A bandage on a large wound : analyzing the role and strategies of transnational Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (MSPs) in advancing SDG 4

Abstract

The failure of several international development and transnational governance mechanisms in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) since the turn of the century has called for the need to re-invent global governance architecture. Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (MSPs) have been touted as a panacea in this regard and as a result, multiple MSPs have been forged over the last three decades within the purview of several global issues such as the health crisis, food insecurity, and education. Multi-Stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) bring together different stakeholders to dialogue and pool resources together to achieve a common goal. But MSPs also face several criticisms such as rigid top-down approaches, insufficient domestic representation, and sustainable funding issues (Hazlewoord 2015: 4). As the world strives to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, especially SDG 4, MSPs within global education have also become more prominent. However, research specifically on global education MSPs is limited, hence this research aims to fill this gap. Utilizing qualitative research in the form of document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this research analyzes the role that global education MSPs play in achieving the SDGs. Findings show that global education MSPs are responsible for providing vital resources, particularly global education financing which strongly help to advance SDG 4. However, their impact is limited due to how intersectional and complex the problem of global education is, hence, “a bandage on a large wound” as pointed out by a respondent. It further highlights that while country ownership is strongly promoted, discussions and activities are still very much “north led” (especially at the board level) despite attempts at increasing the inclusion of beneficiary countries.