Adaptive and Agile Partnerships

Let's talk about Adaptive Programming...

We are working to deliver results for children in a world that is increasingly complex, volatile and filled with interdependent factors- the behavior of which cannot be completely predicted in advance. To effectively deliver results for children, we need to work with our partners to ensure our partnership frameworks are embedded with the incentives, capacity, and resources to plan for different scenarios, recognize challenges and opportunities more swiftly, and adapt accordingly.

We fully recognize that our partnership and programming processes can be complex, which have involved many steps and a long lead time. The nature of our current partnership processes and culture sometimes prevent swift adaptation in response to changing circumstances or new evidence. The limitations of these approaches in our partnerships and programming are demonstrated in some of the gaps that separate carefully articulated partnership goals and approaches from their realized outcomes, when operating in continuously evolving and complex contexts .

Adaptive programming approaches, which require embedding intentional agility to adjust our programme partnerships in response to the changes in our operating contexts and results performance, are critical for UNICEF and our partners to meet the complexities and challenges of today and the future. This discussion space is an opportunity for partners and UNICEF to jointly exchange on how we can structure our implementing partnerships to be more adaptive/agile so that we can deliver more effective programming . 

"You cannot turn the wind, ​so turn your sail.”​

-Swahili proverb