About
Sector Convening
We have 15+ years of experience in creating and improving multi-stakeholder partnerships. We can help you to maximize the value of your multi-stakeholder partnership, finding a balance between value for your mission, partners, and the partnership itself.
Our approach to multi-stakeholder partnerships
At NewForesight, we see multi-stakeholder partnerships as key to driving market-driven sustainability transitions. Their pre-competitive nature provides a neutral space for sector-wide dialogue, but many fail to reach their full impact. Simply agreeing to collaborate does not guarantee success — design and management are critical.
With over 15 years of experience, we’ve found that effective partnerships balance three types of value:
- Mission Value: Does the partnership create real impact for its sustainability goals (environmental, social, economic)? Many partnerships lack clarity, feasibility, or sufficient net added value.
- Partner Value: Do individual partners benefit economically, reputationally, or strategically? Without clear returns, partnerships risk losing engagement.
- Partnership Value: Are partners investing enough in funding, time, and expertise? Weak structural, operational, and financial commitments often hinder long-term success.
Balancing these elements ensures that partnerships move beyond good intentions to drive real, scalable change.
Services
For many, participating in multi-stakeholder partnerships will feel new and sometimes overwhelming. We are here to help you on your journey.
What is NewForesight’s offering?
We offer services at three stages of a multi-stakeholder partnership: convening where a partnership is still absent, reviewing and improving existing partnerships, and implementing and driving a partnership.
1) Convening: Setting up a multi-stakeholder partnership
In the absence of sector organization and collaboration, we help convene the sector to build the initial pillars of a partnership.
Key questions to ask yourself:
- Is there a need for a multi-stakeholder partnership – or can we build on existing initiatives to avoid fragmentation?
- Which stakeholders should we collaborate with – who are the frontrunners and who would slow us down?
- What should the vision and mission be – which mission is sufficiently impactful, yet concrete and feasible?
- What root causes should the partnership help to address – do we truly understand the system dynamics inherent to the sustainability challenges in our sector?
- How can we build a proposition that maximizes value for the mission, the partner, and the partnership?
To answer these questions, we offer:
- Vision, Ecosystem & Root cause analysis: Determine the sustainability transitions needed from a systemic lens: determine key stakeholders, challenges and their root causes, and the solutions required to accelerate the transition.
- Convening, Strategy & Commitment building: Take stakeholders on a journey towards concrete commitments for the partnership and its mission.
2) Reviewing: Evaluate the strategy, governance structure and overall effectiveness of your partnership
Key questions to ask yourself:
- What has been the effectiveness of the partnership over the past few years?
- What are the new external challenges the partnership should help to address?
- How can we optimize the collaboration between the members, board, and secretariat?
- How can the partnership build greater buy-in from its membership for a new strategy?
- How can the partnership better activate its members?
- What should the business model look like to enhance access to funding?
To answer these questions, we offer:
- Organizational Quick Scan – Undertake a high-level review with the secretariat, board, members and other relevant stakeholders on the challenges and possible solutions for your partnership (see example below)
- Full organizational review – Conduct an in-depth review of the vision, strategy and operations of your organizations. This includes elements such as:
- Vision & Mission: Is the partnership still focusing on the right vision and mission?
- Value proposition: Do partners obtain sufficient value from the partnership – how can this be improved?
- Business model: Is the partnership financially self-reliant and robust – are expenses spent on fit-for-purpose activities?
- Roles & responsibilities: Is the role division between partners (e.g. board, secretariat, partners and working groups) sufficiently clear, effective and efficient?
- Monitoring & Evaluation structure: Can the partnership measure success effectively and efficiently – at output and outcome-level?
3) Implementing: Operationalize and run the initial stages of the partnership
Key questions to ask yourself:
- How can we operationalize the partnership into a well-functioning organization?
- What is needed to ensure day-to-day management is smooth and seamless?
To answer these questions, we offer:
- Project Management Office: We take the full PMO or Secretariat role, including day-to-day communication with members and external stakeholders, business accounting, and strategy roll-out
- Program management: We take responsibility for the successful roll-out of a specific program within the larger partnership – focused on a specific topic or geography
Projects and case studies
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Convening: Setting up a multi-stakeholder partnership
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Evaluating and reviewing multi-stakeholder partnerships
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Implementing: Operationalize and run the initial stages of the partnership
Reports & articles
Laure Heilbron (2021)
Moving from silos to a systemic approach: 3 questions to ask if you are contributing to building futureproof Food Systems
Laure Heilbron (2021)
Demand Generation Alliance: Making nutritious and sustainable foods a preferred choice of consumers
Guus ter Haar (2020)
Scaling up: Leveraging landscape approaches to successfully organize sustainability at scale
