Working group in Merida, Yucatan
The GlobalCAD team in Mexico held a series of working sessions with the four partnerships participating in the Acceleration Programme to maximise the impact and effectiveness of partnerships of Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which develops in collaboration with the WK Kellogg Foundation.
The programme offers mentoring focused on maximising the impact and effectiveness of these four partnerships, formed by organisations from the civil society, the public sector, the academia, NGOs, foundations and companies. In the frame of the mentoring process, a diagnosis of the needs and direct technical support have been completed, on issues like the partnership articulation, resources mobilisation strategies, management, communication, and transition to new approaches. Each of the partnerships selected various areas of support and developed an action plan adapted to their needs and times.
Since last November, the partnerships have implemented these action plans in close collaboration with the GlobalCAD team. The last working sessions, implemented between March 20 and April 9 in San Cristobal de las Casas and Merida, marked the middle of this program. Among other issues, GlobalCAD has worked on critical aspects for the management of the partnership, such as the definition of shared objectives aligned to the vision and mission, comprehensive communication management, collaboration agreements between organisations, monitoring, evaluation and decision making.
The promotion of collaborations and partnerships has its challenges, resulting from the need for managing diverse teams, operating times, and communication processes and channels. However, there is a tendency at the international level to work comprehensively, collaborating to maximise the impact by combining resources and knowledge. Internal communication, the systematisation of the information, and the correct definition of roles and responsibilities are crucial, not only to improve and scale up the partnership but also to improve the well-being of people.
The partnerships involved in the Programme are:
The Local Human Development Agencies (ADHL-Alianzas in Spanish), a project implemented in various municipalities of Yucatan that aims at strengthening the social capital of communities through inter-sectorial coordination and citizen participation, to contribute to the security and food sovereignty of participating families.
Crecer Juntos Sitalá, a territorial partnership formed by diverse organizations that seek to coordinate their actions for strengthening food systems and the local economy, in 15 towns in the municipality of Sitalá, Chiapas.
The Network for the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Chiapas (REDIAS in Spanish), a partnership of civil society organizations that develop programs in favour of women, children and adolescents in situations of social exclusion and marginalization.
Slow Chiapas, a partnership that promotes food security, safeguards agricultural and gastronomic traditions, ensures the transmission of knowledge and promotes agroecology. It is driven by the SlowFood movement and do so in collaboration with local organisations.
