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3. Building partnerships: Results
   Last updated: 29.06.02
3.Results
Since the Alliance launched its initiative to promote partnerships in 1995, the programme has developed and expanded considerably. As a result of the Alliance’s training efforts, NGOs have started reaching out to the government, business community, media and other new partners. By bringing people together in a common cause, these collaborations are now helping communities to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic more effectively than ever before.

The sheer numbers alone tell part of the story. Since 1995, 355 local NGOs have participated in the capacity-building effort (see box). Also, by disseminating the “Pathways to Partnerships” toolkit, the Alliance has greatly extended the reach of its efforts. Since the production of the English version in 1999, the Alliance has distributed 1,146 copies to organisations in over 32 countries (see box).

The data from Mexico, the site of both the most comprehensive partnerships training programme and most thorough evaluation to date of the Alliance’s work in this area, shows the real impact of this kind of work. As part of a formal performance-monitoring plan, structured interviews were used to gather baseline and follow-up data from the participating NGOs. The results were striking. For example, when the programme began, only 6 out of the 64 participating NGOs had identified key partners. By the end of the first phase, this had increased to 63.

In addition to the quantitative data, the qualitative feedback from Mexico also indicates that the capacity-building efforts have been effective. Participants reported a number of positive developments, ranging from individual empowerment to a united vision of their HIV/AIDS work.

One of the most important results of the Mexico Programme has been a heightened awareness of the importance of NGOs working more closely not only with other sectors, but also amongst themselves. This was achieved through facilitating a combination of discussions and participatory activities – to encourage people to openly voice their perspectives and concerns. As one of the participants at the evaluation workshop said: “When we were thinking back over conflicts we have had with other groups, we were able to see things from their point of view. It encouraged us to think more about how we relate to others and helped us to realise, because NGOs share common objectives, we can complement each other’s work.”

Now, the realisation by NGOs and other sectors alike that Mexican NGOs are working together more collaboratively and productively, has had a ripple effect. As the programme’s success continues, more and more groups want to be involved. Although this kind of mobilisation was not the programme’s original goal, it has been one of its most striking achievements.

The Alliance’s work in Mexico is not an isolated success. Individual NGOs, NGO support programmes and NGO sectors in other countries have also reported improvements in their capacity, effectiveness and ability to not only sustain their efforts, but also to expand them.

At the level of individual NGOs, the Alliance’s training has taught participants new skills, and thus helped increase their capacity to form partnerships. In the Philippines, for example, HOPE Foundation has dramatically enhanced the quality of HIV/AIDS co-ordination and services in Bacolod City through the creation of a multisectoral AIDS Council (see case study).

COMDEV, another NGO in the Philippines, has also been able to address the scale and sustainability of its efforts. It started by building upon its success in mobilising considerable local resources; from video equipment from the City Government, to sponsorship for peer educator awards from the Rotary Club. It then took its partnerships work one stage further by collaborating with the local education department and convincing them to integrate their HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and materials into the school curriculum. This initiative, based upon training sessions and prototype lesson plans developed by COMDEV, will enable the scale-up of the NGO’s established programme of guidance counsellors and peer educators in 25 local schools. Although COMDEV will continue to have a technical role, in the future much of the resources and support will come from the government.

Experiences such as COMDEV’s show that the results of partnerships can go far beyond the initiative in question. They can also benefit both the NGO’s work, and the local response to HIV/AIDS as a whole. As Miriam Grafilo of COMDEV says: “We’ve shown that different agencies are able to plan together – which has never happened before. For example, students can be referred from peer educators to government clinics. This has changed the image of NGOs with the government – because they have realised our usefulness.” This is supported by the views of other sectors. For example, Estrella Lariosa, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent of General Santos, says: “Before, we had HIV/AIDS in our curriculum, but it wasn’t as strong as it is now. COMDEV have brought practical expertise, whereas our knowledge was limited to books. The peer counsellors are doing a splendid job. You can see their confidence and enthusiasm – which is a result of the high quality of the training they received from COMDEV.” While the President of General Santos Rotary Club says, “COMDEV has helped us to see that we can do our bit, especially for students and people in the slum areas. We’ve realised that AIDS in not just my problem or his problem, it’s the whole community’s. So, we’ve now decided to make our work with COMDEV a continuing project – so that they don’t have to look for a new partner each year.”

By enhancing partnership building skills, the Alliance has also helped linking organisations and other NGO support programmes increase their effectiveness. For example, in Ecuador, the Alliance linking organisation has improved its work with the media, and, in the Philippines, the linking organisation has enhanced its co-ordination with the government. While, in Malaysia, an Alliance skills-building workshop conducted before the Asia Regional AIDS Conference – involving Alliance linking organisations and other NGO support programmes - helped participants to develop a strategic plan for targeting donors and other potential partners at the Conference.

Of particular note, the Alliance’s efforts have also resulted in an increase in focus amongst NGO support programmes on working with local NGOs to develop their own partnerships work. In total, over 50 local facilitators have been involved in the programme. At a country level, the results can be most clearly seen in Mexico – where the pilot programme alone resulted in 16 local facilitators being trained in how to train others to use participatory methodologies for partnerships work. Results can also be seen in other countries. For example, in Morocco, the staff of AMSED, the Alliance linking organisation, put their new skills developed during a technical support visit to immediate use by preparing and co-facilitating a partnerships workshop for their partner NGOs.

These changes at the NGO and NGO support programme levels have contributed to changes at the NGO sector level. As a result of the Alliance’s capacity-building efforts, the sector has, in many countries, increased its ability to act in strategic collaboration rather than in isolation. For the NGOs in Morocco, for example, the Alliance workshop represented the first time that many participants had talked together about their experiences of working with others, and helped to strengthen the sector’s effectiveness.

Impact of partnerships programme in Mexico
Goal.. % of participating NGOs
achieving goal before training .. after training

Written mission statement 31 % 97 %
Written strategic plan 23 % 88 %
Written workplan 30 % 72 %
Key partners identified 9 % 98 %
Partnership building strategy 11 % 84 %
Partnership building plan 9 % 55 %

Benefits of Mexico Pilot Programme
The Alliance asked the 64 NGOs participating in the first phase of the partnerships capacity-building Pilot Programme how they had benefited from the training. They summarised their response at three levels:

Individual level:
  • Individual empowerment

  • Decentralised leadership

  • Improved capacity to delegate


NGO level:
  • Access to new planning tools and skills

  • Greater clarity about organisational structure, roles and responsibilities

  • Greater clarity about organisational mission, strategy and activities

  • Increased level and quantity of services

  • Increased access to equipment, donations and services

  • Greater involvement of new players


National level:
  • Increased leadership capacity

  • Increased awareness of NGOs’ role in social mobilisation on HIV/AIDS

  • Increased focus on human rights

  • Greater unity of vision as a group of NGOs


CASE STUDY: HOPE Foundation, the Philippines

What is the HOPE Foundation?
HOPE is a local NGO based in Bacolod City. Their programme focuses on developing a local "AIDS Council" involving different sectors. These include local government bodies - such as the City Government, Provincial Health Office and City Health Office.

What did they do with their government partners?
HOPE identified their local government bodies as priority partners. Their activities included:
  • Carrying out one-to-one visits - to build relationships, and to develop their individual HIV/AIDS strategies.

  • Involving them in the "AIDS Council" - enabling them to participate in strategic planning for the City's response to HIV/AIDS, and to share ideas with others - such as the Red Cross and civic clubs.

  • Providing them with access to HIV/AIDS training - in areas such as gender.


What did they gain?
By working with their local government bodies, HOPE gained:
  • Financial support - such as funding for HOPE's telephone counselling service from the City government.

  • Endorsement and political support for a broader response to HIV/AIDS within the City.

  • An improved referral system - enabling HOPE to refer community members, including people living with HIV/AIDS, to government services.


What did they learn?
HOPE learned that it was vital to:
  • Recognise and respect that local government bodies have specific systems and ways of working.

  • Involve government in a multi-sectoral initiative - to help them to understand the different needs and priorities of other groups, and to contribute to - rather than "dictate" - a local response to HIV/AIDS.

  • Have a positive approach to government relations- which offers support and strengthening, rather than confrontation.


Responses to “Pathways to Partnerships” toolkit

“It is a breakthrough for HIV/AIDS; therefore I want to congratulate you for such a fine product.... This [is an] achievement which is an important tool for all of us who work with HIV/AIDS.”
Rainer F. Rosenbaum, Representative, UNFPA, Mexico

“It is comprehensive and covers in-depth ways of working in partnership at the international level. I believe it would be a useful resource for our Family Planning Associations.”
Pramila Senanayake, Assistant Director General, IPPF

“I am very happy to inform you that I have received your wonderful toolkit which I and my team see as the best since we started working in the HIV/AIDS field for the past ten years now.”
Bernard K. Sode, Director, Friends Concern, Ghana

Source: Building Partnerships
This is an extract from Building Partnerships: Sustaining and Expanding Community Action on HIV/AIDS, published by the International HIV/AIDS
Alliance in March 2000.

To view the whole report follow this link.

To download, complete with graphics, in pdf format (which requires Adobe Acrobat software to read it) follow this link (file size 453 Kbytes).