Between partnership and community needs: A qualitative study on the Tunisian experience of international partnership
Abstract
This assignment examines the developmental strategy of partnership in a Tunisian context. After the Arab Spring partnership has been essential for Tunisian development stakeholders, making the country a suitable setting for partnership investigation. While partnerships seem to provide a lot on the surface, this research aims to better understand both the opportunities and obstacles faced by persons working in Tunisian NGOs in global partnerships, and in light of their experiences, discuss how the strategy can be improved. More precisely, the study looks at how partnership affects those who work in Tunisian NGOs' capacity to address community needs. Using qualitative research methods, 15 persons working with NGOs in Tunisia were interviewed, presenting their individual and distinct experiences of the issue. The findings indicate that workers of Tunisian NGOs may benefit from a shared "space" where mutual dependence and negotiating power are more evenly distributed. The social capacity of Tunisian NGOs is increased through pursuing partnerships that are characterized by shared values and mutually agreed upon goals which may also positively impact their technical and organizational capacity, thereby improving workers of Tunisian NGOs' capacity to meet the needs of the community. In contrast, when this fails, their capacity to serve the needs of the community is reduced. Understanding the impact of the strategy of partnership on workers of Tunisian NGOs may contribute to existing data to improve development approaches globally or may serve as an inspiration for similar investigations in other local contexts.