This synthesis paper is the final output of the action research project, “Social Enterprises as Potential Partners in Development Cooperation Advocacy,” a joint endeavour of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) and Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA).

It sought to explore the relevance and potential for civil society organisations (CSOs) in general and CPDE members in particular, in engaging social enterprises (SEs) as partners in development cooperation advocacy.

To achieve this, the project was implemented in two major phases: country-level action research to provide CPDE members with a better understanding of the SE landscape and explore how they could work with the SE sector; and country outreach to social enterprises, where CSOs reached out to key SE actors to present the results of the action research as a take-off point to understand and appreciate the state of SE sector and its potential contribution in enhancing the development cooperation advocacy agenda per country.

CPDE members from eight countries participated in the project: Indonesia and Philippines in Asia; Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Eastern Africa; Albania in Europe; Argentina and El Salvador in Latin America and Caribbean; and Palestine in Middle East and North Africa (MENA).