Riding the partnerships wave

1
Riding the partnerships wave

• Why (now), and what matters?

2
Partnership is at the heart of the sustainable
development approach

• Sustainable Development for New Zealand, Jan 03
• The purpose To combine efforts and resources
  towards common aims, share information and
  expertise, understand different points of view,
  make better decisions, create more win-win
  outcomes
• The government expects that others will
  recognise the partnership approach as our normal
  way of doing business

3
Raging enthusiasm and widening critique

• A real shift in governance, addressing the
  inequalities, insecurities and fragmentation of
  neoliberalism?
• Making governments more responsive, accountable?
• The best ideological shell for neo-liberalism
  a new inclusive holism hiding unequal relations
  ?
• Legitimating market and non-state, fiscally
  neutral address to inequalities?
• Coopting, distracting the agents of social
  justice?
• Security from the rigors of competitive
  contractualism, facilitating collusion and
  capture?

4
Partnerships for, or instead of social justice
and political will?

• Healthy Action, Healthy Eating, MOH 2002
• As many of the determinants of poor health are
  generated by social, economic and environmental
  factors outside the direct influence of the
  health sector, it is crucial health providers
  form strategic partnerships with key sectors that
  impact on these wider determinants (education,
  income support, local government).

5
Decentralisation and community

• Allocative and coordinative efficiency through
  better local information?
• A plural, bottom up (but joined up) governance
  for a plural (but networked) society?
• Local communities responsible for national/
  global systemic fallout?
• Creating ungovernable local messes out of stuck-
  together bits, feeding gorillas in canary cages,
  joined up differently everywhere?

6
Questions for this session

• Why (local) partnerships, why now? Your
  perspectives, your history
• How significant are they? Are they a new way of
  governing? What differences does/ can the
  partnership approach really make?
• Issues, learnings and critique from partnership
  approaches so far strengths, weaknesses,
  success, limits and limitations