The report, entitled 'Powering global change through partnership', summarises the institute's activities during the 2015/16 financial year. The report's theme is partnerships, and how they enable IIED to deliver varied, wide-ranging and influential work across the world.
Collaboration has been a defining element of IIED's way of working for more than 40 years, and the report says IIED's belief in the power and benefit of authentic partnerships has never been more relevant. It says that building strong relationships will be vital if the international community is to deliver on its aspiration to 'leave no-one behind'.
Today, IIED is engaged in 371 partnerships in more than 60 countries with over 300 organisations.
The institute has built long-standing relationships with individuals, communities and organisations around the world, and particularly in the global South.
The first section of the report describes the different types of partnerships in which IIED participates, and analyses the elements needed for successful collaboration. It concludes that developing successful partnerships requires a long-standing commitment to develop mature and mutually beneficial relationships.
Rebeca Grynspan, chair, IIEDThis report gives striking examples of how, by working in partnership, IIED can support greater social and economic justice, build the resilience of poor countries and poor people, and amplify the voices of the marginalised in national and global debates.
IIED has also produced a four-minute animation that shows how the institute works with partners from around the globe to deliver change at the local, national and international level. This can be viewed above or on our YouTube channel.
The main body of the report profiles some of the many projects delivered by IIED and partners. These include:
- Working within the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) to provide research support and skill building so that that local evidence on climate change vulnerability and resilience in urban areas can effectively inform policy.
- Publishing two special issues of the journal Environment & Urbanization, documenting the work of IIED partners, including Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) on improving access to sanitation in urban areas. The special issues of Environment & Urbanization have been downloaded more than 30,000 times.
- Working with Cambodia's government to use IIED's Tracking Adaptation and Measuring Development (TAMD) approach to monitoring climate adaptation, providing the vital data to inform that country's future action and investment in climate change resilience.
- Delivering training to planning and finance ministry officials on effectively managing climate finance. The first training course in Bangladesh in February 2016 was attended by officials from Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The programme was delivered by researchers from IIED and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and officials from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- Working with Irish Aid and Irish Aid country programmes and partners to deliver a web-based learning platform on integrating climate change into development programming. Now in its second year, the platform has over 400 members.
- Working with Dutch NGO Hivos to increase fairness and resilience in global food systems. We worked with Kabarole Research and Resource Centre in Uganda and the Indonesian NGO Laboratorium Riset Indie and Padjadjaran University to gather evidence and support the design of policies that protect and improve food systems for the urban poor.
- Collaborating with the World Bank to show the relevance of natural capital accounting (NCA) and the value it adds to sustainable development policymaking. As part of the Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) partnership, IIED worked with country teams in Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Botswana, Rwanda, the Philippines and Indonesia on strategies to generate demand for NCA data.
- Partnering with TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network), IUCN's Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group and others on finding community solutions to wildlife crime. IIED worked with the Cameroonian Network for Environment and Sustainable Development to organise international workshops in South Africa and Cameroon on how to encourage local people to protect wildlife.
The report also includes information on IIED's financial performance and information about how the institute works to improve its environmental performance.
Key content in the 2015/16 annual report
- An introduction by IIED director Andrew Norton
- An introduction by IIED chair Rebeca Grynspan
- An analysis of the key characteristics needed for successful collaboration
- Snapshots of partnership projects
- The financial summary, and
- Details of how IIED is working on delivering responsible operations.
More details:
- Download IIED's full annual report as a PDF from IIED's Publications Library
- The long road to Paris: special focus on IIED's work at COP22.
- Read about IIED's responsible operations 2016
- Read the 2016 financial summary
- Read IIED's environmental policy
