How funders can effectively collaborate to maximise impact in African education research

Imagine a group of friends pooling their money to buy a bigger gift than they could afford individually. Funder consortia work similarly. 

Funder consortia are groups of organisations, often charities, that team up to achieve bigger goals than they could alone, by sharing money, knowledge, and connections. Organisations, often philanthropic foundations, join forces to address a shared challenge or achieve a common goal. They share resources, expertise, and networks, multiplying their impact and reducing individual risks. These partnerships can range from informal information sharing to formal joint ventures, with varying levels of integration and shared control. 

Funders collaborate in consortia to align their philanthropic giving based on shared long-term goals, geographical areas of interest, beneficiary populations, or other commonalities. This collaborative approach helps funders achieve greater impact and learn from each other’s experiences.

Consortia offer funders several benefits, including:

• Increased impact: By working together, funders can achieve greater impact than they could individually.
• Shared learning and expertise: Consortia provide a platform for funders to share knowledge and learn from each other’s experiences.
• Reduced risk: By pooling resources, funders can share the risk of investing in new and innovative initiatives.
• Access to new networks: Consortia can help funders to expand their networks and build relationships with new partners.

Successful funder collaborations rely on several key elements including:

• Trust: Open communication, transparency, and shared values are essential for building trust among consortium members.
• Clear structures and processes: Well-defined roles, responsibilities, decision-making processes, and grantmaking cycles provide a framework for effective collaboration.
• Flexibility: The ability to adapt to changing circumstances, lessons learned, and evolving needs ensures the consortium remains responsive and impactful.
• Strong personal relationships: Pre-existing relationships and opportunities for building new connections foster a sense of community and shared purpose.
• Clear exit strategies: Established timeframes and procedures for funders to exit the consortium minimise friction and allow for smooth transitions.

However, collaboration isn’t always easy. Challenges include the effort required to maintain partnerships, potential disagreements, and the risk of powerful funders dominating smaller ones. To avoid these issues, successful consortia prioritise clear communication, flexible structures, and equitable power dynamics. 

Some strategies include:

• Ensuring diverse representation: Including grantees and community members in decision-making processes helps to elevate diverse voices and perspectives.
• Transparent communication: Openly sharing information about funding priorities, decision-making processes, and evaluation criteria empowers grantees and promotes accountability.
• Capacity building support: Providing resources and training to grantees helps to level the playing field and strengthens their ability to participate effectively in the consortium.
• Adopting flexible funding mechanisms: Offering a range of grant sizes and types, including multi-year funding and unrestricted grants, provides grantees with greater autonomy and flexibility.

Additionally, funders  often develop an “investment thesis” – a shared plan outlining their goals and how they will work together to achieve them. Defining an investment thesis helps consortia to:

• Align funding strategies: A shared investment thesis ensures that funding decisions are aligned with the consortium’s overarching goals and intended impact.
• Focus efforts: A clear thesis helps to prioritise activities and allocate resources strategically, maximising the consortium’s effectiveness.
• Measure progress: A well-defined thesis provides a framework for monitoring and evaluating the consortium’s progress towards its goals.

How can funders effectively collaborate to maximise impact in African education research?

By implementing these strategies and addressing potential challenges, funders can effectively collaborate to maximise their impact on African education research:

• Establish a shared vision and investment thesis: Funders must first establish a shared vision for the impact they hope to achieve through their collaboration. This involves identifying common goals, geographical areas of interest, beneficiary populations, and other commonalities. They should then consider adopting one of the three primary investment theses: Organisation funders, Field builders, or Goal aligners. Each thesis has its own strengths and challenges, and choosing the most appropriate one will depend on the funders’ priorities and the specific context of African education research.
  • Organisation funders focus on supporting high-performing individuals and organisations, providing them with resources and recognition. This approach can lead to significant advancements in specific areas of research, but it also carries the risk of creating “winners and losers” and neglecting other potentially valuable initiatives.
  • Field builders aim to strengthen the overall research ecosystem by supporting capacity-building initiatives, developing common standards of practice, and fostering collaboration among researchers. While this thesis can have a broader impact, it often requires significant operational costs and can lead to challenges regarding strategy ownership between funders and grantees.
  • Goal aligners prioritise aligning funding strategies towards achieving specific, measurable outcomes, such as improving literacy rates or increasing access to quality education. This approach can effectively mobilise resources towards shared goals, but it requires careful coordination and management to address the diverse perspectives and priorities of different funders.
• Choose a suitable collaboration model: Once a shared vision and investment thesis are established, funders should select a collaboration model that best suits their needs and goals. The spectrum of collaboration models ranges from informal knowledge exchanges to more formal joint ventures.
• Develop effective leadership and governance structures: Collaborative leadership is crucial for any successful consortium. It is beneficial to adopt a balance between traditional and collaborative leadership models. Traditional leadership can provide initial momentum and ensure efficient decision-making, while collaborative leadership fosters shared responsibility and empowers members to contribute their expertise.
• Address potential barriers to collaboration: Funders should be aware of the potential barriers to successful collaboration and develop strategies to overcome them. Some of the most common barriers include lack of trust, unclear roles and responsibilities, power imbalances and groupthink. Encouraging open dialogue, diverse perspectives, and constructive criticism can help avoid groupthink and ensure that the consortium remains open to new ideas and approaches.

Read more about funder consortia models here.