Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks

Session title: Equitable Partnerships: Enabling Local Leadership and Shifting Power in Practice

Organizer(s): Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)

11 Mar 26 11:00-12:30 UTC+1 (Pleniere E)

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SessionAbstract

This session will explore how partnerships can genuinely enable local leadership, how to assess and improve the quality of partnerships in practice, and how to navigate power dynamics within communities to avoid exclusion while supporting those closest to the crisis. The focus is on practical approaches that build trust, accountability, andlastinglocal capacity.

Key Angles of Discussion:

How partnerships enable local leadership: What models,behaviours, and practices meaningfully shift influence and decision-making to local actors?

Practical ways to assess and strengthen partnership quality: How can trust, transparency, accountability, and mutual learning be measured and improved?

Power dynamics within communities: What are the risks of exclusion, and what opportunities exist to support minority or marginalized groups?