From principle to practice: what Southern leadership reveals about equitable partnerships

The partnership

In 2023, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) invited IIED to apply for funding. We chose to partner with the African Centre for Trade and Development (ACTADE), a Ugandan-based organisation with which IIED has a long-standing relationship on climate work. ACTADE is a national NGO that has been operating for nearly 25 years, with climate action as one of its primary interest areas. 

Launched in October 2023 and scheduled to conclude by December 2026, this project aims to promote inclusive knowledge creation and exchange for agricultural adaptation by linking and encouraging interaction among various actors in the knowledge system – those who create, disseminate and utilise knowledge.

Value in South-North partnerships

This partnership is yielding mutual benefits. We co-created every stage of the project, from developing the concept note and proposal to project delivery. With only the funder's call as our guide, we collaboratively constructed the project idea and methodology. 

We utilised jamboards for initial brainstorming and later compiled our ideas into a shared document, enabling both teams to develop the proposal jointly. The eight-week co-design process took 16 hours and 50 minutes of meetings, and we are tracking the time spent on project co-delivery meetings. 

Co-creation is time-consuming and sometimes messy, but it yields genuinely shared agendas. It tackles common intellectual property issues that often arise in partnerships, clarifies roles, and fosters trust and mutual learning while maintaining transparency and accountability.

It has meaningfully shaped our research approach, enabling us to better engage with the realities of local communities. For example, the traditional format for focus group discussions (PDF) proved ineffective in one community due to their communal lifestyle. By adapting to community dialogues that allowed over 20 participants per discussion and longer discussion time, we established a stronger connection, leading to deeper engagement and richer insights. 

For ACTADE, the collaboration has enabled them to establish a direct relationship with this funder for the first time, which opened new opportunities for capacity strengthening and networking. With IIED's support and resources, ACTADE has gained increased visibility in both global and regional climate discussions. IIED has shared templates on request, and ACTADE has started producing its knowledge products using these templates as a guide.

We adopted a capacity-sharing approach guided by both partners' needs. It includes tailored support in communications, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and research. ACTADE's willingness to discuss their capacity needs has helped shape these efforts. ACTADE has introduced a MEL system and a communication strategy for the first time, providing a foundation for improved evidence generation, learning and communication. 

This is how each stakeholder contributed to fostering an equitable partnership:

The funder

IDRC called for Southern leadership, which enabled IIED to partner with ACTADE. Our funder offers flexibility in timelines and budgets, and shares risks, including foreign exchange losses. 

This approach creates greater opportunities for collaboration and fosters a partnership rather than a traditional donor-recipient relationship. They also activated funding for learning, allowing the exchange of lessons at various levels.

IIED

As a Northern-based organisation, we recognised our influence and stepped back to allow Southern leadership to thrive. We work in a fast-paced environment with a robust infrastructure for research, international project and partnership management, including funder compliance. By allowing our partner to lead project delivery, including organising meetings, drafting agendas and creating documents, we enable them to define activities and make initial decisions, which we then refine together.

Our shared capacity and resources enhance quality. The partner has sought our leadership on specific activities, illustrating a dynamic exchange of roles, which reinforces our collective impact.

Southern partner

In line with the funder's requirements, ACTADE led on the project. Their initial reluctance stemmed from the belief that IIED, as a Northern-based organisation, was better qualified to lead. 

We addressed this by fostering open and regular discussions about the meaning of Southern leadership. These conversations not only dispelled doubts but also uncovered opportunities for capacity sharing, enabling a more collaborative approach.

Embracing flexibility to address the evolving demands of the partnership and project delivery greatly enhanced collaboration and mutual learning.

Challenges 

This partnership model is time- and cost-intensive. One challenge is the higher operational costs of Northern-based organisations. Co-creation demands a substantial investment of time and effort, which increases expenses for all partners. 

Exploring cost-reduction strategies is crucial; however, the differentiated living costs across contexts and the pressures of collective project delivery need to be considered.

Southern partners often face resource constraints and small teams, hindering their adaptability in international collaborations. For example, ACTADE has four technical staff who support the organisation's entire work. IDRC's flexibility in timelines, combined with our flexibility in roles, helps navigate these challenges.

Transferring power is not a straightforward process. Historical imbalances can make Northern organisations struggle to step back, while Southern organisations may be hesitant to embrace the power being transferred to them. An ACTADE colleague insightfully remarked that "leadership is empowering", while acknowledging the "learning curve" that accompanies it. 

A partner from another organisation said that this transfer can feel like an "institutional burden" when the expectations placed on them do not align with available resources. In practice, this means that specific roles within the partnerships may not function as intended, and these realities are often unspoken. 

Acknowledging and confronting these issues is a necessary part of building more equitable and effective partnerships.

Maximising the value of the South-North partnership through collective effort

To maximise the value of the South-North partnership (PDF), all stakeholders need to unite to shift power dynamics. Co-creation builds trust and shared goals, and enables capacity and resource sharing, but it requires long-term commitment and financial security. How can we ensure the sustainability of this transformative approach?

Funders need to continue asking for Southern leadership while allowing flexibility on timelines and budgets, sharing risks and activating funding for co-creation and capacity sharing. 

International intermediaries need to support Southern leadership by stepping back, sharing their capacity and resources and reducing their costs. 

Southern organisations need to strengthen their project management systems beyond funder compliance to community accountability, develop effective cost-recovery systems and shift their mindset regarding leadership in partnerships.

With thanks to Susan Nanduddu, Viola Musiimenta (both ACTADE), Mamadou Fall (IED Afrique), Rosalind Goodrich, Tarisirai Zengeni, Cinzia Cimmino, and Marion Pobo for contributing to the development of this insight. Next year, we will publish a detailed paper on these lessons with our partners.