A partnership is a collaborative relationship and/or a strategic alliance between two or more entities which are committed to work towards mutually agreed objectives with a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities based on the comparative strengths of each entity. 

Nowadays, the global landscape and demands are changing and there is a larger need for broader participation of UN agencies, multilateral organizations, governments, civil societies, academia, financial institutions and the private sector to engage in monitoring and evaluation, assessing progress towards the SDGs and decision making in development initiatives, both locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. To this end, partnerships are critical for bringing the relevant actors together in a strategic and coordinated manner and for contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals, with the aim of transforming the world into a better place by 2030.

UNEG's work in the area of partnerships is led by the the UNEG Partnerships Working Group,  a team of dedicated professionals representing various UN entities who acknowledge the importance of partnerships and voluntarily contribute expertise and ideas to facilitate partnership building among different stakeholders. The Working Group have developed a number of resources including the:

The Working Group has also developed tools and organises activities aimed at maintaining and renewing existing UNEG partnerships or at building new ones.

At present, the forms of partnerships include:

  • Collaborations: Organizational partnerships for sharing knowledge and information as well as coordinating efforts. Organizations operate with greater autonomy and with no permanent organizational commitment. There is no shared governance, resources or programmes.
  • Cost-sharing alliances: Partnerships which occur when one partner provides certain resources and the other brings different ones. Both partners have shared benefits and costs.
  • Strategic alliances: Partnerships where partners have shared decision making power and there is joint programming. Partners manage a programme (set of activities) of mutual interest to achieve shared goals and respective organizational missions.

The types of partners UNEG engages with include:

  • Umbrella organizations
  • Network coalitions
  • Regional or international evaluation associations
  • Academia (universities)/research institutions/global think tanks
  • Intergovernmental and other international organizations
  • Global or regional training institutions
  • Governments
  • Foundations
  • Private sector