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Advancing United States-Mexico Binational Sustainability Partnerships (2021) / Chapter Skim
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4 Recommended Strategies for Effective Partnerships
Pages 63-72

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From page 63...
... The lack of comprehensive empirical data on sustainability partnerships in the U.S.–Mexico border region makes it difficult to obtain a complete picture of the number, type, quality, longevity, and effectiveness of the region's binational sustainability partnerships. Nevertheless, the data that exist and the accounts shared at the stakeholder webinar overwhelmingly show that effective partnership strategies and broadly acceptable metrics (Stibbe et al., 2019)
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From page 64...
... THE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS APPROACH Transborder, multi-stakeholder partnerships pursuing sustainable development are faced with highly complex and often conflicting societal and environmental goals, seeking to balance livelihoods, resource and environmental security, biodiversity conservation, and land degradation in the context of global markets and climate change. Looking at transborder partnerships for sustainability through a systems approach places equal emphasis on the social and ecological dynamics of the border region and provides insight on how to understand the important feedback each component yields to others in the system.
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From page 65...
... An effective partnership between the United States and Mexico in the border region should focus on strengthening adaptability -- a key SES trait -- so that actors can sustain the partnership while responding to changing conditions. Chapter 3 discussed the importance of leveraging both formal and informal methods of communication to strengthen and maintain sustainable partnerships; when the pandemic eliminated in-person meetings and restricted cross-border supply chain distribution, local physicians and stakeholders relied on informal networks and virtual communication to interact with patients and to receive and send essential protocol information.
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From page 66...
... The Los Alisos wastewater treatment plant is the first in Latin America to run exclusively on solar energy. RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES FOR FORMING AND MAINTAINING SUCCESSFUL U.S.–MEXICO BINATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS Functional collaboration stresses the complementarity among partners and the recognition of the benefits of coordinated action.
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From page 67...
... Partnerships can emerge in contexts where financial resources are controlled by just a few actors; whether the asymmetries are an obstacle depends on the how the partnership is managed and the levels of interpersonal trust that exist between partners. Strategy 4: Establish a Stable Governance Structure Adopting strategies for effective partnerships requires a highly flexible and adaptive collaborative structure that incorporates robust decision making and goal-oriented action.
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From page 68...
... , partnership leaders may initiate a learning environment, following theories of change that require individual and community engagement. While desired outcomes may evolve, mutual commitment, open communication, and a trusted process of conducting joint activities can ensure that partnership evolution brings along all partners.
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From page 69...
... Strategy 7: Establish Guidelines for Partnership Evaluation There are three key measures for assessing partnerships: process (forming partnerships, setting goals, defining stakeholder roles, and conducting partnership activities) ; governance (flexibility, equity, accountability, responsiveness, transparency, and consistency among partners and external stakeholders)
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From page 70...
... For example, water-management partnerships in the binational region are crucially important to enhance water security in this arid and semi-arid region, which is confronting growing water demands for human and ecosystem needs. Additional key considerations for partnership outcomes include resources, both material and financial, as well as capacities.
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From page 71...
... Leadership as a core governance competency involves identifying and pursuing common goals, navigating power dynamics and resolving conflicts (or harnessing differences for positive change) , and communicating internally and externally.
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From page 72...
... . Advancing Sustainability of U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Drylands: Proceedings of a Workshop.
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Key Terms

  • effective partnerships
  • sustainability partnerships
  • binational sustainability
  • border region
  • recommended strategies

  • indigenous communities
  • partnership effectiveness
  • binational region
  • positive change
  • effective partnership

  • partnership characteristics
  • partnership goals
  • partnership activities
  • pursuing sustainable
  • partnerships requires

  • partnerships involve
  • sustainability challenges
  • partnerships require
  • desired outcomes
  • los alisos

  • governance guidelines
  • water security
  • maintaining successful
  • external stakeholders
  • governance gaps

  • shared vision
  • biodiversity conservation
  • changing conditions
  • treatment plant
  • partnerships functional


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