The power of effective coalitions and collective action in building trust and achieving sustainable development

What if we tell you that work on building coalitions and collective action contributed to a 20% increase in the amount of waste collected in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and yielded over $20 million in savings in procurement of medicine in the Dominican Republic? In our experience, a lot of policies and programs succeed based on whether they get people to work together. Building collective action and addressing resistance to change can help achieve substantial impact, and mobilize support for expediting the acceptance and adoption of new behaviors essential for successful reforms.

The Coalitions for Reform Program offers a three-pillar, integrated approach to change, that delivers solutions for collective action bottlenecks and change management. We share examples in each of the three areas where our work contributed to achieving meaningful impact. 

• Building cohesive teams: Acknowledging that visionary leaders and cohesive teams (within public organizations or agencies, for example) are the main drivers of change, the World Bank has pioneered programs to foster collaboration within and across organizations. This approach offers a unique perspective on behavior change, team development, organizational psychology, and leadership effectiveness. In Bosnia, a cadre of reform-minded local, regional, and national-level government officials and civil society representatives laid the groundwork for financial stability within the system which helped improve solid waste collection by 20%.  
• Mobilizing stakeholders: Reform “champions” often find themselves lacking broad-based support, so bringing together a diverse spectrum of stakeholders can catalyze momentum for change.  Consider the case of the Dominican Republic in the 2010s. A coalition of private sector, government, and civil society leaders joined forces to implement over one hundred anticorruption activities, including reforms in medicine procurement that yielded significant savings exceeding $20 million. The coalitions built through this approach fostered an enabling environment for reform and ensured effective implementation of these activities.
• Improving communication and citizen-state relations: Effective communication by policymakers, articulating the rationale for change and the specifics of policies during implementation is an important ingredient for the success of reforms. In Vietnam, a training program for journalists, gave them the tools and skills they needed to hold the government accountable. A follow-up evaluation reported a substantial rise in timely, high-quality, and high-visibility articles covering pertinent topics. Reforms can also be part of a larger dialogue around strengthening social contracts and building trust between citizens and their governments. 

Often, the biggest hurdles reformers face are not found in designing a new policy but in the intricacies of collaborative effort or lack thereof for its adoption and implementation. This rings especially true for Governance issues, where bottlenecks such as the political economy environment, powerful vested interests, and historical norms and values often impede meaningful policy reforms. Simply put, the success of any development program relies on effective collaboration among relevant stakeholders. When these connections falter, well-designed policies remain mere ideas, lacking the traction needed for implementation. Sustainable development, therefore, necessitates more than just technical expertise. It requires a deep understanding of human dynamics that can either propel or impede meaningful reform. 

This calls for a shift in our approach to one that places people at the center of development efforts. Understanding how the complex web of human dynamics plays out – how individuals connect, collaborate, and respond to change – is essential. It goes beyond mere resource-sharing and emphasizes the need for building coalitions and integrating collective action approaches into development strategies. It is about cultivating a culture of collaboration between government entities and civil society, the private sector, and the media to garner public support for initiatives. This is why, over the last two decades, there has been a move towards more nuanced and adaptive methodologies in approaching development. This recognition for the need of change has given rise to initiatives like “Thinking and Working Politically (TWP)”and embracing adaptability at all levels - global, regional and local.

While the aspirations of the Coalitions for Reform program are high, so are the stakes if we do not manage to meaningfully address collective action bottlenecks in light of the many challenges of our time. We are excited to embark on this journey and hope to see many of you along the way. Join the movement by reaching out to us directly or through our website: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/coalitions-and-collective-action-for-reforms

Editor’s note: The Coalitions for Reform Program (C4R) Global Partnership is a hub of knowledge that supports World Bank teams and clients in using tools to build leadership skills, establish coalitions, manage change, and deploy communications strategically. Launched by the World Bank Governance Global Practice, with generous support from the Governance and Institutions Umbrella Program (G&I), C4R’s aims to serve as a catalyst for change. The program focuses on four key activities: i) data & analytics, ii) knowledge and innovation, iii) operational and country work, and iv) partnership building.