Participate in Public-Private Partnerships

Throughout the development and implementation of the NHAS, a strong emphasis has been placed on the need for collaboration and public-private partnerships at national, state, tribal and local levels.  These partnerships can take several forms:

• Government and private funds pooled for a specific project
• Government supplied information (i.e. epidemiology) partnered with funder support of nonprofit organizations addressing issues raised by the information
• Government sponsored programs (i.e. city-wide AIDS testing) supported by local businesses and nonprofit organizations

Opportunities

While the importance of public-private partnerships in implementing the NHAS has been acknowledged and discussed, specific opportunities for public-private partnerships at a national level are still unfolding.  In this early stage of the NHAS, more activity is occurring at state and local levels where the issues are more specific and the investment opportunities clearer.

Challenges

Public-private partnerships can be complex relationships and require many factors for success including:

• Leadership
• Trust
• Clarity of roles and responsibilities
• Commitment of time and resources
• Mutually agreed on processes for conflict resolution

Learning from International Efforts

For nearly 10 years the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has required governments that receive U.S. AIDS dollars to operate from a national strategy.  In that time several lessons have learned about effective public/private partnerships that include:

• Programs are most effective if tailored to country (community) unique needs
• Multi-year programs must have time to succeed
• The more holistic in nature the broader in impact
• Access points are particular to age, gender, and other issues across social spectrum
• Increased human capacity is an essential component  
• Policy continuity –beyond politics – is essential to building on what’s working 
• Advocacy is key
• Broaden from “AIDS-specific ” only without losing impact on AIDS
• Complex partnerships are necessary and worth navigating