By Rowan Putman
We’re all feeling it. The global landscape, whether in climate finance, international development, government, or the private sector, is going through a period of intense pressure. Budgets are tightening, priorities are shifting, and the call to “do more with less” has never been louder.
For organisations like ours, whose vision is to help bring about ‘a world sustainably transformed’, this is a call to action. We are committed to our core value of delivering excellence for our clients, partners, and colleagues. But in this new environment, how we achieve that excellence matters more than ever.
The answer, we believe, lies not in simply cutting costs, but in building smarter, more efficient, and truly collaborative partnerships. Success is a shared responsibility, and it’s time for a transparent conversation about how we can all work better, together. This goes beyond our own organisations and instead takes into account our mutual accountability. Whether it’s to taxpayers, donors, shareholders, or the global citizens vulnerable to climate change, we have a shared duty to deliver value responsibly.
The partnership paradox: Empathy vs. efficiency
Our work is built on collaboration. We work with a diverse range of clients, from UN agencies and multilateral development banks to governments and INGOs. Our core value of empathy means we take time to genuinely understand the pressures our clients face. We know that key stakeholders may not always be available, that internal sign-off processes can be complex, and that our clients are juggling countless competing priorities.
At the same time, we’ve all experienced the ‘project paradox’: everyone is committed to the goal, but the momentum stalls.
A deliverable sits waiting for review. A critical decision is paused. A timeline stretches.
These seemingly small delays have a powerful ripple effect. They can impact project timelines, stretch budgets, and mean that teams are not able to deliver the value they know they can, when it’s most needed. These delays impact our shared accountability. When a project’s momentum pauses , it doesn’t just affect the project plan, but results in a delay in delivering the vital impact we are all working towards; whether that’s for the constituents, donors, or communities who depend on our collective success.
In a world where time is such a critical resource for all of us these bottlenecks can hinder our shared progress. We believe that true collaboration, with a predictable and timely flow of feedback from all sides, is what allows us to honour our shared commitment and deliver that value most effectively.
The iron triangle: Acknowledging the essential trade-offs
As budgets tighten, it’s tempting to ask for more, for less, in a shorter timeframe. Anyone who has managed a project knows the “iron triangle” (or quadrangle) of Time, Budget, Quality, and Scope. These four elements are inextricably linked.
We cannot fundamentally change one without impacting the others. A budget stripped back too far makes excellence unachievable. A timeline rushed compromises quality.
Our shared goal should be to find the right balance – one that allows us to deliver the highest quality work for a reasonable budget within a necessary timeframe. Squeezing one corner of the triangle doesn’t create efficiency; it often just risks the project’s ultimate success.
The unseen mechanics of a sustainable partnership
There is another, less-visible element that is critical to a healthy partnership: financial sustainability.
In our industry, there is a growing, and unfortunately, often unspoken, expectation for service providers to effectively pre-finance projects, sometimes for months at a time, for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has a profound impact on cash flow.
While one such case might be manageable, when this becomes the norm across the board, it places an unsustainable burden on the entire ecosystem of providers. The private sector, just like the non-profits and public agencies we serve, must manage its own financial health to pay its teams and run its business.
A healthy, sustainable partnership – one where payments are timely and financial risk is shared fairly – is what allows us to be agile, to retain top-tier talent, and to remain a stable partner ready to deliver excellence , long-term. This financial predictability is a core component of sustainable accountability for everyone.
The future: From compromise to intelligent scale
So, how do we truly do more with less?
The answer isn’t compromise. It’s ingenuity.
So my request to our ecosystem is this:
As you plan your budgets for the coming year, we urge you not to just overstretch what you have. Instead, let’s think differently about how we design initiatives for maximum impact:
- Could your next initiative be designed as a pilot that, if successful, can be demonstrably scaled?
- Can we build a solution that is tailored for replication in other markets or contexts?
- Can we focus on an intervention that provides clear, measurable impact, making the case for future investment?
This is how we make the money available go that bit further. Not by squeezing the project triangle, but by building an asset that grows in value, and demonstrates that impact, and honors our accountability far beyond its initial scope.
As we look to the future, emerging technologies such as AI will no doubt unlock new efficiencies. But they will never replace the most critical component of success: the human relationship.
A true partnership is one where both sides are transparent about their realities, committed to mutual efficiency, and focused on the shared goal. By acknowledging these challenges together, we can move beyond the squeeze and achieve the sustainable, transformative impact we all seek.
