Cross-Sector Convergence: A New View of Global Development

Accenture Development Partnerships believes this cross-sectoral convergence will help meet Millennial Development Goals.

These new hybrid partnership models will prioritize outcome over input, bringing together a wide range of organizations into a new set of complex relationships aimed at maximizing development impact.

In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals, a transformational shift will be required—in particular, how the latent power of the business world can be harnessed. Sitting as it does at the intersection of the corporate world and the international development sector, Accenture Development Partnerships believes that successful development in the next decade will be characterized by cross-sector convergence.

Cross-sector convergence is the meeting of business opportunity with positive social, economic or environmental impacts on global development. Cross-sector convergence manifests itself in many forms—from inclusive business models driven by corporations, to complex public-private partnerships for delivery of public services that are initiated by governments. At its most extreme, it will manifest itself in new hybrid models that transcend the traditional attributes of a single sector. But at its core, this trend is about re-thinking the traditional roles of the sector in order to focus on new and innovative solutions to development challenge.

Cross-sectoral solutions are characterized by some common principles:

• They prioritize outcome over input—the key is how to attain the desired goal.
  
  
• They are sustainable and scalable.
  
  
• They are organizationally agnostic, sourcing inputs from public, private or non-profit sectors to deliver solutions through an array of entities working together.
  
  

For business, the drivers behind the convergence include the growth opportunities and consumer demand in emerging markets—and the “license to operate” that involvement in the development sector can confer in these markets.

In the development sector, organizations are realizing that teaming with the private sector can enhance the scalability, sustainability and long-term impact of efforts ranging from health to education and job creation.

Partnership across sectors is not new, but they are becoming more complex and less focused on a single goal. Such cross-sectoral convergence is generating hybrid business and funding models.

• For business, this trend means looking at emerging markets more holistically, not only as markets but as societies to strengthen.
  
  
• Independent funding agencies will have to become less focused on inputs and intermediaries and more focused on outcomes and impact—and fund accordingly.
  
  
• Non-governmental organizations and other implementing agencies will have to become more strategic about whom they team with.
  
  

For all sectors, Accenture Development Partnerships believes that cross-sectoral convergence can help drive positive change—and make the Millennium Development Goals more attainable. Contact us to explore how we can help.

Gib Bulloch is the executive director of Accenture Development Partnerships.