Multistakeholder partnerships (MSPs) are formed to tackle knotty societal problems, promote innovation, provide public services, expand governance capabilities, set standards for a field, or resolve conflicts that impede progress on critical issues. Partnerships are viewed as collaboration among four types of stakeholders: businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and civic society. The objective of collaboration is to create a richer, more comprehensive appreciation of the iss/problem than any of the partners could construct alone by viewing it from the perspectives of all the stakeholders and designing robust solutions. Such partnerships are necessary because few organizations contain sufficient knowledge and resources to fully analyze issues and take action on them unilaterally. Five essential components of a rigorous definition of collaboration are presented: interdependence among partners, emergence of shared norms, wrestling with differences, respect for different competencies, and assuming joint responsibility for outcomes. Several examples of MSPs are provided.
Soft robust solutions to possibilistic optimization problems
