Partnerships in Action

As part of our work through the Bridge 47 project, we focused on the development and implementation of advocacy and exploratory partnerships between IDEA and our members, and external parties. We also identified and supported capacity development and advocacy opportunities for Irish Development Education practitioners.

You can find a list of resources that we've created through our partnerships work here.

Private Sector Partnerships

Partnering with the private sector is particularly important for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If these are to be achieved, all sectors of society need to mobilize, collaborate and draw on each other’s strengths. The Development Education sector can support businesses to engage with and deepen their understanding of the SDGs, inspiring their employees to take action, and providing them with a new framework for sustainable thinking that will benefit their business and stakeholders going forward.

Partnership with Business in the Community Northern Ireland

We partnered with Business in the Community Northern Ireland (BITCNI) to run a unique All-Ireland Building Bridges: Cross-sector Partnerships for the SDGs Networking Forum in Belfast, bringing over 70 civil society organisations (CSOs) working on Development Education together with responsible businesses (including Diageo, ASDA, Lidl, and Deloitte) to find ways to collaborate to achieve the SDGs.

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To build on the opportunities explored at the forum, we teamed up again with BITCNI to provide a 3-day online partnerships masterclass for BITCNI members on how to build purposeful partnerships with CSOs that deliver on the SDGs. We also developed a guidance booklet sharing practical tips for CSOs on how to build partnerships with business.

Building Capacity for Private Sector and CSOs around Cross-sectoral Partnerships & the SDGs:

Beyond CSR. How Sustainability Helping You to Build Back Better Webinar for Business

We hosted a webinar with sustainability experts Dr. Tara Shine and Madeleine Murray of Change by Degrees, to offer the private sector new ways of learning and thinking about the world using the SDGs as a framework for businesses to assess and strengthen their commitment to sustainability. Empowering employees in lifelong learning and Global Citizenship Education (GCE) emerged as a key theme.

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Masterclass for CSOs on How to Build Purposeful CSO-Business Partnerships

‘Partnering’ with the private sector for CSOs often means a purely transactional relationship as recipient of philanthropic corporate donations. However, the relationship is gradually changing, and the opportunity to build more transformational partnerships based on shared purpose is growing. As supporting this change is a key element of our work, we held a partnerships masterclass for IDEA members and other CSOs to increase their capacity for building partnerships with the private sector that enable us to further our GCE mission. A guidance booklet summarising the key content of the masterclass and sharing practical tips on how to build partnerships with the private sector will be available in Spring 2021.

Interactive SDG Workshop for Business

In collaboration with the Deloitte Corporate Responsibility Team and Global Action Plan, we delivered an interactive online SDG workshop to Deloitte Ireland staff members as part of their Impact Week in October 2020. It was attended by staff from different departments. 100% of respondents said they came away from the workshop with a better understanding of the SDGs and how they can achieve them at work and in their everyday life.

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Advocacy Partnerships

Advocacy partnerships are also important to the success of the SDGs. Development Educators can help policy makers to explore and deepen their understanding of the SDGs. Development Education is also ideally positioned to mobilise public participation with the SDGs and can support policy makers around creating policy change for sustainable development.

A poster for political leadership for sustainable development training

Partnership with Women for Election

We partnered with Women for Election to run a number of Political Leadership for Sustainable Development Trainings for its members. These were one-day trainings for women Councillors, taking them through the SDGs and showing them how to use them to evaluate problems and implement solutions for more sustainable development planning in their constituencies. The trainings were attended by a cross-party of local Councillors from various counties in Ireland. We also developed a training pack that provides guidelines for GCE actors and other CSOs who want to engage with local politicians on how to inspire, support and equip them as leaders for sustainable development who can fulfil their leadership role in the localisation of the SDGs.

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a book cover titled Out of the Comfort Zone Global Citizenship Education and cross-sector partnerships for sustainable development.

This manual showcases the learning from the Bridge 47 Project's Global Citizenship Education partnerships with a diverse range of sectors from media to public health, policy makers to museums and adult education to business.

“The Belfast event opened up doors to reach different stakeholders. Businesses have significant potential to address the SDGs and injustice generally. As a result, we are now in discussions with a corporate on how we might collaborate and expect to carry out a needs analysis and run some workshops together.”

Members Focus Group
“The Belfast event and the contact with the corporate sector was very exciting and energising.”

Members Focus Group
“The Belfast event was great. It challenged my thinking – I had previously assumed businesses were not interested in the SDGs. It made me realise that they are, which was very uplifting. It would have been very hard for individual members to achieve this level of engagement but IDEA and Bridge 47 showed that it can be done. I want more of it.”

Members Focus Group
“Thanks so much for facilitating such an insightful and informative event. I learnt a lot to take back into the company, but much broader than that I developed contacts which was the aim of the event and there were many stories and personal experiences which will remain with me and help me to have a personal interest in focusing on the SDGs as well as corporate awareness.”

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A ‘Building Bridges’ forum participant
“The event gave them [BITCNI’s members] an understanding why SDGs are also relevant for businesses and also how they could work in partnerships with CSOs to address the Goals. Furthermore, the majority of the event participants reportedly stated that they are now more likely to act in support of SDGs. There is now a greater appreciation of CSOs, including that of the partner who now acknowledges that CSOs are equally professional as the business sector.”

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A BITCNI partner interview captured in the Bridge 47 Evaluation Report
"Women for Election’s main mission is to help more women get elected but we also understand how important it is to sustain them politics. So, we are thankful for IDEA for approaching us to work together to provide this opportunity to women Councillors."

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Ciairín de Buis, Former CEO of Women for Election
“I learned far more than expected. Mixing with other Local Authority elected members was of great benefit. Excellent, worthwhile training.”

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A local Councillor who attended the ’Political Leadership’ training
“I learned so much about the 17 goals and how I might implement them locally.”

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A local Councillor who attended the ‘Political Leadership’ training

IDEA
The Irish Development Education Association
6 Gardiner Row
Dublin 1
D01 Y183

Phone: 01 8788480

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“The Belfast event and the contact with the corporate sector was very exciting and energising.”

"Women for Election’s main mission is to help more women get elected but we also understand how important it is to sustain them politics. So, we are thankful for IDEA for approaching us to work together to provide this opportunity to women Councillors."

“I learned far more than expected. Mixing with other Local Authority elected members was of great benefit. Excellent, worthwhile training.”

“I learned so much about the 17 goals and how I might implement them locally.”

IDEAThe Irish Development Education Association6 Gardiner RowDublin 1D01 Y183Phone: 01 8788480

IDEA
The Irish Development Education Association
6 Gardiner Row
Dublin 1
D01 Y183

Phone: 01 8788480