Delivering on the promise of transformational change: What does it take for Dutch-supported PPPs?
This paper (PDF) by PPPLab presents the main lessons from Dutch-supported public–private partnerships (PPPs) in food security and water, provides building blocks for making PPPs deliver on the SDGs, with fundamental implications for key partners in PPPs and policymakers. PPPs are expected to address complex issues in challenging placese. PPPLab found that Dutch-supported PPPs do rather well when it comes to pioneering innovative approaches, aligning interests, influencing the rules of the game, leveraging actors’ strengths and developing inclusive partnerships. However, the partnerships have to deal with high expectations form all sides and to deliver quickly on various policy goals. For Dutch-supported PPPs to deliver their promise of transformational change, they should: 1) Strategize for systemic change, which includes applying a long-term system lens, identifying scaling potential through local actors, engaging in issues that matter locally and becoming system players. 2) Improve parnerships’ fitness to enable change, which requires considering who to partner with, how to partner, what to do if circumstances change and how to work on locally embedding the partnership. 3) Rethink risk and combine resources, which implies mitigate risk, blended value proposition, plan financial graduation and get an in-country finance partner on board. Taking into account the lessons from Dutch-supported PPPs and their challenges, the Dutch PPP approach is in need of recalibration. There are some fundamental implications for the Dutch government on how to support PPPs best and unleash their transformational potential. Recalibrating the Dutch PPP approach implies: nurture system players, grants should exit responsibly and promote locally embedded partnerships.