Authentic partnership with the disability movement underpins all we do. We’re deeply committed to working alongside people with disabilities and their representative organisations, and to the principle of “nothing about us without us”. We work with and support organisations of people with disabilities in our programmes, to ensure we meet the needs of, and are accountable to, the individuals and communities we serve. Our advocacy aims to support and amplify the voices of people with disabilities, from community to global level. Our advisory approach is undertaken with the best technical experts on disability inclusion – people with disabilities themselves.
Partnership is at the heart of our work
We believe that our mission of fighting to end the cycle of poverty and disability can only be achieved through partnership. We welcome a diverse range of partners who not only complement each other’s expertise, they also provide contextual understanding, and open the path to local and international programmatic and advocacy networks and alliances. In partnership we unite efforts, promote ownership and share accountability. We mutually learn, build capacity and achieve greater impact.
Partnering with and accountable to the Disability Movement
We’re deeply committed to working alongside people with disabilities and their representative organisations. We take very seriously the principle of “nothing about us without us”. We work with and support organisations of people with disabilities in our programmes, to ensure we meet the needs of, and are accountable to, the individuals and communities we serve. CBM Global is a strong and consistent ally working with and alongside the disability movement. We work with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) on their local priorities through co-development of responses and strategies and we invite accountability for the way we work.
We work closely with a range of global and regional OPDs, including:
Rebalancing power
We always work with local partner organisations rather than implementing projects directly. In our approach to partnership, we are committed to rebalancing power and challenging the negative ‘donor-recipient’ dynamics that are so often associated with traditional NGO partnerships. We recognise that building an inclusive world requires us to address deep-rooted inequality and injustice and to promote inclusion in keeping with our values. We are committed to authentic partnership and ensuring strong representation of people with disabilities and voices from the Global South at all levels within our work.
Partnership Principles
CBM Global has six partnership principles that ground all that we do. We strive to adhere to these in all aspects of our work and want to be held accountable to these principles:
Complementarity of purpose
Inclusiveness
Responsiveness & Flexibility
Mutual Responsibility & Accountability
Trust & Respect
Joint Learning
Receiving feedback and complaints
CBM Global is committed to being fully accountable to people with disabilities and all stakeholders that are impacted by our work. We welcome and respond to any type of feedback, including suggestions and complaints, in order to be accountable to all we work with and who may be affected by our work; most importantly people with disabilities and their communities, as well as our partners.
As outlined in our Partnership Principles, effective partnership also involves recognising that power imbalances exist, and in our partnerships we seek to demonstrate and encourage the attitudes and styles of working to change this dynamic.
