Cross-sector collaboration for NGOs
Sustainable development requires unity. A holistic approach or a systematic cross-sectoral collaboration serves as an accelerator to maximize social impact.
The definition of poverty is different in different societies. The geographies where poverty means hunger, malnutrition, and homelessness is perturbing. Poverty is not knowing where or if your next meal will come. It is illiteracy. It is no access to medical facilities. It is a lack of employment. All this together leads to increased crimes and deaths. In a world where 39% of the population is overweight, children dying of hunger seems like a nightmare. It would have been good news if this was a nightmare, but sadly it is the truth. Extreme poverty is a vicious circle which most families never manage to escape from.
In 2015 the UN general assembly set sustainable development goals (SDGs). It is a collection of 17 goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” with the aim to achieve these by 2030. SDG number 1 is No poverty. Through the pledge Leave No One Behind, countries have committed to fast-track progress for those furthest behind first. The goal is to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.90 a day. In 2011, the world bank increased the international poverty line from $1.25 a day to $1.90 a day. It might look like the poverty line was raised to more fitting levels. However, that is not very accurate. The world bank simply rebased the old line to adjust for depreciation in the purchasing power of the dollar. The new figure gives it an illusion that poverty has reduced, but not much has changed in the real world.
It is harsh to live on $1.90 per day. People living under that line are in constant survival mode. They could die of reasons which are unimaginable for people living in the developed world. Even if we achieve the goal number 1 on the list, there will still be struggling masses of people that fall under the definition of poverty. The situation has worsened after the Corona Pandemic, putting us way behind on achieving the goal by 2030 which means more struggle and more pain in the world.
The aim here is not just to be critical. It is good to know the truth and try to put the pieces together again. Poverty eradication is a complicated issue but not impossible to achieve. Not only do we need to eliminate extreme poverty, we need to do it at a much faster rate.
Only money cannot help to achieve this goal. The 17th goal of the SDGs, partnership for the goals, in my opinion, is the one that can accelerate this process. To achieve all SDGs, partnerships between governments, the private sector, civil society, and other parties are essential. The bigger the collaboration, the better will be the results for the project that they do together. Also, for sustainable impact, poor communities must be involved in identifying their problems and finding solutions. That will avoid the risk of dependency syndrome.
The question is: how can we reduce poverty without spending more money and use any resources most effectively? The way is to use available funds and resources more wisely. To be able to provide a full-fledged poverty alleviation framework the following three steps are important:
First, knowing what is available. Right now, millions of NGOs are in operation, but it is near impossible to find an exhaustive list. Easy collaboration can be supported through a webpage (public or private) that lists all registered NGOs at least on national level. Currently, the UN barely has 5,000 NGOs in the consultative status. That is minute as compared to actual numbers of NGOs operating in the world. There is one website that lists around 50,000 NGOs. A large number but not even close to reality. A compilation of all charities will make it easier to “pick and choose”, saving on a lot of scouting time.
Second, Software/Technology. Recent literature has highlighted that many NGOs are still in the early stages of IT adoption. Like in any other industry, it is a dire necessity to improve the IT structure of the companies. NGOs need to implement IT systems that can keep track of their grants, finances, prevent fraud, ensure compliance, and calculate the impact of their projects. The ideal software should support frequent tracking and updates of projects, to provide a positive donor experience. Without an end-to-end software, it is like owning an online shop that has no customer review section.
Third, and foremost, systematic cross-sectoral collaboration. Even though the mission of all NGOs is the betterment of lives, visible results are strewn and not satisfying. The reason being, despite the best intentions the approach is scattered. With increasing speed comes more emergent challenges, so the capacity to quickly iterate and adapt is even more essential. Cross-sectoral collaboration gives us that speed that cannot be accomplished alone. Involving many stakeholders might seem complicated at first, but the results it brings shadows the hindrances. Instead of addressing specific challenges and having a scattered approach, we must address a problematic geographical area with all the solutions at once. To put it in perspective, one NGO is building a school in village A, and another one is building a hospital in village Z. They are solving a problem, but it is not sustainable. People in village Z are getting better health services but going back to the unhygienic housing situation, thus will never be able to fully recover from health issues. Similarly, children living in Village A have access to education but will not be able to be a regular to the free school because of a lack of health support or lack of employment opportunities for the parents. Such examples are not fictitious or exhaustive. It is an unfortunate reality. Thus, it is essential to approach poverty with a holistic solution. Thinking about building a society is going to get better results than building individual houses. Being the hand that can pull people out of the vicious circle of extreme poverty needs the strength of many arms.
Such cross-sector cooperation is nothing new for the aid industry. There are many examples, one being Inspiring Scotland. It is an innovative venture philanthropy organization designed and developed in response to the needs of Scotland’s charities. It is working with a range of investors, all driven by a desire for social change, including the Scottish Government, trusts and foundations, companies, and high net worth individuals. Alongside philanthropic funding, Inspiring Scotland also offers pro-bono specialists and an extensive network of volunteers. The partnership between Inspiring Scotland and both the Scottish National Government and regional subunits evolved on a strong basis of mutual trust. Inspiring Scotland was able to build its credibility through a rigorous impact focus, reliable reporting, and efficient and rational performance management, which ultimately led to the public-private partnership between Inspiring Scotland and the government. In total, Inspiring Scotland has more than £120m under management in eight different funds. To date, more than 300 charities have received financial and/or non-financial support. Across the different thematic areas, Inspiring Scotland’s financial and non- financial support has achieved some great results. The Fund has moved more than 25,000 young people into employment, education, or training.
Similar projects like Inspiring Scotland need to be executed at an international level for solving the issue of poverty. Combining collaboration with new technologies in the area of affordable housing like Polycare, will provide the required boost and speed. The only successful and effective way to achieve SDG number 1 is by using SDG number 17 to its fullest capacity. This has the potential for sustainable change. It also has the potential to showcase how change brought in by one sub-sector can accelerate the impact of another.
