Current Work
If anyone asks me what I do for a living, I say that I work in international development. If they persist and want to know more (and I can't calculate how many taxi drivers in how many countries I have had this conversation with) I say that I work with business, government and civil society organisations to build greater self-reliance and reduce dependency on aid. Most taxi drivers wisely stop asking questions at this point!
To un-pick the jargon, my current work involves engaging with the three different 'sectors' in society to help them to work together in a more 'joined up' way to create sustainable social, economic and environmental development.
If that still sounds like jargon, perhaps I can convey it better by saying that in my work I try to play a modest part in helping individuals and communities to take control of their own destinies in ways that enhance their (and the planet's) ability to survive - by transforming destructive into constructive behaviour.
This has all been under the auspices of the International Business Leaders Forum - created by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1990 to promote responsible business practices - where I have worked since 1992 - first as a self-employed consultant and, since 2006 as a senior director.
My role has been to develop tools, methods and guidelines that make it possible for those who usually keep each other firmly at arm's length to work together on projects of mutual and individual benefit - aka 'partnership building'. A huge amount of this work has been in conducted in the form of awareness-raising workshops and skills training programmes.
It has been exciting to see this work evolve and prosper as 'partnerships for sustainable development' become increasingly accepted as the way forward - the way to contain 'unleashed capitalism' to quote one of the lecturers on the Cambridge post-graduate course in Cross-Sector Partnership that, on behalf of IBLF, I helped to start in 2001. For more information see: http://www.cpi.cam.ac.uk/pccp
A further course I helped to start on behalf of IBLF is a professional training programme for partnership 'brokers' - those individuals working to scope, develop, manage and review partnerships for sustainable development either from within one of the partner organisations or on behalf of an intermediary organisation or as independent consultants. Some 250 individuals have completed this programme and speak with enthusiasm of their increased skills and confidence in undertaking this important role. For more information see: http://www.odi.org.uk/pbas
Our partnership training work at IBLF has many aspects. Over 10 or more years, we have tried to support the UN system in building their capacity to engage constructively with business - to harness the enormous wealth of resources that business can bring to projects aimed at tackling poverty, social injustice and environmental degradation. For the past 3 years, we have been building an exciting programme with the United Nations Systems Staff College (UNSSC) to build partnering skills throughout the UN. Some 500 people have completed 3-4 day skills trainings and they are beginning to have an impact on the organisations they work in (UNDP, UNHCR, UNAIDS, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF and others). For more information see: http://www.unssc.org/web1/programmes/partners/
IBLF's partnership work has received much attention and has, we hope, played its part in strengthening the partnership movement and creating a more enabling environment in which such partnerships can flourish. In 2004, IBLF established a global programme entitled THE PARTNERING INITIATIVE and this now undertakes a range of activities designed to promote more rigour and innovation in partnering practice. A small core team supplemented by a growing team of trained and experienced associates help design and deliver a wide range of programmes on behalf of business, NGOs / not-for profit organisations, international agencies and public sector organisations. For more information see: http://thepartneringinitiative.org
My main objective in this current phase of my working life has been to inspire and empower people so they feel they can make a real difference. A secondary objective has been to help organisations - whether in business, not-for-profit, international agencies or the public sector - to become better at collaboration with others. This work has been stimulating, rewarding and challenging in equal measure. But it would not have been possible without a growing team of colleagues at IBLF in London and in partner organisations in many parts of the world - each of whom bring their own perspectives and talents to this important and, we believe, necessary work.
To quote from our most recently published Toolbook:
"We are unlikely to find practical and lasting solutions to the worst horrors we face - whether in the form of pandemics, poverty, climate change or cross-cultural enmity - unless we learn how to collaborate. At its best partnering is both a practical and an inspirational mechanism for collaborating and managing change. As such it has the potential to richly contribute to a globally sustainable future."