Partnership for international development: Rhetoric of results?

We have entered a time when international development figures prominently among policymakers, in the media, and among the general public. The complexity posed by globalization, coupled with the continuing challenges of poverty, security, and political and economic instability, necessitates creative approaches and new institutional structures to address the simultaneous needs for technical expertise and participatory, democratic practices. These challenges are intensified by the need to embrace cultural to seek to minimise the direct involvement and funding of government bodies. In every sector and service sphere, actors are looking for the most effective and efficient means to deliver services in an increasingly interdependent world. Partnership has become the buzzword used to describe many of these endeavours. However, rhetoric alone will not lead to solutions, but may only make things worse as it leads to cynicism and lack of trust, discouraging actors from pursuing partnership approaches. In this book, I 'seek to clarify the concept of partnership, as well as its practice, to critique our understanding and practice of partnership in international development to date, and to specify partnership's defining dimensions. Implementation guidelines outline contextual factors, which inform the decision to partner and suggest strategies for maximising and maintaining partnership effectiveness. A more nuanced understanding of potential actors and corresponding selection criteria can assist cooperating actors to be more strategic in who they partner with, as well as how they design and implement partnerships.