Round Two of Shared Value Business Partnerships Launches
24 August 2016 at 8:41 am
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has launched round two of its shared value business partnerships platform, which encourages the private sector to assist in delivering the federal government’s overseas aid program.
In 2015 Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop launched a strategy to enhance the federal government’s engagement with the private sector across all areas of its aid program.
Engaging the Private Sector: Creating Shared Value Through Partnership invited businesses to work with the government and implement sustainable solutions that tackle development challenges whilst delivering commercial returns.
“The strategy recognises the private sector as a driver of economic growth, incomes and jobs, and as a partner for government to achieve more effective and sustainable aid outcomes,” Bishop said at the time.
The priority countries in the second round applications include:
Expressions of interest for round two will be accepted until Friday 7 October 2016.
The 10 successful partnerships for round one have also been announced. These partnerships are located in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Pakistan and Kenya.
According to the business partnership guidelines: “The concept of shared value forms the foundation of the Australian Government’s vision for engaging with the private sector in development – namely that businesses which seek to deliver social impact as part of their business will be those which achieve better and more sustainable, commercial returns.
“To support this vision, the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP) was created to support partnerships between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and private sector entities which similarly aspire to bring a shared value approach to their core business operations.
“The BPP’s goal is to create scalable shared value partnerships that advance Australia’s economic and social development objectives.
“The Australian Government has a network of around 100 overseas posts, along with DFAT staff located in Canberra, state and territory offices, whose responsibilities include oversight of Australia’s aid program. The aid program works to solve complex development challenges in frontier and emerging markets in our region, promoting Australia’s interests by contributing to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction across the priority sectors.”
The government said the shared value partnerships required businesses and Not for Profit entities to invest capital and take risks in pursuit of the development challenges.
