Partnerships can be of many different kinds (including networks and collaborations) and can be both vertical (global, regional, national to local) and horizontal (across sectors and disciplines). Here, we use the following partnership definition which is built on the UN’s definition of a multi-stakeholder partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

“An ongoing collaborative relationship between or among organizations from different stakeholder types aligning their interests around a common vision, combining their complementary resources and competencies and sharing risk, to maximize value creation towards the Sustainable Development Goals and deliver benefit to each of the partners.” 

Definition from the UN/TPI Partnership Accelerator

The SDG Partnership Guidebook (2020, page 24) explores three different types of collaboration that each relate to the above partnership definition:

1. Leveraging other's resources for my organisation.
2. Doing 'traditional' development better.
3. 'Transformational development.

Click on Partnership Spectrum and use this information to reflect on the scenario described in the next section.

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