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 Issue 19: March 2007
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DOT-COM HOME https://dot-com-alliance.org/index.htm
Contact Us https://dot-com-alliance.org/contact.htm |
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Engaging the Private Sector Lesson Statement Public/private partnerships can work. Understanding the exact nature of the partnership and leveraging potential is key as it helps to keep track of Return on Investment (ROI) related to such partnerships and to focus efforts on the types of partnerships that have the highest leveraging potential rather than focusing on specific types of partners. Different Private Sectors We engage the private sectors in many ways, at times by necessity and at times in a more strategic way. In the field of ICT for development, the private sector is often understood to be the big multinational companies dominating the IT (hardware and software) world. In fact, while we do engage these large companies at various levels, we also work extensively with small private sector actors within the countries where we implement ICT projects. Traditional Corporate Philanthropy Model At time we seek donations, cash or in-kind contributions. This approach, based on traditional corporate philanthropy, has some value, yet limited impacts. Examples include a grant from Microsoft to support the monitoring and evaluation and outreach activities as well as donations of software and computer-based training in the Mali CLIC project. The Value-Added Model In some cases, we support a larger corporate activity and our contribution, in the form of technical assistance, is small compared to the corporate entitys investment. Examples include dot- ORGs support to the Intel Computer Clubhouses in Brazil and South Africa to address sustainability issues; and add-on training in business practices that dot-ORG provided to the Grameen Technology Cell Phone project in Uganda to enhanced sustainability of womens cell phone businesses. The Partnership Model In the partnership model, each side values the objective of the common activity and contributes to the outcomes. The private sector partner is likely to see the activity as supporting both its business goals and its corporate social responsibility goals. Brazils Programa para o Futuro was a good example of this model, with multiple local private sector and non-profit sector partners contributing a range of inputs, including hardware, software, venue, expertise, utilities, clothing, e-mentoring, cash, scholarships, etc.. The Market-Making Model In the market-making model, the social side helps aggregate the market or prepare the customer base. A key example is that of the Macedonia Connects project, where dot-ORG helped to aggregate the school connectivity market (as one contract), to entice a private sector service provider, namely On.Net, to expand its network nationally, including in rural areas. In that project, other private sector actors, such as Motorola, were also involved in the provision of equipment and services. In Rwanda and Kyrgyzstan, dot-ORG also helped build a market base of customers for local private sector ICT service providers by providing vouchers and/or micro-stipends. Local private sector actors are not always market driven, however, and may see support from the social sector just as another source of revenue. Challenges The challenges related to establishing and sustaining partnerships with the private sector include the following:
Since none of these challenges are specific to ICT initiatives, lessons learned from multi- stakeholder partnerships involving both the public and the private sector should provide some valuable answers. |
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