Should one foster consortium or competition?

In recent times (especially post-COVID), many funding organisations floated announcements inviting proposals for funding support.

One of the strong caveats was to have partners or submit proposals with a cross-section of organisations to form a consortium. During this time, I was working with a Think Tank, and one of my responsibilities was to identify appropriate partners, spanning academics, Think Tanks, NGOs and corporates, to name a few.

It was then that I realised that the topic of fostering a consortium rather than being competitors is important. I realised through my experience that fostering either of them depends a lot on the situation, and most importantly, it depends on the outcomes and needs.

Based on my experience, here are some thoughts that I would like to share.

When should one foster a Consortium?

While there are several reasons, the key ones include:

• Nurturing innovation where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are required in projects. This is important because a probable solution can be experienced. For example, in the field of renewable energy, both public and private sectors come together to use technologies and test them for viability.
• Sharing resources and including a reduction in cost in the areas of infrastructure, research and development. For example, in the area of healthcare, involving people and governments, where data can be shared by hospitals to improve options and also diagnose illnesses.
• Understanding shared goals and complex challenges where collective expertise, resources and innovations are important. By pooling resources, organisations can tackle complex challenges that are difficult for one entity to manage alone. For example, in the technology sector, companies sometimes form consortia to develop shared standards, such as the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which allows competing tech firms to create compatible products.

When should one promote competition?

The key areas to encourage competition include:

Stimulating economic growth by encouraging investments and creating jobs. For example, many economists argue that competitive markets are generally more resilient, adaptive and efficient, contributing to economic vibrancy and resilience.

Encouraging Innovation and Efficiency: Competition tends to drive innovation and efficiency, as organisations seek to outperform one another. In sectors like consumer technology and automobiles, competition pushes companies to improve product quality, reduce costs, and invest in new technologies to attract customers.

Fostering options for organisations/stakeholders to ensure that quality outputs and outcomes are achieved for a project. For example, governments can approach organisations that have expertise and experience in certain domains-health, education, gender, data analytics to name a few.

Advantages of working in a consortium

• Typically, a consortium includes collaboration between diverse stakeholders. Ideally, it has several advantages and helps overcome some major challenges. The advantages include:
• Standardising approaches to help quality outputs and timely interventions
• Sharing risks to ensure that all stakeholders address those by reducing the onus on one organisation
• Pooling resources to allow better handling of projects and focusing on an individual’s expertise

Disadvantages

• Slowing down procedures due to several partners, bureaucratic, or decision-making processes
• Sharing ideas may reduce a competitive approach, and it may not be able to align with standards
• Disagreement and other challenges may occur due to the complex coordination

A consortium is useful for tackling complex challenges and includes innovation and collective action. Competition fosters innovation and includes the choice of stakeholders. In some cases, a hybrid approach can help in achieving targets and shared goals and allow space for differentiation.

Finally, choosing between consortium and competition depends on strategic goals, resources and timelines of a project. For example, initiatives regarding environmental issues, use of technology to drive better outcomes.

Banner image by Charlie Solorzano: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-chess-pieces-on-chess-board-1762815/