Public-Private Partnerships: Making Progress on the World's Largest Societal Issues

To truly make progress on the world’s largest societal issues, such as education and skills development, community health, and economic development, governments, companies, and nonprofits must work together. Social, environmental, and economic barriers are interconnected, and public-private partnerships (PPPs) are key to bringing together the knowledge, expertise, resources, and networks needed to tackle global challenges. Over the past 20 years Cisco has seen firsthand how critical PPPs are, as we’ve worked in collaboration to grow Cisco Networking Academy into the world’s leading digital skills and career building program. In this five-part series, we’lll explore how a company or organization can develop, implement, and sustain successful PPPs that achieve large-scale impact.

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Innovation & Technology

Leveraging Technology to Build a Successful Public-Private Partnership
Leveraging technology and innovation is essential to build capacity, streamline programs, and further impact in successful public-private partnerships (PPPs). Technology can be leveraged in two ways: first through the use of technical tools and platforms, and second through the use of technical knowledge to ensure expertise and innovative practices are applied uniformly and consistently to community investment strategies.

Innovation & Technology

A Baseline for Success: Creating Sustainable PPPs

Innovation & Technology

Implementing a Successful Public-Private Partnership | Part 3: Determine How to Execute
How does a company or organization develop and sustain successful public-private partnerships to achieve large-scale impact?

Determine how to execute: The partnership must develop a clear vision, differentiated strategy, and detailed execution plan to drive long-term success. This includes defining outcomes for the PPP that are informed through stakeholder input, establishing an effective governance structure with clearly defined and transparent operating practices, and agreeing upon roles and accountabilities in advance.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Implementing a Successful Public-Private Partnership | Part 2: Determining When and How Long to Engage
How does a company or organization develop and sustain successful public-private partnerships to achieve large-scale impact?

Determine when, and how long, to engage: Successful public-private partnership programs are strategic multi-year, multi-phased engagements, not single transactions. It’s important to provide flexibility in the level and length of engagement. But, to have large-scale impact, a core set of partners should be committed for the long-term.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Implementing a Successful Public-Private Partnership | Part 1: Find the Right Partner
To make true progress on the world’s largest societal issues — such as community health, economic development, and education and skills development—governments, companies, and nonprofits must work together. But, how does a company or organization develop and sustain successful public-private partnerships to achieve large-scale impact?

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