KAMPALA PRINCIPLES

KAMPALA PRINCIPLES

TOOLKIT

The Kampala Principles toolkit provides tailored advice to countries and organisations engaging in private sector partnerships in development co-operation. It includes practical guidance on how to design, implement and review policies and partnerships to address global challenges and deliver on the 2030 Agenda through private sector engagement. 

The toolkit aims to inspire action by showcasing how to champion the Kampala Principles for Effective Private Sector Engagement in Development Co-operation – a set of 5 normative principles and 16 sub-principles developed in 2019 by development actors involved in the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation. It offers stakeholder-specific recommendations to improve overall strategic priorities and day-to-day operations to maximise the impact of development co-operation. Discover the tools by selecting one of the development co-operation actors below.

Why a toolkit for private sector engagement in development co-operation?

Development co-operation actors are increasingly working with the private sector to address global challenges and deliver on the 2030 Agenda at the country level. The private sector is a resourceful partner, bringing its ingenuity and expertise to support development projects, but its involvement in development co-operation is not without challenges: civil society organisations (CSOs) and other actors have long raised concerns, and related GPEDC work has shown that projects with the private sector have often lagged behind in terms of inclusiveness, transparency and achievement of expected results. The private sector has raised issues related to difficulties in accessing opportunities and rigid compliance rules that prevent its genuine collaboration in development co-operation partnerships. This toolkit therefore aims to help different actors in the design, implementation and review of private sector partnerships in development co-operation to address practical challenges and deliver better outcomes at country level.

Who is the toolkit for?

The toolkit targets five groups of actors involved in private sector partnerships for development co-operation or wishing to improve ongoing co-operation practices: 1) partner country governments; 2) development partners; 3) the private sector; 4) CSOs; and 5) trade unions. The toolkit was developed based on exchanges with all these stakeholders from the inception phase almost three years before its launch.  


In recognition of the actors’ diverse demands, interests and roles in such partnerships, the different sections of the toolkit offer tailored guidance to each group of stakeholders. For instance, guidance for partner country governments and development partners is split into policy and project level advice; private sector organisations can find recommendations tailored to multinational corporations, large domestic companies, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and guidance for international and local CSOs is geared towards guiding project implementation and advocacy activities. 
 

How does the toolkit work?

Information is grouped by the type of actors: 1) development partners; 2) partner country governments; 3) the private sector (multinational corporations; large domestic companies; and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises); 4) CSOs; and 5) trade unions. 


The guidance is presented by thematic area, following the Kampala Principles and sub-principles. Under each thematic area, readers will find: 

  • an explanation of the importance of the sub-principle
  • priority questions for self-reflection 
  • priority actions to consider
  • common pitfalls to avoid
  • examples of good country-level practices
  • resources for further reading.
     
What are the base assumptions of effective private sector engagement and the Kampala Principles toolkit?

Private sector engagement (PSE) in development co-operation aims to engage the private sector in achieving development results while recognising the private sector’s need for financial return. It must involve the active participation of the private sector. This is different than private sector development, which mainly refers to activities carried out by governments and development partners that benefit the private sector, for instance, by promoting an enabling business or regulatory environment. 


The concept of PSE applied in the Kampala Principles toolkit is deliberately broad to include all related modalities (finance, policy dialogue, capacity development, technical assistance, knowledge sharing and research). PSE also covers the ambition to use development co-operation to mobilise additional private finance, but the guidance in the toolkit is focused on the implementation of projects with the private sector and the related policy environment. Nevertheless, the toolkit does provide indicative guidance that could be relevant for the mobilisation of additional finance and points to relevant resources for investors and policy makers interested in more detailed information.


The toolkit also acknowledges that partnerships and projects in PSE comprise a wide variety of actors with substantial differences in terms of interests, motivations and capacities. The toolkit, therefore, should not be perceived as a one-size-fits-all handbook of solutions for all topics, project modalities and types of organisations (from trade unions to private actors). Rather, it serves as an overall guide, pointing to relevant and more detailed information from other sources to provide all actors the possibility of using the guidance in line with their own activities and systems.