“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”- African proverb

“Collaboration builds greater value than competition in the development sector.”

“Only collaborations help to scale up pilots and new ideas.”

“Partnerships are essential as the magnitude of issues are far beyond the reach of individual actors.”

The above are some of the key insights and recurring themes of Samagam 2018, 2020 and the regional Samagams held in 2021. COVID-19 brought to the fore how closely we are interlinked irrespective of our class, caste, and gender, region, or country, and highlighted how closely we need to work together as corporates, donors, administrators, media, civil society organizations and citizens to make this world a better place for everyone. Multiple Samagam sessions showcased how winning coalitions could effectively address issues ranging from rural poverty, to urban migration, education, health and nutrition, natural resource management, youth and mental health etc, besides contending with COVID-19.

If there is such a great appreciation and acceptance on the need and value of partnerships and a collaborative way of thinking and working (at least in discussions and conferences), why do collaborations remain an exception rather than a standard operating procedure for addressing inter-sectoral, intergenerational development issues? What are the barriers that come in the way of development sector stakeholders coming together and working together to realize a more just and equitable society for all?

Development agencies, Corporates and CSOs do not have a history of collaborating with each other in a boundless way. This field is multi-sectoral, the philosophies and ethos are different and require lots of conversation, framing and reframing of the problems and its solutions, is another insight that emerged during the last round of Samagam in 2020. For ‘winning coalitions’ to sustain and address our SDGs effectively, thinking groups opine that changes will be required at multiple levels:

– in organizational and government rules, policies and priorities; espoused activities and practices of institutions, networks and coalitions; and how people, financial and knowledge resources are distributed and allocated at one level;

- in the quality of communication, relationships and connections among stakeholders especially with those having differing histories and viewpoints; and the distribution of power and authority (formal and informal) among individuals and organizations on another level;

- in our mental models or deeply held beliefs, assumptions and how we think, talk and do (and listen?) on a third level.

Samagam is one such initiative to encourage and facilitate many such ‘winning coalitions’ by celebrating successful collaborations and learning from many that did or did not succeed. Samagam 2022 will highlight efforts by CSOs, Corporates and Foundations and Government organisation and departments to form coalitions and converge efforts among themselves, besides fostering collaborations and partnerships across stakeholder groups to effect transformational change on scale.

Samagam will continue to seek to remove ‘constraints’ like societal norms and goals, market forces, public programs and policies, incentives, power imbalances and knowledge gaps, etc. that inhibit CSOs, Corporates, Governments, Media , Academia and Communities to work together to change the conditions that are holding our development problems in place. If partnerships and collaborations emerge among ‘unlike minded’ development sector stakeholders and sustain beyond the realms of specific projects and programs, for finding solutions along with the communities we serve, Samagam would have moved closer to effecting the change it aspires for.