Turning Aid Delivery on its Head: Fast-Tracking Institutional Development Through Peer-to-Peer Support

As the value of peer-to-peer partnerships becomes more widely acknowledged, in a diverse array of sectors, those engaged in these activities should be encouraged to share their own learning. For this reason, a conference was held in central London on 7 February 2018, bringing together key players in this field. The London Conference on Peer-to-Peer Learning and Institutional Partnerships was convened by the following three organisations:

• Global Partners Governance (GPG) is a social purpose company established to support effective and representative politics by working with senior politicians, ministers and officials to help them identify and implement their own reforms.
• The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) aims to help make globalisation work for the many, not the few, by helping countries, people and their governments address some of the most difficult challenges facing the world today.
• The National School of Government International (NSGI) is a small cross-cutting unit within the UK Government which supports centre of government and civil service reform through provision of ‘practitioner-to-practitioner’ advice and expertise.

The conference was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and attended by more than 80 representatives from a range of organisations and institutions delivering or funding peer-to-peer learning activities in developing countries. Opened by the Minister of State for International Development, Harriett Baldwin, the conference considered three key topics:

• Enabling ‘sticky’ behaviour change through peer-to-peer support (led by GPG)
• Delivering support through relationships with counterparts (led by TBI)
• Understanding the impact of working peer-to-peer (led by NSGI)

This report captures some of the key findings, lessons and ongoing questions for the emerging community of practice on peer-to-peer learning. It is not intended to be a detailed account of the day, but a narrative on the key themes that emerged, with each section drafted by one of the three partner organisations.