Interviews UN (2012–2016)

From 2012 to 2016, Dr. Marianne Beisheim and Dr. Nils Simon conducted a series of interviews, document analysis, and participatory observation to explore the extent to which relevant actors within the UN system are already providing meta-governance for partnerships or are calling for such endeavors. They conducted 38 in-depth interviews with relevant actors from UN agencies, civil society, business, and member states. These interviews were supplemented by participant observation during, among others, the following events: the 2012 Rio+20 Partnership Forum, UN negotiations on the 2030 Agenda/SDGs, UNDESA Expert Group Meetings, the 2016 ECOSOC Partnership Forum, and the UN High-Level Political Fora (HLPF) 2014–2017, including the HLPF Partnership Exchange.

Contact: Marianne Beisheim, marianne.beisheim@swp-berlin.org

Interview Guideline UN

Interviews Donors (August 2016 – April 2017)

Dr. Anne Ellersiek conducted interviews on the question if and how donors and funders support partnerships in becoming more effective and inclusive. The interviews focused on three perspectives: the perspective of (1) donor governments that (co-)finance and support partnerships through specific partnership programs and facilities, (2) multilateral donors and funders, e.g. the World Bank, and (3) private foundations. The interviews generated insights into the donors’ and funders’ perspectives on partnerships and their conditions for success. Additional document analyses, primarily of program evaluations, provided preliminary answers to the question to what extent donors and funders have already translated existing experiences into meta-governance frameworks for partnerships.

Contact: Anne Ellersiek, anne.ellersiek@gmail.com

Interview Guideline Donors

Interviews Kenya (October 2015 – January 2016)

Lukas Goltermann and Pauline Kiamba conducted interviews in Kenya to explore if and how national-level meta-governance guides and supports water partnerships. To this effect, the empirical analysis targeted two water partnerships: Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) and the Kenyan Water Partnership (KWP). The interviews were conducted with key actors in the selected partnerships and with government representatives as well as with local private actors who worked in collaboration with the given partnerships. The interviews yielded valuable insights into both actors’ perspectives on these partnerships, as well as relevant factors for success of the partnerships, and (non-)existent meta-governance and the rather fragmented nature of the institutional framework conditions provided for partnerships in the Kenyan context.

Contact: Marianne Beisheim, marianne.beisheim@swp-berlin.org

Interview Guideline Kenya

Interviews Private Governance (April 2013 – October 2015)

Lili Mundle investigated how a private meta-governance organization, the ISEAL Alliance, supports its members, i.e. standard-setting partnerships. In 2015, she and Dr. Lars Berger focused on the interaction between the ISEAL Alliance and the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). Together, they conducted 16 interviews, supplemented by observations made, among others, during the 2015 ISEAL Global Sustainability Standards Conference. This material was complemented by observations made during the 2013 World Water Week, the 2014 World Water Congress, and the 2015 World Water Forum. The generated findings shed light on the added value of meta-governance and guidance on standard-setting as provided by ISEAL for the work of AWS.

Contact: Marianne Beisheim, marianne.beisheim@swp-berlin.org

Interview Guideline ISEAL

Interviews East Africa and South Asia (2011–2012)

Johanna Sarre carried out extensive field research on the activities of four select partnerships (GAIN, GAVI, WSUP, and REEEP) in Kenya and Uganda from January to May 2011 and January to April 2012. Apart from interviews with project staff, stakeholders, and beneficiaries, her research was informed by a series of field visits to project sites in and around Nairobi, Naivasha, Kajiado, Kibwezi, and Kisumu (Kenya), as well as Kampala, Jinja, Entebbe, Pakwach, Kinyara, and Kiira (Uganda).

Contact: Marianne Beisheim, marianne.beisheim@swp-berlin.org

In spring and autumn of 2011, Hannah Janetschek carried out field research on 18 select projects from four partnerships (GAIN, GAVI, REEEP, and WSUP) in South Asia and in the federal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, New Delhi, and West Bengal in India. Another round of research trips to Dhaka City gathered data on partnership operations in Bangladesh.

Contact: Andrea Liese, aliese@uni-potsdam.de

Interviews on 21 Transnational Partnerships (2007–2009)

In the first part of the project, we mapped 21 select partnerships in the areas of environment, health, and social rights, which strive to implement the Millennium Development Goals in areas of limited statehood. We conducted interviews with the various members of each partnership and with stakeholders and experts in the field. Systematic case studies allowed us to test hypotheses deduced from the International Relations literature, in particular from theories of international cooperation and compliance. For example, we assessed the degree of institutionalization of different partnerships. Moreover, in terms of effectiveness, we examined whether members complied with the rules of standard-setting partnerships and/or whether service partnerships attained their own objectives. The results of the case studies were then coded for further analysis.

Contact: Marianne Beisheim, marianne.beisheim@swp-berlin.org, and Andrea Liese, aliese@uni-potsdam.de