer key questions such as these:

Do we share a common vision in relation to achieving positive and lasting changes in children’s lives?

Are our values, principles and work methodologies compatible?

Would a partnership further our respective organisational goals and add value to our work?

Does a partnership hold promising perspectives for organisational development in the longer term?

Can our mutual expectations to a partnership realistically be met?

In order to ensure transparency and accountability, Save the Children will always participate in the partner

assessment session with three members of staff, including one of the Partnership Advisers. For Kampala-based

partners the two other participants will be the relevant Programme Manager and a staff member from Finance.

For field-based partners, they will be the relevant Partnership Manager Integrated/Education and the

Partnership Manager Finance.

Following the partner assessment session, Save the Children might solicit additional information or material

from the prospective partner, just as we may ask permission to send over our Internal Auditor or another

member of staff to follow up on particular issues.

Once Save the Children has concluded its partner assessment, the assessment team will send a summary of the

assessment to the prospective partner for commenting. Following this, the assessment team will complete the

relevant Partner Appraisal & Recommendation Form (tool no. 3) and submit it to Save the Children’s Programme

2 If a comprehensive assessment has already been successfully undertaken within the last two years, the partner assessment will not

include the complete organisational assessment component but only focus on the partner’s compliance with the minimum criteria and

its capacity to implement the new project in question.


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Director for approval. Within 30 days of the partner assessment session, Save the Children will inform the

prospective partner of our decision regarding establishment of the partnership through a Letter of Decision (tool

no. 4).

In addition to the above, a project specific capacity assessment must always be carried out before a Core or

Project Partner is selected for a given project. For this purpose, the relevant section in the Partner Appraisal &

Recommendation Form is applied.

Strategic, Government and Child-led Partners

When it comes to Strategic, Government and Child-led Partners, a comprehensive partner assessment will not

automatically be carried out prior to the establishment of a partnership. However, the compliance of any

prospective Strategic or Child-led Partner with Save the Children’s minimum requirements for non-

governmental partners will still have to be ascertained. Moreover, a partner assessment may be agreed in

certain cases where Save the Children commits resources to support the organisational development of a

particular Strategic or Child-led Partner.

Any corporate actor who candidates to become a Strategic Partner to Save the Children will be screened in

accordance with our global guidelines for corporate partners. This process will be supported by one of the

Partnership Advisers.

As is the case with Core and Project Partners, Save the Children’s Programme Director will approve the

establishment of a partnership with a Strategic, Government or Child-led Partner on the basis of a completed

Partner Appraisal and Recommendation Form. This will be submitted by the relevant Programme Manager, the

relevant Partnership Manager (if the partner is field-based) and one of the Partnership Advisers.

2) Defining and making plans for the partnership

In the second step of the partnership management cycle, Save the Children and the partner will jointly define

and make plans for the partnership that lies ahead. Regardless of the partnership category to which the new

partner belongs, some of the key questions to be answered in connection with defining the partnership are:

What is the purpose and what are the objectives and success indicators of the partnership?

What are the deliverables and expected results?

What are the roles and responsibilities of the respective parties?

What are the shared values and principles on which the partnership is founded?

What are the key milestones during the partnership and apparent occasions for taking stock?

Once these and other pertinent questions that serve to define the nature and scope of the intended partner

cooperation have been answered, the involved parties can proceed to the planning stage and determine which

work methodologies to apply and which specific activities to carry out under the partnership.


With each Core and Project Partner, a detailed Partnership Work Plan (tool no. 5) and a corresponding partner

budget (in whatever format is appropriate under the grant in question) must be drawn up and obtain mutual

endorsement by the parties prior to the signing of the agreement that formalises the cooperation.3

3 In cases where a number of Project Partners are to be coordinated by a Core Partner, the latter will take the lead in drafting the

Partnership Work Plans with the various parties and draw up a consolidated work plan for the project.


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Closely related to this exercise is the development of a Partnership Capacity Building Plan (tool no. 6), which is

based on the findings from the partner assessment that was carried out under step 1. The Capacity Building

Plan must, as a minimum, incorporate those actions that are necessary to ensure that the partner requires the

capacity to effectively implement the project in question and manage and comply with the associated grant.

However, when putting the plan together, Save the Children and the partner may also discuss and agree on

capacity building measures to be carried out in support of the partners’ wider organisational development,

provided that resources are available for such measures in the project budget or otherwise.

Finally, a Partnership Monitoring & Evaluation Plan (tool no. 7) with relevant indicators related to the different

results areas set out in the Partnership Work Plan and the Partnership Capacity Building Plan must be drawn

up and agreed between the partners.


With regard to Strategic, Government and Child-led Partners, a detailed Partnership Work Plan may or may

not be drawn up under step 2 in the partnership management cycle, depending on the nature and scope of the

intended cooperation.

Similarly, the development of Capacity Building Plans with such partners will depend on whether Save the

Children finds it pertinent to enhance the partner’s capacity to carry out agreed activities or support its wider

organisational development and is able to commit the resources for such purposes.

3) Formalising the partnership

Under step 3 in the in the partnership management cycle, the partnership between Save the Children and the

partner in question is formalised through the signing of a multi-annual Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

In addition to the MOU, specific Sub-grant Agreements are signed with partners who receive funds for

implementation of a given project or a particular set of activities (in most cases Core and Project Partners),

which means that any partner may hold several Sub-grant Agreements under one MOU. On the side of Save

the Children, it is the Country Director who signs all MOUs and the Programme Director who signs all Sub-

grant Agreements with partners.

Once the MOU and, if relevant, a Sub-grant Agreement has been signed by both parties, these will be kept on

electronic file together with other key documents pertaining to the partnership. At the same time, an entry will

be made in Save the Children’s partner database in which information about the partner itself as well as key

developments in the partnership is stored for the purpose of ensuring institutional memory.


A partnership between Save the Children and a Core or Project Partner is formalised through an MOU, for

which purpose a Memorandum of Understanding Template (tool no. 8) is applied. The MOU sets out the overall

purpose and longer-term objectives of the partner cooperation and addresses the relational aspects of the

partnership, including the mechanisms for ensuring regular review, feedback and learning.

Further, whenever a Core or Project Partner is going to implement a project or a given set of activities with

funding from Save the Children, a Sub-grant Agreement will be drawn up and signed, for which purpose a Sub-

grant Agreement Template (tool no. 9) is applied, unless applicable donor conditions dictate otherwise.

Each Sub-grant Agreement is related to a specific grant with particular donor requirements, and all such

requirements stipulated in the contract between Save the Children and the relevant donor must also be duly

reflected in the corresponding Sub-grant Agreement between Save the Children and the partner in question.


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Each Sub-grant Agreement should be accompanied by a corresponding partner budget as well as a Partnership

Work Plan, a Partnership Capacity Building Plan and a Partnership Monitoring & Evaluation Plan.


A partnership between Save the Children and a Strategic, Government or Child-led Partner is formalised

through an MOU, for which purpose the relevant MOU Template is applied.4

The MOU, which is a non-binding document in legal terms, sets out the purpose and objectives of the

partnership, the expected results of the cooperation, the agreed roles and responsibilities of the involved

parties, the mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing the partnership as well as the procedures for suspending

or terminating the collaboration, should this become necessary.

Moreover, in cases where a Partnership Work Plan, a Partnership Capacity Building Plan and a Partnership

Monitoring & Evaluation Plan has not been drawn up under step 2, the MOU shall also describe in some detail

what the planned activities and expected outputs are under the partnership and how this is going to be

monitored by the partners.

4) Implementation, capacity building and joint monitoring

Having formalised the partnership through an MOU and, if relevant, a Sub-grant Agreement, implementation of

agreed activities, including those related to capacity building, may be started up.

In order to ensure effective implementation of activities and conducive partnership relations, it is crucial that

clarity prevails from the outset with regard to the lines of communication in the partnership – a point which is

particularly important when several Project Partners are to be coordinated by a Core Partner. Hence, official

points of contact must be established between the partners from the beginning and agreed communication lines

should be adhered to by all parties involved in order to avoid confusion, duplication and potential discord.


Before implementation kicks off, a project inception workshop should be held between the partners in order

to ensure that there is agreement and clarity across the board with regard to the relevant project’s objectives,

outputs and activities, the strategies and methodologies to be applied, the roles and responsibilities of all

involved parties, the procedures for financial transfers, procurement and budget revisions, the requirements for

monitoring and reporting as well as other matters pertinent to the collaboration, such as documentation and

visibility. Apart from addressing all of the above, a project inception workshop constitutes an important

opportunity for reiterating agreed partnership values and principles and discussing measures to be applied with

an eye to facilitating effective and genuine partner collaboration.

Once implementation of project activities starts up, joint monitoring must take place at various levels in order

to ensure accountability, learning and achievement of results. For all projects, monitoring will be guided by the

Partnership Monitoring & Evaluation Plan, which incorporates all the key components that have been selected

for joint monitoring by Save the Children and the partner in question.

Monitoring will take place through the partner’s submission of narrative and financial reports (in accordance

with the formats and donor requirements that apply to the grant in question) as well as various Financial

Accountability Forms (tool nos. 10A-J). In addition to this, monitoring may take place through project reviews

and evaluations as well as through internal or external project audits.

4 Particular versions of the MOU Template will be applied for the different partner categories as certain provisions must be included in

relation to e.g. Government Partners and as a child-friendly language is required in relation to Child-Led Partners.


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However, effective monitoring also requires that Save the Children and the partner in question pay regular

visits to relevant project locations and that ample interaction takes place in connection herewith – not just

between the partners themselves, but certainly also with project stakeholders and beneficiaries, including

children. The objectives of such visits are to monitor the progress of agreed activities and the achievement of

expected outputs, but also to engage with children, communities and other relevant actors in order to learn

whether the work undertaken is achieving its purposes and whether the guiding principles of the UNCRC are

being upheld in the process. In connection with these joint visits, which must take place at least three times a

year, a Joint Monitoring Visit Guide (tool no. 11) shall be applied, unless it has been required by the donor and/or

agreed by the partners to make use of another monitoring tool.

Finally, partnership review meetings will take place twice a year with an eye to assessing the progression of the

various plans that were drawn up under step 2 but also to gauge how well the partnership is working out in

more general terms. Ideally, a partnership review meeting should be directly preceded by a joint monitoring

visit and use the observations and findings from this as a point of departure for discussing how well

implementation is going and for taking stock of the relational aspects of the partnership. Key questions to be

answered in connection with a partnership review meeting thus include:

Are we on the right track with regard to what was set out in the MOU and the Sub-grant Agreement?

How well are we doing in terms of executing the Partnership Work Plan – are adjustments needed?

How well are we doing in terms of executing the Capacity Building Plan – what are the effects?

Are we adhering to the agreed principles for the partnership?

What can we do to make our partnership even stronger and more effective?

In cases where Project Partners are coordinated by a Core Partner, the latter party will take a lead role in

organising the joint monitoring visits as well as the partnership review meetings. On the part of Save the

Children, it is the relevant Partnership Manager Integrated/Education who is responsible for ensuring that

partnership review meetings do take place, that they are duly recorded and that all ensuing adjustments to the

Partnership Work Plan or other partnership documents are acted upon.


When it comes to Strategic, Government and Child-led Partners, implementation of agreed activities may or

may not be guided by a detailed Partnership Work Plan and a Partnership Capacity Building Plan, depending on

the nature and scope of the intended cooperation.

Whether or not this is the case, monitoring of agreed activities needs to take place in accordance with what

has been set out in the relevant MOU, just as the relational aspects of the partnership must be reviewed

regularly. For this purpose, partnership review meetings must be held with appropriate frequency and at least

once a year. As with Core and Project Partners, it is the relevant Partnership Manager Integrated/Education or,

in the case of Kampala-based partners, the relevant Programme Manager who is responsible for ensuring that

partnership review meetings do take place, that they are duly recorded and that all ensuing adjustments to

relevant partnership documents are carried out.

5) Evaluation of the partnership

To Save the Children it is important that we continuously learn from our partnerships, that we regularly

subject them to critical scrutiny and that we make informed decisions about their possible continuation. Hence,

in addition to any project specific evaluations that may take place, an evaluation of the partnership itself must

be carried out whenever an MOU period is coming to an end. For this purpose, a Partnership Evaluation Guide

(tool no. 12) shall be applied.


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The partnership evaluation deals with the overall purpose and longer-term objectives for the partner

collaboration that were set out in the MOU as well as with the relational aspects of the partnership. It is

supposed to be a mutual exercise through which both parties have the opportunity to express whether the

collaboration has lived up to their expectations and whether it will be useful to continue the partnership, if

relevant. It is also an important learning opportunity through which both parties may extract valuable

information that can strengthen their respective partnership approaches and their wider organisational

development. Finally, it is a process through which the parties can discuss and agree on things that need to be

changed in order to make the collaboration stronger and more effective, should it eventually be decided to

continue the partnership.

Some of the key questions to be answered during the partnership evaluation are:

To what extent has the expected longer-term objectives in the MOU been reached and what are the

main explanations for the given level of achievement?

To what extent has each of the parties lived up to their assigned roles and responsibilities in the

partnership?

Has the partnership been significant in improving the lives of children and has it added value to our

work and our respective organisations?

Have the agreed principles for the partnership been adhered to by both sides and how well have we

tackled challenges along the way?

Is continued partner collaboration desirable and, if so, how can we make our partnership even stronger

and more effective?

Whereas an externally facilitated evaluation process will normally not be possible, it is important that staff

members other than those dealing with each other on a day-to-day basis participate in the evaluation from

both parties. The conclusions of the partnership evaluation, including any diverting opinions by the attending

parties, should be recorded in a brief summary report to be endorsed by all participants and kept on file.

6) Decision on continuation or closure

On the basis of the partnership evaluation and, if applicable, project evaluation and/or audit reports, Save the

Children will, on its part, reach a decision about whether to propose a continuation of the partnership,

provided that such cooperation remains in alignment with our strategic priorities and that resources are

available for the purpose.

In cases where a Core Partner has been responsible for the coordination of the partner in question, the

decision will of course be made in close consultation with the Core Partner.

If Save the Children decides to propose a continuation of a partnership, and if the partner in question is

similarly interested in carrying on with the collaboration, the partnership management cycle basically starts

over from step 1. At this point, however, it will be relevant to consider whether an exit strategy should be

developed under the new partnership phase.

If Save the Children decides not to propose a continuation of the partnership, the partner in question will be

duly informed and receive a substantiated explanation for the decision behind the closure.


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7. Overview of partnership tools

The below table provides an overview of the tools that are to be used in connection with the various steps of

the partnership management cycle:

Step Tool

1. Partner assessment and selection Tool no. 1: Letter of Intent

Tool no. 2: Partner Assessment Guide & Form

Tool no. 3: Partner Appraisal & Recommendation Form

Tool no. 4: Letter of Decision

2. Defining and making plans for the partnership

Tool no. 5: Partnership Work Plan

Tool no. 6: Partnership Capacity Building Plan

Tool no. 7: Partnership Monitoring & Evaluation Plan

3. Formalising the partnership Tool no. 8: Memorandum of Understanding Template

Tool no. 9: Sub-grant Agreement Template

4. Implementation, capacity building and joint

monitoring

Tool no. 10A-J: Financial Accountability Forms

Tool no. 11: Joint Monitoring Visit Guide

5. Evaluation of the partnership Tool no. 12: Partnership Evaluation Guide

6. Decision on continuation or closure N.A.

8. Reference documents

Save the Children in Uganda: Country Strategic Plan 2010-14 Nov 2009

Save the Children International: Save the Children Global Strategy 2010-15 Nov 2009

Save the Children International: Child Safeguarding Policy Jan 2011

Save the Children International: Whistleblowing Policy Jan 2011

Save the Children International: SOP: Partnership Management Jan 2011

Save the Children International: SOP: Organisational Capacity Development of Local Partners Jan 2011

Save the Children International: Partner Assessment and Selection - Process and Criteria Jan 2011

Save the Children International: Grant Management Manual (Version 1) Jan 2011

Save the Children in Sierra Leone: Partnership & Civil Society Development Strategy Jan 2011

Save the Children Sweden-Denmark: Partnership Policy and Practice Framework (Bangladesh) June 2011

Save the Children Denmark: Working in Partnership with Civil Society – Policy Paper July 2011

Documents

Working in Partnership - Resource Centre · PDF filewe deliver on our objectives and generate lasting and positive ... the above values or improve our partnership approach ... the