v>EPA
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Policy
(1807T)
December 2011
EPA-100-F-11-031
EPA Evaluation of the Partnership for Clean Fuels
and Vehicles (PCFV) Lead Campaign:
Summary of Findings on Design Principles for Successful Voluntary
Global Partnerships
Fact Sheet
http://www.epa.gov/evaluate
For more information on
completed evaluations at
EPA or the Evaluation
Support Division, visit the
above link.
Introduction
In 2011, the US Environmental Protection
Agency (US EPA) sponsored a third-party
evaluation of the design and implementation
of the Lead Campaign of the Partnership for
Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV). PCFV is a
voluntary, global, public-private partnership
that promotes the reduction of air pollution
from vehicles in developing and transitional
countries through promoting use of lead-free
and low sulfur fuels, and clean vehicles. A key
purpose of the evaluation was to identify the
characteristics of a successful partnership
that could inform other voluntary
partnerships. Through a qualitative analysis
and review of the literature on voluntary
partnerships, the evaluation identified the
elements of PCFV's Lead Campaign that
contributed to its success and found it was
particularly well conceived, timed, designed,
and implemented.
This Fact Sheet highlights the evaluation
findings on design principles that could
support successful voluntary partnerships.
While the basis for these observations came
from a targeted assessment of the PCFV Lead
Campaign, they are consistent with the
broader literature on partnership best
practices.
Partnerships in Context
In the past ten years, actors from non-
governmental organizations, civil society, and
the public and private sectors have launched
hundreds, if not thousands, of partnerships in
the arenas of the global environment and
sustainable development. From an
international perspective, the 2002 World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
in Johannesburg, South Africa, sparked a
dramatic increase in emphasis on voluntary
approaches, as evidenced by the launch of
over 200 such partnerships at the WSSD. Not
all of these partnerships have succeeded and
some have been discontinued, while others
have continued and even expanded their
efforts.
Partnerships address a broad array of issues.
A common factor, though, is the belief that
bringing separate parties and sectors
together can be a powerful way to advance
the public interest and contribute to the
common good of the parties involved. Yet the
term "partnership" is often not clearly
defined or understood, and partnership
design considerations, operating practices,
and results differ substantially.
WHAT IS A PARTNERSHIP?
The term "partnership" has several
definitions. The following definition from
the United Nations applies in this context:
"Voluntary and collaborative
relationships between various parties,
both public and nonpublic, in which all
participants agree to work together to
achieve a common purpose or
undertake a specific task and, as
mutually agreed, to share risks and
responsibilities, resources and
benefits."
- United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 60/215 "Toward Global
Partnerships"
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Opinions vary widely on the efficacy of voluntary
partnership approaches compared to other
methods of achieving a desired outcome, such as
binding, formal agreements between governments
or initiatives within civil society or private industry
to enact a particular change. This study did not
evaluate or compare the benefits of these
different approaches.
The timing of this evaluation coincides with
preparations for the 2012 WSSD, also known as
Rio+20, and corresponding reflections on what
has (and has not) been accomplished in the past
two decades since the first WSSD in 1992. Lessons
from PCFV and other observations on voluntary
partnerships may help to provide insight on when
an optimally conceived and designed voluntary
partnership approach may be effective to achieve
global sustainable development goals.
"Addressing global challenges requires a
collective and concerted effort, involving all
actors. Through partnerships and alliances,
and by pooling comparative advantages, we
increase our chances of success."
- UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
Partnership Design Principles
The following design principles can provide guidance
for structuring and implementing a partnership to
maximize its chances for accomplishing its goals.
Though not a guarantee for success, these principles
can help a partnership engage its partners
productively and avoid some of the risks often
associated with a voluntary approach, including
uncertainty of commitment, lack of initial partner
trust, misunderstandings about process, and fear of
lack of progress due to the voluntary nature.
• Develop clear goals: Develop clear, specific
(and preferably measureable) goals that define
the objective of the partnership and focus
attention and action on mutually beneficial
results over a sustained period.
• Build a strong core membership: Carefully
choose initial core membership to include
stakeholders who have a strong interest in the
outcome, who can bring required expertise to
establish early credibility, and contribute to
early demonstrable progress that can attract
additional partners over time.
• Thoughtfully design the partnership and utilize
this process to engender buy-in and trust: Take
the time needed to carefully design the
partnership, including roles and responsibilities,
governance rules, membership criteria,
partnership duration and exit strategy, decision
making process, financial responsibilities, and
monitoring and reporting. During the design
phase, build critical buy-in and establish trust
among the partners.
• Make clear the power and authority of each
partner: As part of the governance rules, clearly
identify partner status if it is deemed necessary
to differentiate among partners for legitimate
reasons such as safeguarding against unfair
advantage of any partner or partner group.
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• Maximize voluntary and comprehensive
participation: Determine what motivates key
stakeholders to participate and design
accordingly, emphasizing the comprehensive
and inclusive nature of the partnership.
• Ensure neutral management: Consider
establishing a secretariat or similar function
housed in an organization or institution that is
seen as "position neutral" to facilitate the work
of the partnership in an efficient and
trustworthy manner and manage resources in a
way that optimally leverages funding.
• Secure commitments for funding sufficient to
launch the partnership, while also identifying
long-term funding opportunities: Acquire a
sufficiently stable source of funding for the
partnership to successfully launch with, at a
minimum, strong indications of future support
for longer-term funding commensurate with
the partnership's scope and duration.
Securing long-term funding is an
acknowledged challenge, and in some cases
depends on demonstrating results early on to
garner or justify additional support over time.
• Build in the ability to adapt and course correct:
Accept that adaptability in strategy and
implementation will likely be required to
maximize effectiveness; learn from experience
and adapt to changes in the external landscape.
• Empower sustained change in the field: Utilize
the partnership to build capacity and empower
those who will routinely implement the change
on the ground after the partnership ends its
work.
• Guarantee transparency and accountability:
Build in transparency, reporting, and
accountability around decision making,
implementation, and progress. Third-party
monitoring and evaluation can be a helpful tool
in this regard.
What Lies Ahead
Pursuing a voluntary partnership approach, even
when the conditions are particularly well suited to
that approach and the partnership is well designed
and implemented, does not guarantee success. The
above considerations and principles can nonetheless
increase the chances that governments, non-
governmental organizations, civil society, and
business interests can effectively work together for
the common good.
Learning from the collective experience of voluntary
partnership efforts can increase the likelihood that
future partnerships be pursued wisely to maximize
the ability of partners to work together toward a
common interest. As the global challenges faced
become more complex and interdependent,
enhancing the ability to conceive, select, design, and
operate voluntary partnerships will support the
collective need to meet those challenges.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
The EPA Evaluation Report, Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles: Evaluation of the Design and
Implementation of the Lead Campaign, December 2011, EPA-100-R-11-008, is available at:
www.epa.gov/evaluate/reports.htm
A 2010 study conducted by California State University assessed of the global benefits of phasing out
leaded fuel. The study found that, among other benefits, over one million deaths are avoided each year
and over US $2 trillion (or 4% of global GDP) is saved by eliminating lead from fuel. For more information,
see: Tsai, Peter L. and Thomas H. Hatfield, "Global Benefits from the Phase out of Leaded Fuel" Journal of
Environmental Health, Volume 74, No. 5 December 2011
The United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP's) independent Evaluation Office commissioned an
evaluation to assess the impacts of the PCFV Lead Campaign in Sub-Saharan Africa and to learn lessons
from the PCFV public-private partnership model. This evaluation, entitled Outcome and Influence
Evaluation of the UNEP Based Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, was published in 2010. The
evaluation found that, as a very conservative estimate, it would have taken ten years rather than five to
achieve the elimination of lead from fuel in Sub-Saharan Africa in the absence of PCFV. It further found
that the role of PCFV contributed in several ways to the phase out. This report is available at:
http://www.unep.org/transport/pcfv/PDF/leadphaseoutreport.pdf
Information on the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles is available at:
http://www.unep.org/transport/pcfv/
Information contained in this document is based on materials provided to EPA by Ross & Associates
Environmental Consulting, Ltd. under subcontract to Industrial Economics, Inc. for the US EPA Evaluation
Support Division and the Office of International and Tribal Affairs. Anna Williams, the lead evaluator for
this project, can be contacted at anna.williams@ross-assoc.com.
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