Governance of New Global Partnerships: Challenges, Weaknesses, and Lessons

New global partnerships such as the Global Fund, CGIAR, and CGAP have been very successful at mobilizing advocates and resources, but they also face critiques. In this policy paper, Keith A. Bezanson and Paul Isenman focus on the challenges inherent in the governance of new partnerships. Using evidence from independent evaluations, they find four frequent shortcomings:

1. Weakness or absence in strategic direction, accountability mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation systems, and management of risk
2. Lack of clarity on the roles and responsibilities of trustees or host organizations
3. Confusion between the roles of management versus governance
4. Inadequate attention to resource mobilization and to the human resources required to deliver programs and achieve objectives

The authors offer nine detailed recommendations to avoid or redress the weaknesses, including thinking twice before deciding whether a new organization is necessary, providing adequate resources to secretariats, and establishing clear objectives and evaluation criteria.