Our mission
Dedicated to improving collaborative associations, consortia and other forms of development relationships.
Head and heart
"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
– Nelson MandelaDoing the impossible
"It always seems impossible until it’s done."
– Nelson Mandela
"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." - Charles Darwin
Collective impact
"Collective impact occurs when a group of actors from different sectors commit to a common agenda for solving a complex social or environmental problem." -Guide To Evaluating Collective Impact, Part 1
Collaboration
"As problems become more complex, and their solutions require active participation of diverse perspectives, then teamwork and collaboration become increasingly necessary and valued." When Teams Work Best, LaFasto and Larson, 2001 at xix.
Collaboration
Collaboration is complicated by the immense diversity of our land and people - but nonetheless extremely important.
Land cover image by NASA, Robert SimmonChallenge
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
-Ernest HemingwayCollaboration
"Collaboration is a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by individuals and organizations to achieve results they are more likely to achieve together than alone." -Am. Cancer Soc. Nat. Advisory Grp. on Collaboration with Organizations
Knowledge flow
“Because knowledge changes so rapidly, knowledge flow is more important than knowledge stock.” ~ John Hagel, author
Partners
A fantastic model of collaboration: thinking partners who aren't echo chambers. — Margaret Heffernan
Collaborate
Collaborate is "com" and "laborare" - to work with
INGO change
[T]he first years of the 21st century have presented a combination of characteristics that require nongovernmental organisations involved in international development to change more in this decade than they have in the past three. - Alan Fowler.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
- Helen KellerCollaborative networks
Collaborative networks are needed because many social issues cannot be tackled by a single organisation - no matter how creative, wealthy or powerful.
False autonomy
Many of the challenges we face as a global community are founded in the illusion of some that they exist independent of and isolated from the rest of humanity.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”
~ African proverb"[This may be] the ultimate tragedy of capitalism in our time, which is that it has achieved its dominance without regard to a social compact, without being connected to any other metric for human progress."
Author David SimonDialogue between NGOs North and South remains one of the great untapped resources within international development From The Potential for Dialogue: Brazilian NGO Perspectives on North-South Partnerships, pg 7. ONTRAC, No. 25, September 2003.
“Our fates are tied up in a single garment of destiny.”
-Martin Luther King."Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." - Ryunosuke Satoro
Collective action
A healthy direction is from sharing, to cooperating, to collective action.
We're in this together, and if we united and we inter-culturally cooperated, then that might be the key to humanity's survival.
— Jeremy Gilley
Our Vision for Enhanced Development Relationships
Inter-Mediation envisages an international development system characterised by relationships that are fair, transparent and respect the diverse interests and capabilities of the parties involved.
Our mission. Inter-Mediation is dedicated to improving collaborative associations, consortia, multi-sector and other forms of development relationships.
Inter-Mediation’s involvement increases mutual understandings of purpose, enhances appreciation of the values and contributions of participants and, more directly, constructively addresses the asymmetries commonly found between development actors (donors, nonprofits, NGOs and government agencies). Dedicated to nonprofit organisations and the collaborations in which they engage, Inter-Mediation brings a comprehensive mix of skills and experience to enhance their relations across the world.
Follow @imicivilsociety
News:
IMI publication: The Upside of Conflict, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2019
Read about the IMI initiative for Civil Society Organisations on “Increasing Resilience and Program Performance by Adopting a Healthy Conflict Perspective.”
Read about IMI’s work with assessing consortia
IMI work on INGO partnerships recognized by the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre report “Monitoring and evaluating civil society partnerships“.
Legal status. Inter-Mediation has a Section 501(c)(3) not for profit, tax exempt status from the US IRS. Inter-Mediation is incorporated under the laws of the State of Colorado, USA.