Partnerships with the private sector are all the rage in development circles, but what this means for humanitarian organizations isn’t always clear.
Members of Canada’s humanitarian community had a chance to reflect on the issue during the Humanitarian Conference, a two-day event held last week in Ottawa. The conference came just as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development — which oversees Canadian foreign aid efforts — announced the funding of a large research and consultation project with the private sector and humanitarian aid agencies on the potential of cross-sector partnerships.
We look at lessons learned about private sector partnerships shared by the experts who spoke during the conference.