Guest Posting By New KP Author: Susan Ross

"When I began doing research for Expanding the Pie, I found it interesting that a Google search for non-governmental organization (NGO)/non-profit-corporate partnerships yielded results that were mostly under the heading of Business-NGO partnerships. This made me wonder if there is a difference in these terms. After many interviews with non-profit and business managers, I concluded that these terms are different, but it is a matter of perspective rather than who leads the partnership. Business-NGO partnerships relate to how businesses select and develop relationships with NGOs. On the other hand, NGO-corporate partnerships encompass a NGO’s strategies for working with corporations.

We live in a changing environment with the development of an interdependent global economic system combined with dramatic technological, communications and scientific advances. Expansion of global trade has improved economic opportunities and living standards for millions, but it has also left many behind as well. It is clear that the “status quo” interventions are not working. The world is now at a critical “tipping point” for effective and sustainable solutions. If actions are not undertaken soon, the effects of key issues, such as climate change, may be irreversible or severely jeopardize our children’s future. Thus, new paradigms are needed to find effective solutions that maximize the strengths of all the sectors—non-profits, businesses, governments, foundations, and academia-- to overcome these challenges.

As a result, partnerships have become all the rage. While partnerships have many benefits, they are hard, time-consuming, messy and often do not produce the desired results. I believe that we can all learn from the successes and challenges of our peers so the book includes 46 case studies that produced ground-breaking approaches that result in benefits for companies, NGOs, governments and the society at large- thus expanding the pie for everyone. In addition, many managers are struggling to develop effective partnerships so the aim of the book is to provide a user-friendly reference with a comprehensive eight-step-decision-making framework to systematically and strategically approach initiating, implementing and evaluating partnerships. It also provides several tools to help managers: manage their existing partnership portfolio; asses if current partnerships are still creating value; design effective partnership agreements; and indicators to evaluate the partnership’s added value." --Susan Ross

Expanding the Pie will release at the end of April and is available to pre-order. The book retails for $24.95. Contact Marketing Associate Jennifer Kern for more information on ordering copies: Jennifer@styluspub.com.