Applications are now being accepted for:

Cohort 7 - for candidates from North America, with residential in Canada 20-26 May 2006.

Cohort 8 - for candidates from the European region, with residential in UK 18-24 June 2006.

Cohort 9 - for candidates from the Australasia and the Pacific region, with residential in Darwin, Australia, 22-28 October 2006.

Cohort 10 - for candidates from West Africa region, with residential in Lagos, Nigeria, 3-9 December 2006.

Full details and application forms can be found at: http://www.odi.org.uk/pppg/pbas/index.html

"As practitioners we saw an urgent need to address the demand for professionalism and integrity in brokering partnerships between non-traditional parties increases", said Dr Michael Warner, one of the two Directors of the scheme. "We are now building on the success of the UK schemes and running new ones more available and made relevant to different regions around the world"

About PBAS
In 2003, in recognition of the complexity of brokering strategic partnerships involving business, government and civil society, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) joined forces to launch the Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme (PBAS).

The scheme comprises 15 to 25 participants participating in a seven day intensive residential skills training course. This is followed by three months of mentored professional practice. Candidates are required to maintain a logbook during his period, and to submit a final project (a 3000 word essay). Successful candidates are awarded Accreditation and required to abide to a set of ethical and professional Principles. To date 70 candidates have reached Accreditation status - see full listing at: http://www.odi.org.uk/pppg/pbas/accredited.html

"The scheme far exceeded by expectations" said Maria Bobenrith of the Nike Corporation. "I found the course a wonderful foundation for my future brokering practice, with immediate relevance to my present job in sustainable development" said Ernest Boucher of Shell in Gabon, West Africa. "The programme was comprehensive and ...I liked the fact that the information came from actual experience" said Leah Hibbon, programme officer for CARE International in the United Kingdom.

Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme

Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme

Partnerships for sustainable development are a relatively new phenomena. Why? Because unlike contractual relationships or public-private partnerships they seek not to shift responsibility and risk from one party to another, but to share risks, pool resources and talents and deliver mutual benefits for each party. Partnerships for sustainable development are, however, no panacea. Early in the process of developing these agreements their value must be weighed against the alternatives. There are also significant obstacles to negotiating the optimal division of roles between parties; parties who at a minimum view the world differently, and on occasions harbour mistrust or even hostility. A partnership, like any new relationship, also needs regular maintenance to respond to external commercial and political realities. Given these challenges it is no surprise that partnership brokers are essential to the successful development and management of multi-sector partnerships. But how are such brokers to be equipped for this multi-dimensional and challenging task? The PBAS scheme is designed to meet this demand.

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