What are some of the best practices for collaborating with local partners in developing regions?

3 Participation and empowerment

A third best practice for collaborating with local partners is participation and empowerment. This means involving your local partners in all stages of the project cycle, from design to evaluation, and ensuring that they have a voice and a say in the decisions that affect them. It also means enhancing their skills, knowledge, and networks, and enabling them to take ownership and leadership of the interventions. Participation and empowerment can be promoted by using participatory methods, providing capacity building and mentoring, and creating platforms for dialogue and learning.

4 Coordination and collaboration

A fourth best practice for collaborating with local partners is coordination and collaboration. This means working together with your local partners and other relevant actors, such as government agencies, donors, NGOs, and community groups, to achieve common goals and outcomes. It also means avoiding duplication, competition, or conflict, and maximizing synergies, efficiency, and impact. Coordination and collaboration can be facilitated by establishing clear and regular communication channels, creating joint mechanisms and structures, and sharing lessons and best practices.

5 Learning and innovation

A fifth best practice for collaborating with local partners is learning and innovation. This means collecting, analyzing, and using data and evidence to measure and improve your performance, results, and impact. It also means encouraging creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking, and embracing failures and challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. Learning and innovation can be supported by creating a culture of curiosity, inquiry, and feedback, using data-driven tools and methods, and fostering a growth mindset and a continuous improvement attitude.

6 Sustainability and scalability

A sixth and final best practice for collaborating with local partners is sustainability and scalability. This means ensuring that your interventions are relevant, appropriate, and effective for the context and the beneficiaries, and that they can be maintained and replicated in the long term. It also means considering the environmental, social, economic, and institutional factors that affect the viability and potential of your interventions, and addressing them accordingly. Sustainability and scalability can be enhanced by using local resources, engaging local champions, and building local capacity and ownership.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?