In a world marked by constant change, persistent social challenges and limited resources, we need adaptive, creative and capable teams and organisations to drive systems change and social impact. It was with this principle in mind that XSPI – the Cross-Sector Partnerships Initiative – was founded in 2020.

XSPI works as a volunteer-led network representing business, government, non-profits, philanthropy and research, and seeks to broker new partnerships between these sectors to better fund and implement solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. XSPI exists to facilitate more cross-sector partnerships and has chosen to focus on three priority countries in the Indo-Pacific: Bangladesh, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Many Australian businesses have close ties with Bangladesh through the export of cotton and the import of ready-made garments, with well-known companies such as Cotton On and Kmart sourcing from factories there. Bangladesh also has a large non-profit sector, with over 2,600 local and foreign NGOs registered with the government. Over the past five years, the XSPI Bangladesh Working Group has had big and small discussions about cross-sector collaboration between Bangladesh and Australia with a range of stakeholders – including BRAC, Cotton On Group, Monash University and the World Mosquito Program, the Bangladesh High Commission in Australia, Build Bangladesh, Interplast and Sitara’s Story.

Here are three key lessons we’ve learned in our attempts to be a catalyst, convenor, collaborator, co-creator and coalition builder for social impact:

1. Building a relationship takes time

While partnerships often initially form around a shared project or funding arrangement, the best ones go beyond deadlines and payment schedules. One of the biggest challenges for cross-sector partnerships is that it can be hard to pull together a consortium, source funds, and understand who is best placed to do what while you’re getting to know each other at the same time. The complexity of this grows when stakeholders from different countries are involved – the XSPI Bangladesh Working Group was made up of people with Australian and Bangladeshi passports, with many members having lived in both countries.

This means that successful partnerships need to be grounded in people across organisations making the effort to understand each other and their respective work environments, in addition to being led by local knowledge holders or leaders. However, in most sectors, the adage ‘time is money’ tends to take priority, meaning that partnerships are abandoned before their potential has been realised. It takes truly visionary leaders to invest in the long arc of building a relationship, especially when there is no immediate benefit.

Social change takes time, and partnerships – like all relationships – are dynamic. There will be ebbs and flows, and trust between stakeholders is the glue that will hold these together. Some of the most valuable partnerships that XSPI has built over the past five years have had no tangible outcome (yet), but the process of collaboration and learning has laid strong foundations for future possibilities we might not even have imagined.

 

Boda, Bangladesh. Credit: Jessica Carter.

 

2. Leverage legislation

Since partnerships take time and resources, there often needs to be a greater impetus for working together than a one-off project or opportunity. Of the five sectors that XSPI works with – business, government, non-profits, philanthropy and research – each has its own priorities and measures for success. Business is unavoidably driven by profit. And ignoring this fact practically limits the role of business to donors and misses the opportunity to work together.

Legislation can be a meaningful way to engage businesses in conversations about cross-sector partnerships for social impact. For example, Australia’s Modern Slavery Act has driven more businesses to report on and address issues in their supply chains, such as poor working conditions in garment factories. The XSPI Bangladesh Working Group helped to connect Australian and Bangladeshi business and non-profit leaders at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Export Association Event in 2023, in part because of a renewed openness to learn from each other in response to the Act’s reporting requirements. 

Considering where ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) legislation and regulatory expectations might overlap with actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is a good way to bring businesses into the conversation and engage them in a richer way than asking for a donation.

3. Consider impact investment

The UN estimates that there is a US$4 trillion annual financing gap in developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This cannot be met by public funding and philanthropy alone. Impact investment typically focuses on early-stage or high-impact ventures that may be overlooked by traditional funders. By adding this type of funding to the mix, solutions can sometimes be found at a scale and pace that wouldn’t happen otherwise. This can unlock market-based solutions for ongoing development challenges such as drinking water access. For example, XSPI’s partner Build Bangladesh’s Prokriti o Paani project invested in new technology to collect drinking water from fog, providing immediate access to clean water that hadn’t previously existed.

Impact investing is often cross-sectoral in its approach, relying on governments to create an enabling environment, non-profits to deliver social ventures and philanthropists to fund adjacent project elements. The Prokriti o Paani project also relied on science and research organisations to develop its technology, and XSPI helped to facilitate discussions with CSIRO and others who could provide further technical support. The XSPI Bangladesh Working Group is continuing to work closely with Build Bangladesh both to support the delivery of more activities in Bangladesh and to increase knowledge of the impact investment opportunities that exist. We’re curious to see where this will lead.

Since XSPI is not a funder and its work is almost entirely implemented through the efforts of volunteers, exploring impact investment is an essential part of encouraging cross-sector collaboration in a more sustained manner.

 

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: Jess Carter.


Zooming out

In theory, cross-sector partnerships are a simple concept. But in reality, they often remain aspirational because the incentives to deliver projects quickly and efficiently can lead to siloed and even duplicated approaches. Nevertheless, through five years of XSPI-led cross-sector collaboration in Bangladesh, it is also clear that they offer immense potential for positive impact. By aligning goals, operating transparently and mobilising shared knowledge and resources, government, businesses, philanthropists, non-profits and researchers can work together more effectively. Collaboration is key to building a sustainable future, and with the right approach, these partnerships hold the potential to drive real change.


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Jessica Carter is a member of XSPI and was Lead Convenor of the Bangladesh Working Group from 2022-25. She is also a Steering Committee & Advisory Council member. She holds a Master of Public Health and has spent the past 15 years delivering programs, research and capacity building focused on health promotion and preventive medicine in communities across the region, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India and Australia. She is currently working in viral hepatitis research at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. Previously, she was the Asia Health Program Director for global impact investor Opportunity International, and was based in Dhaka, Bangladesh as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development in 2011-12. She continues to connect with communities in Bangladesh through her work as Honorary Health Program Advisor for BURO Bangladesh, one of the country’s largest NGOs.

XSPI (Cross Sector Development Partnerships Initiative) is a network of development and business sector professionals committed to catalysing social change through cross-sector collaboration and diverse in-country connections in Bangladesh as well as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Feature image: Boda, Bangladesh. Credit: Jessica Carter.