Inter-mediation, An innovative resource for improving development partnerships

Inter-Mediation
Enhancing relationships in international development

Moving collaboration into practice

Effective development stands or falls on the quality of relationships. With this conviction in mind, Inter-Mediation was established as a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving collaborative associations, consortia, multi-sector and other forms of development cooperation.

How Inter-Mediation Works

Inter-Mediation applies its know-how by:

Assisting in the pre-planning, negotiation and formation of different types of collaboration.

Acting as a facilitator in ongoing development relationships between, for example, NGOs, government agencies and businesses.

Undertaking independent assessment and mediation of conflicts in existing collaborations.

Providing training and coaching in collaboration and partnership understanding and skills.

Designing and implementing tailor made programmes to improve an organization’s capacity to collaborate.

Not off the shelf. Inter-Mediation works closely with partners and clients to design plans suited to their values, needs and contexts.

Benefits of Inter-Mediation Consulting

Working with Inter-Mediation to improve development relationships can produce a range of gains:

Narrowing gaps between relational rhetoric and practice creating a firmer moral grounding for all parties.

Transaction costs are reduced leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Transparency and accountability are increased.

Typical power asymmetries are openly addressed in a preventive way, reducing the probability of conflict.

Reputations and public trust are enhanced.

Creating and sustaining the environment for collaboration

Inter-Mediation's skills enhance the likelihood of effective collaboration by building the relational capacity of organizations.

We do so by helping organisations evolve their ‘collaborative competence', and, increasing the will and energy to cooperate.

Inter-Mediation sees these factors as essential for effective engagement to achieve joint objectives.

Where conditions are not initially supportive, Inter-Mediation can play a role as ‘honest broker’ to enhance trust and counter negative preconceptions.