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2021-09-30-accounts

The Partnering Initiative

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2020-21

1[st] October 2020 to 30[th] September 2021

The Partnering Initiative

21B Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HU, United Kingdom England and Wales Charity no: 1154259 England and Wales-registered Company no: 08528402

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The Partnering Initiative 2020-21

Trustees’ Annual Re ort p 1[st] October 2020 - 30[th] September 2021

Legal and administrative information

Trustees

Sean De Cleene Amanda Gardiner (resigned 30[th] April 2021) Thomas Hale Thomas Lingard (resigned 31[st] March 2022) Caron Rohsler (appointed 27[th] March 2020) Robert Smith (Chair and Treasurer, resigned 31[st] March 2022)

Appointed 13[th] Jan 2022:

James Cole Marta Garcia (Treasurer) Katherine Hartley Marianne Mwaniki Elizabeth Stuart (Chair)

Chief Executive

Dr Darian Stibbe

Registered Office

21B Park End Street Oxford OX1 1HU United Kingdom

Auditors

Wenn Townsend 30 St Giles Oxford, OX1 3LE, United Kingdom

Bankers

Metro Bank 4-5 Queen Street Oxford OX1 1EJ

The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act, submit their annual report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

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Structure, governance and management

The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee, set up on 14[th] May 2013. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association.

Organisational structure

The Partnering Initiative operates out of a central hub in the UK with a core staff working on programme development and delivery, partner relations and communication. Our development projects, action research, strategic consultancy support and training services are delivered internationally through both core staff and a global network of highly experienced Associates. A key feature of all The Partnering Initiative’s activities is the drawing out of cutting-edge knowledge on the theory and practice of partnership which is then disseminated widely through online knowledge exchange and webinars, guidebooks, reports and other publications.

The Partnering Initiative is run by an Executive Director reporting to a multi-sector independent Board.

Key management personnel remuneration

The Trustees consider the Board of Trustees and the senior management team of the Executive Director plus two senior directors as comprising the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling the charity and running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All Trustees give their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 4 to the accounts.

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and, in accordance with policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

The pay of the Executive Director is reviewed annually by the Trustees to ensure it is commensurate with experience and performance and fair in comparison with similar roles. The pay of the senior directors automatically increases annually by the lower of inflation or two percent and is reviewed annually by the Executive Director to ensure salaries are competitive, fair and commensurate with the role, experience and performance.

Risk management

The Trustees have implemented systems to be followed by Charity staff with a view of ensuring that the risks of financial loss are minimized. Trustees and Charity staff review the appropriateness of these procedures annually and ensure that they are being adhered to. The Trustees have also examined other operational and business risks that might arise and confirmed that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks. Over the course of the last year, the Trustees have considered the financial risks facing the Charity at every Trustees’ meeting.

Objectives and Activities

The Partnering Initiative is a UK-based, globally-operating charity dedicated to driving effective multi-sector collaboration for a sustainable future.

TPI’s vision and mission

TPI passionately believes in the power of collaboration across societal sectors to leverage complementary resources and unleash the innovation necessary to achieve prosperous, sustainable business and societies. We are working to realize a world in which business, governments, NGOs, international organisations, communities and academia combine their resources through partnership at an unprecedented scale to maximize collective business and societal value and drive sustainable development.

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TPI’s ambitious mission is to drive the development of the enabling environment, the ‘infrastructure’ of support, the quality of collaboration, and the competencies necessary to scale up and mainstream effective partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally.

TPI’s charitable purpose

The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up on 14th May 2013. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association. TPI’s mission is to drive widespread effective cross-sector collaboration for a sustainable future by;

1) Promoting sustainable development for the benefit of the public by:

Note: Sustainable development is defined as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need”

Cross-sector collaboration or partnership is defined as “any combination of public, private, NGO, UN or other bodies working together to achieve common objectives which contribute to sustainable development.”

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Details of significant activities for achieving objectives

TPI’s cutting-edge, holistic approach aims at actualising five key ‘building blocks’ that must be in place to engage business in development and drive multi-stakeholder partnerships as an essential mechanism towards delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

TPI delivers its mission through a mixed portfolio; i) services and training to individual organisations; ii) strategic collaborative programmes which engage multiple organisations to collectively drive forward the state of the art of partnering in specific areas; iii) foundational initiatives – major programmes delivered collectively with other organisations to build an enabling eco-systems that can deliver partnerships at scale.

Foundational Initiative: Partnership Accelerator for the 2030 Agenda

The Partnership Accelerator for the 2030 Agenda is a major programme with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), along with UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP), UN Global Compact and UN Development Coordination Office. The programme works in two areas:

multi-stakeholder partnership platforms and mechanisms that can engage business and other

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stakeholders, and catalyse partnerships for the SDGs; drawing out best practices and guidance to assist optimizing emerging platforms; and supporting a new generation of UN Resident Coordinators and country teams.

Small Islands, Genuine Partnerships

In July 2021 TPI and UN DESA organised a webinar, “Small Islands, Genuine Partnerships” to explore the imperative of multi-stakeholder partnerships in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The event was held as part of the 2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator webinar series and a side event to the 2021 High-Level Political Forum.

The webinar looked into specific contexts of SIDS impact partnering and introduced a

competency framework and a new SIDS-specific partnership training module (see below). Participants heard how effectively aligning, combining, and optimizing the resources brought by all sectors of society, multiactor partnerships can maximize the impact of available resources in SIDS.

SIDS-specific partnering module

A new SIDS-specific partnering module, made possible through generous funding support from the Government of Ireland, and building on extensive consultations with SIDS, complements the SDG Partnership Guidebook and the SIDS Partnership Toolbox . It was launched as part of the webinar “Small Islands, Genuine Partnerships”.

SIDS Partnership Guide

The “ Small Islands, Genuine Partnerships ” Partnership Guide was developed by TPI in collaboration with UN DESA, with funding from the Government of Ireland. It is designed to be used together with the SDG Partnership Guidebook , and serves as a starting point for anyone seeking to understand the specific challenges and opportunities of partnering in SIDS.

The material is illustrated by interesting examples of partnerships in practice, followed by actionable guidance.

Advancing partnerships to support the SDGs in Maldives

In November 2020, TPI held

a workshop in collaboration with the Republic of Maldives, the UN Maldives Office, and UN DESA to build an understanding of how to scale up multistakeholder partnering to achieve the vision of One Maldives working together to deliver the SDGs. The online workshop brought together leaders from across all sectors, to celebrate examples of partnerships that are already delivering towards

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the SDGs and discuss approaches to scaling up partnership action in the Maldives.

SDG Partnership Accelerator webinar series

Webinar 1: Is your organization equipped to partner effectively for the SDGs?

In October 2020, TPI along with the UN Division for the SDGs, UN DESA and World Vision, launched the 2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator webinar series, with an inaugural webinar exploring the challenges – and successes – around becoming institutionally fit for purpose to partner effectively to implement the SDGs. Participants learned about institutional obstacles and challenges that can derail partnering efforts, and built an appreciation of the institutional capacities required for effective collaboration.

The event included speakers from Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy, Republic of Costa Rica, and the UN Development Coordination Office.

Webinar 2: Partnership Platforms – national mechanisms for advancing SDG implementation

In February 2021, the second webinar of the Global Webinar Series took place with a highly experienced lineup of speakers from Singapore, Mexico, Germany, Kenya and Sri Lanka. The event explored how Partnership platforms are key national mechanisms for generating and brokering new partnerships, providing coherence and coordination among stakeholders, and aligning investments for SDG implementation.

Webinar 3: - Stakeholder engagement and partnerships during and beyond COVID–19

In May 2021, a webinar exploring partnerships during the COVID-19 pandemic was organised in the margins of the 2021 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Partnership Forum and the Multi–stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs. The webinar also featured a panel to explore what impact COVID–19 has had on stakeholder engagement, how partnerships have formed a critical response to the pandemic and addressed what lessons can be learned moving forward.

The panel included speakers from Newcastle University, University of Oxford SDGs Kenya Forum, ANTICOV clinical trial, COVID-19 initiatives in Yemen and Mexico, and the Global Partnership for Education.

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Fit For Partnering

TPI’s framework for assessing and analysing institutional capability to partner, the Fit for Partnering Framework, captures the institutional competencies required to partner with excellence, focussing on four elements: Leadership and Strategy, Systems and Processes, People, and Culture.

TPI has continued to work with organisations in assessing and building their institutional capability to partner effectively, through the development of partnering strategies, tools and guidance material, advice on systems and processes and training. (See direct and indirect support section below).

Direct and indirect support

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk engaged TPI to work together to create a partnership development model between the pharmaceutical industry and International Professional Associations (IPAs). This included collecting, analysing and presenting insights into what ‘great looks like’ between pharmaceutical industry and IPAs, gathered from six IPAs, with insights then used to validate Novo Nordisk’s framework and suggest next steps for implementing the model.

The work supported Novo Nordisk in developing guidance on the different forms of partnerships and how they can create value; in co-creating a vision and set of partnering principles to underpin the new partnership framework; and in developing a partnering strategy based on emerging strategic objectives as well as creating guidance for the implementation of the strategy.

CARPHA

TPI was contracted by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to revise the Corporate and Civil Society Partnering Policy, in order to ensure that it aligns with international best practice, reflects the learned experiences of implementation, and remained relevant to CARPHA’s context – in particular, the changing

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public health landscape in terms of new public health emergencies such as Ebola, CHIKV, Zika, and COVID-19. Building on previous work in support of CARPHA’s partnering capacity, TPI worked with CARPHA to review, update and expand the policy, having identified best practice and optimal structure from a literature review.

TPI developed a user-friendly version of the policy for distribution to current and prospective partners, and made recommendations to enable optimal use of the partnering policy, including external sharing of the policy, internal training and sensitization on the policy, ensuring policy implementation, and complementary tools and guidance. TPI also supported CARPHA to develop improved processes in line with international best practices, CARPHA’s Strategic Plan and incorporating learnt experiences of the agency in implementing the policy.

Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network

Evaluation

TPI partnered with Mokoro Ltd to undertake an independent evaluation of the Scaling Up Business Network (SBN), commissioned by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). The evaluation, conducted between April and October 2019, served two main objectives: to assess the relevance, internal consistency, and feasibility of SBN’s theory of change at the global and national levels; and to assess progress across the impact pathway, from output through to impact level. The theory-based mixed-methods evaluation, which included an extensive review of relevant documentation, and in-depth interviews with more than 100 key role-players. Seven desk study reviews were conducted of SBN in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Three Case Studies of SBN were conducted in-country in Zambia, Indonesia, and Mozambique. Each of these identified challenges, strengths, and successes towards objectives, and made a set of recommendations

Strategy

TPI supported the SUN Business Network in developing its new strategy for the period 2021-2025. The SBN 3.0 strategy places impact at the country level and leadership by countries front and centre in addressing all forms of malnutrition and supporting actions across nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive sectors. Within this context TPI worked with SBN to develop a strategic framework and practical guidance, enabling the national SBN platforms to increase their effectiveness and ultimately their impact. The strategy aligns with and builds on relevant existing information and ongoing processes, such as SUN and SBN policy documents and recent reviews and evaluations.

Case studies

Working closely with colleagues at GAIN and SBN country teams, TPI developed a set of four case studies to draw out learnings and showcase innovative approaches to engaging business for improved nutrition, at National level, through the SBN country networks. The four case studies explored different approaches and types of programmes to illustrate the range of possibilities, and challenges encountered, focusing on initiatives in Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Mozambique and Tanzania.

GNDR (Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction) ‘Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development’ support

TPI supported the GNDR to assess the ‘collaboration capacities’ of 15 Civil Society Organisations – five in each of the three countries (Myanmar, Nigeria, Zimbabwe) supported through the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded UK Aid Connect project ‘Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development’ (ECID). TPI enabled this component by designing and facilitating a light touch, tailored Fit for Partnering assessment of the civil society organisations (CSOs). Analysis of the results fed into the creation of an online partnering training course and coaching for CSO managers, as well as a partnering simulation workshop. TPI also provided a curated set of tools and guidance to support partnerships across the countries.

Strategic programmes and research

Partnerships for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G)

In collaboration with our partners Global CAD, TPI continued to support P4G in assessing and selecting partnerships for the P4G Partnership Fund. Global CAD and TPI provided an independent evaluation of

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partnerships applying for P4G support through P4G’s Call for 2020 and 2021 Partnerships which aim to target significant impact on one or more of P4G’s focus SDGs: Zero Hunger (2); Clean Water and Sanitation (6); Affordable and Clean Energy (7); Sustainable Cities and Communities (11); Responsible Consumption and Production (12). This involved supporting the development of application materials, scoring partnership applications and conducting a detailed investment evaluation of finalists for scale-up funding.

In addition, TPI and Global CAD shared strategic and forward-looking recommendations and lessons learned to better shape selection processes in the future. The selection process was redesigned for the 2021 round, building on experience from previous years, and TPI and Global CAD supported the process through expert review of the eligibility and evaluation criteria, supporting P4G teams through checklists and guidance, and scoring and summarizing concept notes and proposals.

In the second half of 2021, P4G commissioned TPI to undertake research on the opportunities and constraints for P4G in the way they can use funding from donors to more effectively support nascent business models. Their current model is to support partners through grants, but they wanted to understand the implications of supporting partners that are, or contain within them, a business model that aims to provide an acceptable risk adjusted rate of return.

Working closely with P4G’s Director and team, TPI provided extensive data, examples and analysis that have provided P4G with both conceptual and practical help. The opportunity was also taken to think productively about the role of different partners in addressing the various constraints in the wider market-system that prevent social entrepreneurs from innovating successfully. As a follow-on piece of work, TPI developed a Theory of Change and sample results framework should P4G decide to move in this direction.

Partnering for Philanthropic Impact

Many Foundations are already using – or desire to use – partnering to maximise their impact. As Foundation boards and staff teams grapple with the challenges and opportunities of working more collaboratively – both in their relationships with grantees and, in many cases, in supporting or catalysing new partnerships – there is an opportunity to step back and ensure that a strategic approach is taken.

TPI’s new sector report, Partnering for Philanthropic Impact, was launched in 2021 as part of the Partnering for Philanthropic Impact Programme. The report dives into what it means for Foundations to be as strategic as possible in their partnering by understanding which partnership models can deliver their desired impact, and what they need to put in place to make them work.

The report drew on a year of Partnering for Philanthropic Impact inquiry, in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Foundation and Z Zurich Foundation. At the core of the report are four models through which

foundations could deliver greater impact through partnerships: Trusted Partner, Connector, Supporter and Systems Leader. The report set out the advantages and pitfalls of each of the models, as well as the institutional capacities, systems and strategies required to be able to work effectively in each of the different ways.

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Learning from Consortia programme

In collaboration with Bond and an Academic Advisory Board, the Learning from Consortia (LfC) programme was an opportunity to support, and learn from, the experiences of UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded consortia.

Through direct support to the consortia, as well as convening learning exchanges, the LfC programme helped to develop an understanding of how international development consortia can function more effectively, paving the way to more impactful consortia in the future.

In May 2021 the FCDO took the decision to close the LfC programme six months early. Nevertheless, with the rich learning that the team had already accumulated, in particular from partnership health checks that had been conducted on twelve of the consortia, TPI wrote a Guide to emerging thinking and effective practices in consortium working. It includes reflection on some of the key challenges a consortium faces as a result of its structure and ambitions; methods for maximising the

consortium’s value; guidance on establishing collaborative leadership and governance; and recommendations on how to close or transition a consortium. A Health Check Report was also published, presenting some over-arching findings on how effectively the consortia were functioning, as well as exploring whether and in what ways the Health Checks helped them. The programme also held a public event – “What can we learn from working in consortia?” – which was attended by more than 100 people from NGOs, institutes, networks and donor organisations.

Mining as a transformational partner in development

In 2019, TPI worked with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Business Fights Poverty and the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School to explore the collective leadership of the mining and metals industry post-pandemic in the publication Building Forward Better. Partnerships were identified as key to unleashing the unique power of the industry in being able to positively impact communities.

This year, TPI and ICMM produced a new guide to development partnerships for the mining industry, Partnering for our Common Future: Optimising mining’s partnering capability to contribute to community resilience and thriving societies. The guide brings together TPI’s partnering expertise and ICMM’s sustainable development leadership, and provides practical tools and insights to help strengthen the partnering capacity of the mining industry, including a self-

assessment tool to help mining companies to understand the degree to which they are currently set up to be institutionally fit for partnering.

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Global Forum of SDG Advisory Bodies

The Global Forum, founded during the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2019, is a network that connects the knowledge and experience of multi-stakeholder advisory commissions, councils and similar

bodies for sustainable development. These bodies contribute to the national institutional architectures for the implementation of the SDGs.

TPI was engaged by GIZ to conduct an empirical study on the potential and options for establishing national councils, commissions or similar multi-stakeholder bodies for sustainable development. This was done in two phases, the first study covered Kenya, Benin, Ecuador and Tanzania. A summary of this research was published in July 2021 as “Pieces of a puzzle: towards national sustainable development advisory bodies”.

The second phase started in September 2021 when eight countries were profiled (Costa Rica, Ghana, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam).

The studies provide a light touch assessment of the institutional environment for the 2030 Agenda, integration of the SDGs in policy and planning, and stakeholder engagement in a Voluntary National

Review (VNR) process or other related activity. The findings of the research reflect how current governance architecture, national sustainable development policy processes and existing stakeholder groups collaborate as well as provide evidence-informed recommendations of how preconditions and stakeholder engagement look like in the different countries.

Guidance Paper: Multi Stakeholder Platforms as System Change Agents

The effectiveness of multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) remains poorly understood, particularly in relation to their intended purpose and goals. The relationship between individual MSP activities and intended system level effects is neither simple nor direct. As a result, MSPs focus on tracking what can be measured, rather than reflecting on how MSPs are contributing to system level results.

In collaboration with Wageningen University and Research and the Institute of Development Studies, TPI contributed to a new report – titled, Multi Stakeholder Platforms as System Change Agents A guide for assessing effectiveness. The Guidance Paper set out how MSPs can better use existing and new evidence and processes to assess their system-change role. It was developed from experiences with four agrifood MSPs: Bonsucro; Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA); Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement; and the Zambia Business in Development Facility (ZBiDF).

The reflections generated were intended to act as a vital input to strategic decision-making by those involved in implementing, brokering and supporting MSPs, as well as donors and other funders.

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Outreach

UN & Australia Sustainable Partnerships Forum

In April 2021, TPI was proud to participate in Australia’s major SDG event for the year, the Sustainable Partnerships Forum, across two key sessions:

A key outcome of the Forum was the Manifesto for Partnering for the Sustainable Development Goals , cocreated by participants of the Forum and facilitated by TPI.

Maximising business engagement in the SDGs with the Business and Industry Major Group

In May 2021, TPI was a guest speaker on “Maximizing the engagement and value of private sector as a partner in sustainable development” at the Meeting of the Business & Industry Major Group (B&I MG) to the UN in NY.

The presentation focused on private sector engagement for the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and tapped into the foundation document Unleashing the power of business: A practical Roadmap to systematically engage business as a

partner for the SDGs. This report was originally launched by TPI in 2017 as an input into the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) and continues to be a key resource as the need for partnerships is increasingly recognised as crucial to achieving a sustainable future for people and planet.

Women in Alliances 2021 Summit – Launching Alliance Professionals

In May 2021, TPI participated in the Women in Alliances 2021 Summit – Launching Alliance Professionals , organised by Women in Alliances (WIA). The Summit featured a wide range of experienced and successful female alliance leaders, who shared their challenges and successes in their chosen field of alliance management. In support of the event, TPI ran Breakout Track 3 – Building

partnerships to solve the world’s most wicked problems. The interactive session explored how panellists and their organisations are helping to solve some of our world’s “most wicked problems” through partnerships

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and in doing so they are driving innovation, engaging employees and customers, and creating vast new opportunities and new value for their companies, partners, for society and our planet.

WHO Pacific Region Partners’ Forum

In June 2021 TPI joined the Second World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region Partners’ Forum, moderating the session “Health beyond the health sector – innovative partnerships for public health”, to discuss the importance of partnering outside of the health sector, sharing expertise built on TPI’s experience with many health and non-health partnerships over the past decade.

VNR-Lab 9: SDG advisory bodies and their role in national sustainable development policy cycles

In July 2021, the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) and UN DESA hosted a VNR-Lab titled, “ SDG advisory bodies and their role in national sustainable development policy cycles ” as part of the 2021 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

The VNR-Lab debated the importance and various forms of national sustainable development policies, including national strategies, policy cycle, prioritization processes and the use of indicators. It was also an opportunity to discuss Voluntary

National Reviews and peer review processes and how they can relate to the policy cycles at national level. The lab examined the impact of inputs from reviews at the international level on national policies and strategies. During the event, a number of national multi- stakeholder advisory bodies outlined how they work together with their governments to deliver on the 2030 Agenda.

Open and tailored trainings

TPI continued to develop its flagship Building Effective Partnerships for Development training, aimed at individual partnership practitioners, which was delivered this year mainly in the form of virtual tailored trainings for a number of organisations. TPI has made the transition from in-person to online training by combining virtual group sessions with inter-module assignments, to be completed individually or in groups. These assignments are designed to provide space for both individual reflection and the opportunity to take the tools, frameworks and concepts covered in the sessions and apply them to their personal partnering context. Online courses have enabled us to reach a broader audience for whom in-person training may not have been a practical option.

AMEA

Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA) is a global network for ‘accelerating the professionalisation of farmer organisations’. To support partnership development and network building capabilities, TPI designed and delivered online partnering trainings over two months for three successive cohorts of regional facilitators and local network members.

Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN)

TPI delivered a series of five online partnering training sessions to AFROHUN, a network of 18 universities and institutions across nine African countries focusing on healthcare. The training was delivered to University and Institutional professionals and was developed as part of the USAID-funded One Health Workforce project, focusing on developing a workforce without disciplinary barriers, for more effective pandemic preparedness and response. Over 50% of training participants went on to complete TPI’s Certificate in Partnering Practice.

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Ethical Tea Partnership

TPI developed a tailored, online version of its partnerships for development training, offering a course of six virtual seminars to senior regional managers and partnership managers from the Ethical Tea Partnership who are involved in designing, leading or facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships.

GNDR Capacity Building

As part of its wider project supporting GNDR’s partnering capacity, (see direct and indirect support to partnerships section above) TPI developed an online training and coaching programme for senior managers from 15 CSOs supported through the UK Aid Connect project ‘Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development’. The course content was informed by the collaboration assessment TPI conducted for GNDR in an earlier part of the programme.

Send a Cow

Partnerships were identified as a priority for the next decade within Send a Cow, a non-profit working with smallholder farmers in six African countries, supporting gender and social inclusion, business skills, and improved farming techniques. A comprehensive new guidebook and set of tools were developed, and TPI supported Send a Cow to roll these out across the organisation through a partnership capability building training and action planning workshop designed to build common partnering skills and understanding, develop and support a group of partnership focal points as partnering champions, and develop action plans for each of SAC’s focus countries.

UNSSC

TPI has continued to design and deliver tailored trainings as part of its longstanding collaboration with the UN Systems Staff College (UNSSC), supporting their partnership building initiatives. In the last year, this included a developing a partnership building virtual workshop as part of the UN Secretariat Executive Management Programme with the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Leadership and Management; developing sessions on “Partnering and Positioning: FAO in a multi-stakeholder environment” for three separate cohorts of 30 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) participants (part of Building Capacity for Change: a leadership development initiative for FAO National Professional Officers); and designing learning materials on 2030 Agenda Partnerships, for the Partnership Module in the UN Resident Coordinators Office (RCO) Learning Path programme, a blended learning programme for RCO staff.

Future plans

2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator

With our partners, UN DESA, we will continue to roll out the Partnership Accelerator to new countries, as well as build a cohort of partnership champions in the Caribbean who can multiply the impact through themselves delivering training in their respective countries.

Training

TPI will continue to provide tailored training, both in person and online, and in 2022 TPI will offer its first Open Online Training, available to all partnering professionals. In providing online training TPI can broaden the reach of its training programmes to those for whom in person training in Oxford may not be an attainable option, including those in remote or developing countries, providing all participants with the opportunity to learn from, and share experiences with, a diverse and interesting group of participants.

P4G

TPI will continue its partnership with P4G by working with partners GlobalCAD to provide an independent assessment of applicants to P4G’s 2022 Call for Proposals over two assessment cycles in 2022. TPI and GlobalCAD will assess applications which aim to target significant impact on one or more of P4G’s five SDG’s: Zero Hunger (2); Clean Water and Sanitation (6); Affordable and Clean Energy (7); Sustainable Cities and Communities (11); Responsible Consumption and Production (12).

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Green Transition

TPI has secured seed funding to support the inquiry phase of the Rapid Partnering for Climate Action programme . In the run-up to COP26 in November 2021, TPI will work with Partnerships 2030 and a small group of climate practitioners to develop a new accelerated partnership protocol that will support partners to initiate, implement and iterate climate action partnerships far faster.

Development priorities for the wider Green Transition portfolio include growing TPI’s reputation and credibility as a green partnerships resource, cultivating links with emerging and established climate and environmental partnerships that may benefit from TPI’s support, and continuing to grow relationships with strategic partner organisations.

Partnering for Philanthropic Impact

Building on the enquiry phase of the Partnering for Philanthropic Impact programme, the programme will continue to evolve during 2021-22. The programme has three interconnected strands: (1) Individual programmes of support with philanthropic organisations to support their partnership approaches, while drawing out learning for the wider sector; (2) knowledge exchange to allow philanthropic organisations to learn from each other and share experiences; and (3) sector practice development through research, design, testing, and dissemination of new approaches for philanthropy-supported and led transformational partnerships.

The first strand is already in progress, with ongoing projects in support of Jacobs Foundation, J&J Foundation, and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and several others in the pipeline. The second and third strands are still in development, as we reach out to foundations and others in the philanthropic sector to partner with on this work.

Administration

Public Benefit

The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.

Financial review

The results of the charity for the year can be seen on page 21.

Reserves policy

TPI aims to maintain in reserve a minimum of four months’ worth of operating costs, along with a development budget for creating new cutting-edge programmes. Target reserves are six months of operating cost, or approximately £240,000. As of 30th September 2021, free reserves held were £260,956, which the Trustees deem acceptable.

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Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of The Partnering Initiative for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Board 20[nd] June 2022.

Elizabeth Stuart, Chair of Trustees

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Independent auditors’ report to the members of The Partnering Initiative

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Partnering Initiative (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 30th September 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we

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identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 17, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are detailed below:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Benjamin Hayes BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditor

30 St Giles Oxford OX1 3LE

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Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the period ended 30[th] September 2021


ptember 2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Total funds
funds funds 2021 2021 2020
2021 £ £ £
£
Income from: Note
Charitable activities 2 514,824 335,113 849,937 736,383
Total income 514,824 335,113 849,937 736,383
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 3 477,551 335,113 812,664 689,269
Total expenditure 477,551 335,113 812,664 689,269
Net movement in funds 37,273 - 37,273 47,114
Balances b/f at 1stOctober 2020 223,683 - 223,683 176,569
Balances c/f at 30thSeptember 2021 260,956 - 260,956 223,683

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year.

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Balance Sheet as at 30th September 2021

Notes
Current assets
Debtors
6
Cash at bank and in hand

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year7

Net current assets

Net assets
Funds:
Unrestricted funds
General funds		 2021
£
196,537

136,848

─────

333,385
(72,429)
─────
260,956
─────
260,956
260,956
2020
£
215,567
69,902
─────
285,469
(61,786)
─────
223,683
─────
223,683
223,683

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on 20[th] June and signed on their behalf by:

Marta Garcia Treasurer

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Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 30[th] September 2021

Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from
operating activities
Net income for year
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Increase in creditors
Net cash flow from operating activities
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1st October 2020
Cash and cash equivalents at 30th September 2021
 2021
£
37,273
19,030

10,643

66,946

66,946

69,902

136,848
 2020
£
47,114
(83,175)
2,322		 2020
£
47,114
(83,175)
2,322
(33,739)
(33,739)
103,641
69,902

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the period ended 30th September 2021

1 Summary of significant accounting policies

a) General information and basis of preparation

The Partnering Initiative is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information in these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are detailed in the Trustees’ Report.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound sterling.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

b) Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

c) Income recognition

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

The charity receives government grants in respect of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Project grants and service contract fees are included as income where any work involved has been undertaken by the period end date. Any income received in advance is deferred until associated costs are incurred and based on the level of completion of the project.

Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold. Donated facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers..

d) Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognized where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

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Fund-raising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

e) Foreign currencies

Foreign currency transactions are initially recognised by applying to the foreign currency amount the spot exchange rate between the functional currency and the foreign currency at the date of the transaction.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency at the balance sheet date are translated using the closing rate.

f) Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

The charity operates a defined contribution plan for the benefit of its employees. Contributions are expensed as they become payable.

g) Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

h) Tax

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

i) Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorizing these financial statements. The trustees have included an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 as part of this assessment. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

2 Income from charitable activities

Service contract fees
DFID / FCDO (Learning from Consortia)
Other programmes
Training courses
CJRS Grant
Other income		 2021
£
302,507
335,113

85,827
116,241
5,749
4,500
─────
849,937		 2020
£
423,102
111,849
136,647
54,083
10,702
-
─────
736,383

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3 Charitable activities

Charitable activities
Consultancy
Wages and salaries
Travel & accommodation
Rent and rates
Website & IT costs
Printing, postage &
stationary
Telephone
Bank charges
Irrecoverable VAT
Insurance
General expenses
Audit fees
Foreign exchange losses		 Direct
charitable
costs £
371,358
252,812
966
-
3,493
-
10
-
-
-
1,816
-
-		 Indirect charitable costs £
Total 2021 £
Total 2020 £
Core organisational*
Governance
14,508
-
385,866
312,594
81,755
20,315
354,882
293,372
2,918
-
3,884
19,879
18,941
-
18,941
15,886
4,128
-
7,621
3,129
461
-
461
1,024
1,468
-
1,478
2,924
1,745
-
1,745
1,846
12,736
-
12,736
4,666
625
289
914
862
15,466
13
17,295
10,458
-
3,280
3,280
2,935
3,561
-
3,561
19,694
630,455 158,312
23,897
812,664
689,269

*Core organisational costs include all non-programme-attributable costs including administration, policy engagement, new programme research and development, unfunded knowledge product generation, communication and dissemination.

4 Trustees' and key management personnel remuneration and expenses

There was no Trustees' remuneration or expenses reimbursed to Trustees during the year (2020: nil) for their role as Trustees.

The total amount of employee benefits received by key management personnel is £216,395 (2020: £107,512). The Trust considers its key management personnel comprise the Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive, and the senior management team.

5 Staff costs

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2021
£
276,539
26,751
51,592
─────
354,882		 2020
£
248,038
24,061
21,273
─────
293,372

The number of employees whose emoluments as defined for taxation purposes amounted to over £60,000 in the year was as follows:

2021 2020
Number Number
£60,001 - £70,000 1 -
£80,001 - £90,000 - 1

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The average number of employees, calculated on a full-time equivalent basis, analysed by function was:

Charitable activities
Management and administration of the charity
btors
Grants and fees receivable
Prepayments and accrued income
Other debtors
editors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Other tax and social security		 2021
2020
Number
Number
6.5
5
1.5
1
─────
─────
8
6
2021
2020
£
£
139,752
169,743
54,730
45,805
2,055
19
─────
─────
196,537
215,567
2021
2020
£
£
52,082
33,212
11,759
21,755
8,588
6,819
─────
─────
72,429
61,786

6 Debtors

7 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

8 Restricted funds

Restricted funds relate to funds from DFID / FCDO for the Learning from Consortia Programme.

9 Related Parties

There were no related party transactions in the current or preceding year.

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