The P3 Impact Series highlights the work of finalists of the P3 Impact Award. The P3 Impact Award recognizes highly effective public-private partnerships that have led to positive social impact. This annual award is presented by Concordia, the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society (IBiS) at the Concordia Awards.
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As Acting Special Representative for the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships (S/GP) at the U.S. Department of State, I have the privilege of constantly witnessing and supporting innovative solutions that harness the power of public-private partnerships to advance top global diplomacy and development initiatives. The impact of working alongside public and private sector partners who each bring their unique set of strengths cannot be understated.
At the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships (S/GP), we focus heavily on Sustainable Development Goal #17—promoting public-private partnerships as one of the top means to address all of the Sustainable Developmental Goals. From working alongside the UN Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign, Google, Intel, APEC, and other partners, to bridge the gender gap in the STEAM fields through the APEC WiSci Girls STEAM camp to teaming up with coders, designers, scientists, and even Virgin Group to host the third annual Fishackathon in order to facilitate crowd-sourced solutions to the challenges facing our world’s oceans and fisheries—we at S/GP recognize that we cannot achieve our diplomatic missions alone.
With this mission of helping to facilitate and support public-private partnerships on a global scale, the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships is pleased to once again work alongside Concordia and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society (IBiS) to identify and promote this past year’s most promising public-private partnerships via the P3 Impact Awards. The P3 Impact Awards provide a platform for these public-private partners to showcase how they are improving communities and the world in impactful ways. I am honored to present the winner of this year’s awards at the Concordia Summit in New York City on September 20. Let’s take a look at the impressive finalists:
Sustainable Living Beyond Borders - Transforming Lives via Health & Wellness: A partnership between Unilever and Naya Jeevan Welfare Organization to provide a comprehensive health and wellness program in Pakistan for underprivileged groups in Pakistan’s labor force.
Project Nurture: A partnership between Coca-Cola, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and TechnoServe to build a sustainable fruit industry in East Africa by empowering mango and passion fruit farmers in Kenya and Uganda.
MTV Shuga Campaign: A collaboration between MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Nigeria, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and Cardno to create a media campaign aimed at improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people, specifically in Kenya and Nigeria.
Energize the Chain: A partnership between USAID Ghana and American Tower Corporation Ghana to use cell phone tower powered refrigerators to store vaccines in proper temperature conditions, reducing vaccine preventable childhood deaths among the world’s most vulnerable populations, starting with those in Ghana.
SAPARM: Satellite Assisted Pastoral Resource Management: A partnership between Project Concern International, the Government of Ethiopia’s Disaster Prevention and Food Security Coordination Office, the Government of Tanzania’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, the University of Notre Dame’s Initiative for Global Development, the World Food Programme, and USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures to build innovative technology to reduce the mortality rates of livestock in the face of drought and climate change in Ethiopia.
Each of this year’s finalists can look forward to opportunities to increase the scalability and visibility of their projects. The winner will receive a week-long Executive Education course at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, publicity and media coverage, and networking opportunities at the Concordia Summit. Supporting the P3 Impact Awards again this year allows the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships to be an integral part of the future of public-private partnership building, thereby paving the way for innovative solutions to be found to our world’s top challenges.
As Secretary Kerry has stated, “The goal of this award is as clear as it is compelling: To recognize and inspire the next generation of public-private partnerships, because the best ideas are never limited by borders, and we need all the good ideas that we can get.”
Each of this year’s top finalists could be the lucky winner. Who do you think will win?
Stay tuned at: https://www.concordia.net/the-summit-2016/ and follow @GPatState, @IBiS_Darden, @ConcordiaSummit, and #P3Impact on Twitter for updates.
Thomas Debass is the Acting Special Representative at the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State. Follow him at @Debass on Twitter.