Global Solution Partnerships Initiative

The research project is directed at facilitating multi-sector collaborations and to establish a commitment by all partners to collaborative problem-solving and innovative solutions to global problems.

The Global Solutions Partnerships (GSP) model was developed at the Institute for Corporate Responsibility (ICR) at the George Washington University to facilitate multi-sector collaborations. It was crafted to serve as a dynamic model providing a framework for governments and non-profits to engage private sector partners in innovative, self-directed and resilient solutions to global problems (e.g. MDGs) through institutionalized global governance networks. The focus of the GSP model is to establish a commitment by all partners to collaborative problem-solving and innovative solutions, and then, leveraging solutions to help support individual partners to achieve their own goals. When successful, GSP creates a “virtuous-cycle” of collaborative problem solving that develops local solutions and allows partners to benefit from ‘value creation and capture’ engagements.

Drawing on theory and original research, the GSP model provides a framework for collaboration that overcomes the “clash of cultures” found in many multi-sector collaborations, and offers two complementary sets of principles – one directed at ‘partnership design’ and one directed at “partnership collaboration” – to guide the formation of GSPs and their institutionalization as global governance networks. ICR works with government agencies, NGOs, and corporations, using the GSP model to develop successful partnerships and uses that experience (along with other practices) to refine and enhance the GSP model and principles.

• Global Governance Network Project: ICR researches the most effective models and practices of multi-sector alliances that collaborate to help solve global problems.
• Global Partnerships for Healthy Homes Initiative (GPH²I): ICR helps international health NGOs to successfully form, manage, and sustain global partnerships for high impact health interventions.
• Trusted Partnerships and Good Governance: ICR has partnered with the U.S. Department of State and Ford Motor Company to explore how mobility and technology can support tele-medicine services to remote communities.
• Uncommon Alliances: Real Partnerships – Real Experiences – Real Impacts Conference: A collaborative effort between ICR and the U.S. State Department to explore the ins and outs of creating alliances, talk about techniques for overcoming hurdles, and focus on emerging trends in the partnership community.