2025 marked a ‘systemic shock’ for the international development and impact sectors. Funding cuts and shifts, combined with a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, forced organisations to scale back, reassess their internal operations, and re-examine their partnerships.
One lesson became clear: strong partnerships are fundamental to resilience. In times of uncertainty, partnerships can be the making—or the breaking—of an organisation.
The key to sustainable impact: cross-sector partnerships
Partnerships have long been recognised as essential to achieving scale and impact. Today, cross-sector partnerships—across governments, NGOs, philanthropy, and the private sector—have become a critical survival mechanism for organisations seeking to sustain their impact in a changing environment.
By combining resources, expertise, and networks, partnerships enable organisations to tackle and overcome challenges they cannot address alone and deliver meaningful impact.
So what differentiates collaborations that deliver real impact from those that fall short? And how can organisations build partnerships that last?
Building long-lasting and meaningful partnerships
Based on insights from across our network, we have identified key strategies that help leaders design resilient, equitable, and impactful partnerships.
1. Invest in honest measurement and learning
Build monitoring and learning into partnerships from the start. Agree on what success looks like and how to measure it. Be willing to adapt when something is not working.
2. Align partnerships with core business priorities
Ensure corporate partnerships are linked to business strategy and optimise for expertise and assets.
3. Acknowledge and address bureaucratic burdens
Streamline processes and recognise the hidden costs NGOs can face in partnerships.
4. Catalyse innovation through private financing
Use flexible funding and partnerships across issue areas to experiment and seed new models of impact.
5. Build trust through transparency and shared success
Establish collective goals and understand where goals may also differ, ensure equitable recognition, and manage risks openly from the outset.
6. Reclaim and reframe the narrative
Invest in communications and advocacy to shape the narrative, demonstrate the tangible impact of the work, counter disinformation, and reach disengaged audiences.
Looking ahead: A Roadmap for success
Building long-lasting and impactful partnerships takes time. They require sustained effort, thoughtful design, continuous maintenance, and—above all—trust.
As Elizabeth Ames, CEO of Atalanta, says: “Strong partnerships depend on a willingness to have honest conversations when things are not working, and the flexibility to adapt when circumstances change.
At a time when the development and impact sectors face unprecedented uncertainty, partnerships are no longer a “nice to have.” They are essential infrastructure for delivering impact.”
Organisations that invest in building the right partnerships today will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty tomorrow—and better positioned to deliver lasting impact.
Learn more about our work and who we work with.
