POUL DUE JENSEN FOUNDATION WATER We believe in long-term partnerships At Poul Due Jensen Foundation, we believe that we can achieve our strategic goals better through partnerships. Access to new expertise Our goal is to provide access to safe drinking water for the world’s poorest in rural communities and forgotten refugee camps. The method to fulfil this goal in practice is to work with carefully selected partners. Partners in terms of NGO’s and organisations who have proven experience in water projects. Organisations with a long track record, the expertise, and the skills to handle change and development, community management, and the ability to find solutions in the local areas based on knowledge, previous learnings, results, and experience. Reaching out to communities and refugee camps requires a firm effort. We believe it is essential to stay in the area for as long as it takes to ensure that there is a resilient, institutionalised structure in place to ensure financial sustainability. What do partnerships mean for our daily work? One of the things we appreciate most when working in partnership with NGO’s is the daily sparring and knowledge sharing we have with the organisations: “Our water partners are very skilled and no two are the same. They have various skills and knowledge from different places in the world. But having access to our water partners also means that we have access to a lot of knowledge, which is beneficial for our work. Some of our partners have a lot of technical knowledge on solar systems and water quality, while others are stronger in community building and water pricing. We bring this knowledge to life by being in constant dialogue with our partners. And one of my most important tasks is to build bridges between the partners, so we can learn from each other on an ongoing basis,” says Nils Thorup, Programme Manager for Water, Poul Due Jensen Foundation. The partnerships are based on trust and openness. Factors that are highly appreciated by both our water partners and by the Foundation Programme Manager. “It is crucial for our work that we are honest about the problems that might occur during our projects. If not, we lose time. By speaking about the challenges and problems frequently, we have the ability to solve issues faster,” says Nils Thorup. Partner Days event In 2018, we introduced a new event: Partner Days. This event took place in August, prior to Stockholm Water Week. The aim was to gather all seven water partners: to make them meet, to share their experience, and to ensure that all partners heard and understood Poul Due Jensen Foundation’s water strategy. The invited participants repre- sented the managerial and technical levels of the organisations. We asked Paul Smith Lomas, Chief Executive, Practical Action in UK, what it means to work in a partnership with Poul Due Jensen Foundation and participating in Partner Days 2018; “Working in partnership means much more than the traditional NGO-donor relationship. It has helped create relationships that mean stronger communications, better understanding, and, ultimately, better outcomes Seven water partners with one goal: Providing access to safe drinking water • Water Aid • Water Mission • PlanBørnefonden • Sunlit Future • Norwegian Church Aid • Oxfam • Practical Action 10
Download PDF file
Cookie policy