GSK and Save the Children partnership voted 'most admired'

Pharmaceutical giant GSK's relationship with global charity Save the Children has been voted the most admired corporate/NGO partnership in a survey of sector professionals.

The seventh Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer was launched on 12 September by C&E Advisory, a consultancy specialising in cross-sector collaborations. Around 120 people working in corporate/NGO partnerships from a range of UK businesses and charities were surveyed to assess the drivers and forecasts for such partnerships.

GSK and Save the Children have worked together since 2013 with the aim of saving the lives of one million children under-fives by tackling preventable mortality. GSK says that the partnership goes “well beyond the traditional charity corporate fundraising model” by combining its capabilities in research and design, supply chain, procurement and vaccines with Save the Children's expertise in working with the most vulnerable children.

Lisa Bonadonna, GSK's head of the Save the Children partnership, said: “Our partnerships with Save the Children and other organisations are incredibly important to us. By combining our respective resources and expertise, we can help more people to reach the healthcare they need. These partnerships do take careful planning, management and evaluation, but we hope the results achieved through our collaborations may inspire others to embark on innovative partnerships.”

'Real, measurable change'

The report states that the partnership is admired by peers for its ambition to create real, measurable change and its clarity of purpose. Respondents' comments included: “It's multi-faceted and has clear mutual benefit” and “It's a partnership which permates both organisations and leverages their skills and assets to save children's lives.”

In second place was Boots and MacMillian, followed by Marks & Spencer and Oxfam in third place. Both won respect for the longevity of their relationships.

C&E Advisory's CEO, Manny Amadi, said that all three top partnerships were “strategically conceived and brilliantly executed”.

He added: “They align with the imperatives and brand objectives driving each organisation, draw on the competencies of each of the partners and have focused on securing clear outcomes for the causes they promote whilst delivering value for each of the partners.”

In the report's introduction, Amadi argues that partnerships are “becoming increasingly important in delivering societal change for the better, and in improving business practices”. 

Header photo: GSK and Save the Children