In 2017, three years after our launch, we felt it was the right time to step back to reflect on our progress and identify ways to be more effective. That’s why we commissioned our first ever Grantee Perception Report, carried out independently by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

The report revealed that our partners recognise we are gaining credibility in transforming the industry. And more than one in four partners reported receiving intensive non-financial assistance, such as technical support and access to a network of specialists, which they appreciated. But there is definite room for improvement.

As a results-driven foundation, we have a specific goal and theories of change to get us there. So, while our intention has always been to listen to our partners, we have been strict in adhering to our strategies and haven’t always adapted enough to our partners’ needs and ideas. This has led to some of our partners feeling more like service deliverers fulfilling our goals instead of equal partners on the same journey. The report helped us better understand the challenging dynamics of our funder-grantee relationships.

As we work towards achieving our mission, our goal-oriented approach will remain. But we can resolve this tension by creating the time and space to truly understand our partners. We must better appreciate their deep experience and seek out their expertise in the field to co-create solutions. We must become equal partners.

Action is already underway. Since the report, we’ve improved our grant process and communicated it more clearly, convened cotton partners in Sri Lanka, brought transparency partners together in Bangladesh, and held a partners’ meeting in Mexico focusing on gender. We also held our first ever three-day All Partner Design Forum in Milan in October 2018. This was a real breakthrough moment in our new approach as we realised our efforts to improve our partnerships were starting to work.

At the All Partner Design Forum, 70 of our partners came together with 30 C&A Foundation staff to spark new ideas, share lessons, and explore how we could better support each other.

By the end of our three days together, we established ten principles that will form the basis of how we work together over the coming years. And, for the first time, our partners gave their input into our next five-year strategy. This process shed light on the challenges and opportunities in our own organisation. For example, our partners highlighted that our work was missing an intersectionality lens – how different forms of discrimination overlap to keep people marginalised.

The opportunity to pause and reflect on our work will be crucial in building better partnerships for the future. And it was only possible with sincere, constructive and even critical feedback from our partners. It hasn’t been easy. But that honesty has created trust on all sides and the drive to improve.

We are now on the right path to building stronger, more collaborative relationships for the long term. We are already planning our next All Partner Design Forum, and we have set up a Learning Fund to allow partners to visit one another and keep learning from each other’s work.

The changes we made to our grant process