Partnerships provide a mechanism for addressing the 'needs/demand gap' in the provision of services between what people can afford and what the market can provide. They also enable different sectors to gain access to each others' skills and resources, and provide a mechanism for sharing risks and maximizing returns on investment. Most importantly, partnerships enable each sector to play to its comparative advantage in a coordinated way.
This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends that governments, business and industry, including transnational corporations, should strengthen partnerships to implement principles and criteria for sustainable development.