Small Islands, Genuine Partnerships - guidance to genuine partnering in Small Island Developing States

Over the past two decades, as the field of multi-stakeholder partnering has matured as a professional discipline and field of practice, certain success factors have emerged, regardless of context. In the SDG Partnership Guidebook, these factors are referred to as ‘building blocks’.

These partnership building blocks also hold true when it comes to setting up and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Due to its peculiar vulnerabilities and characteristics, there are additional aspects to consider when developing multi- stakeholder partnerships in SIDS.

The document is intended to provide insights to these special considerations. It serves as a starting point for anyone seeking to understand the challenges and opportunities of partnering in SIDS, and is intended to be used together with the SDG Partnership Guidebook. The material is illustrated by interesting examples of partnerships in practice, followed by actionable guidance.

This document is intended to be useful for two audiences:

1. For individuals and organizations based in SIDS: governments, private sector, civil society;

2. For representatives of the international development system collaborating with SIDS: international organizations, including parts of the UN system, bilateral donor agencies, some international foundations, large NGOs, and multinational corporations.

Wherever possible, indication is made when material in this document is relevant for both audiences, and when it is specifically relevant for a specific audience type.