Partnerships and resource mobilization for development professionals

Resource mobilization and partnerships are essential for driving change and achieving developmental impacts in international cooperation. They involve strategically securing and managing diverse resources—financial, human, informational, and physical— through partnerships. These resources support initiatives aimed at promoting decent work, combating poverty, enhancing health and education, and building sustainable infrastructure, crucial for stimulating economic and social growth across regions in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Traditionally, Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been a significant funding source, primarily intended to boost economic development and welfare in developing countries. It encompasses a wide range of support, including technical assistance, scholarships, debt relief, and contributions to multilateral institutions that pursue development goals. Despite a recent increase in ODA, which reached USD 211 billion in 2022—a 17% rise from the previous year due to urgent global responses—the funding landscape is shifting. Non-crisis countries might compete for funds as donor priorities increasingly concentrate on immediate humanitarian and geopolitical challenges. Development cooperation practitioners today are required to extend beyond traditional ODA partnerships and explore both conventional and emerging funding streams in international development. These include Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), private sector engagements, grassroots partnerships, socially responsible banking, income generating activities, and innovative funding methods such as crowdfunding and social impact bonds. Each funding source presents its own realities, partnership agreements, advantages, and challenges, necessitating practitioners to analyze and understand its mechanisms, benefits, and potential obstacles for their own organization and projects. Having this knowledge and these skills in today’s financial landscape is essential.

The course is designed to equip development cooperation practitioners from international and civil society organizations, as well as international civil servants and government representatives involved in international development, with the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enhance their partnerships and resource mobilization efforts. The certification programme provides insights into diversifying funding sources beyond traditional methods, helping organizations to bridge the gap between their needs and the available resources. Over the course of seven weeks, participants will not only learn about established partnerships and resource mobilization strategies but will also explore innovative solutions for effectively attracting and managing funds.

CONTENT

The course adopts a modular approach, covering the following key areas:

• Module 1: Current Trends in International Financing for Development

• Module 2: Overview of Best Practices in Partnerships, Resource Mobilization Strategies and Financial Mechanisms

• Module 3: Methodologies and Tools for Assessing Funding Needs at the Organizational Level

• Module 4: Design and Development of a Resource Mobilization Strategy

• Module 5: Operationalization of a Resource Mobilization Strategy: From Implementation and Monitoring to Evaluation

• Module 6: Monitoring and Evaluation in the context of Resource Mobilisation

Throughout these modules, participants will engage in weekly sessions focused on scenarios in resource mobilization for development, including traditional and non-traditional funding sources. These sessions will also include discussions on various resource mobilization practices and testimonials.

ACHIEVEMENT

This Certificate of Achievement is awarded to participants who have successfully fulfilled all course requirements, demonstrating their knowledge and skills in Partnerships and Resource Mobilization for Development Professionals.

Main Achievement:

The primary achievement is the development and submission of a comprehensive Resource Mobilization Strategy tailored to a selected institution. This final deliverable serves as a practical demonstration of the participant's capacity to analyse, design, and structure a strategic approach to mobilizing resources in alignment with development cooperation principles.

The above main achievement is complemented by the following:

• Completion of 6 self-guided online learning modules

• Completion of 6 knowledge tests and 6 assignments

• Acquisition of practical knowledge for each module

• Participation in online learning activities to familiarize with good practices, norms and standards to strategically securing and managing diverse resources-financial, human, informational, and physical-through partnerships.

LIST OF SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE

Participants will examine various resource mobilization approaches and acquire or improve their knowledge, competences and skills in:

• the changing funding landscape in international cooperation for development

• analysing their institutional environment with a funding lens in order to identify funding priorities

• designing a resource mobilization strategy with the support of appropriate analysis tools and frameworks

• understanding different funding modalities including innovative financial mechanisms and how they can be adapted to each organization’s needs

• understanding different partnership modalities and how they can be adapted to each organization’s needs

• adopting integrated approaches to funding and strategic outreach

• implementing, monitoring and reporting on resource mobilisation strategies

• analysing different resource mobilisation strategies

NUMBER OF HOURS: 60