How to work well in a consortium
A practical guide to consortium work for NGO staff: choose a structure, agree roles and decisions in writing, and keep partners aligned from start to finish.
Short answer
A consortium works well when partners agree three things in writing before implementation starts: who leads and who is accountable to the donor, who decides what, and how disagreements are settled. Then keep a steady rhythm of coordination meetings, shared reporting and fair treatment of every member, including budget share and credit for results.
Key points
- Write down roles, decision rights and dispute steps before work begins.
- Choose the structure that matches your partners: one lead with sub-partners, or separate agreements with one coordinator.
- A consortium needs a clear reason to exist. It should add value, not just pass money along.
- Meet on a fixed rhythm and share one calendar, one tracker and one reporting format.
- Review your governance documents at least once a year.
What is a consortium and why do donors fund them?
A consortium is a group of organisations that deliver one programme together. Donors fund them to reach more places, combine different skills and include local partners in design and delivery. But a consortium also adds cost and complexity. More partners mean more messages, more budgets and more people who must agree.
A useful test: can you say, in two sentences, what the group can do together that one organisation cannot? OCHA guidance on pooled-fund consortia says funding applications should show this added value and that consortia should not be used as administrative pass-through mechanisms. If your answer is only "we share the money", rethink the arrangement.
Which consortium structure fits your partners?
There is no single model. OCHA's guidance describes two common ones:
| Model | How it works | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| One lead, sub-partners | One organisation signs the grant and manages one project, budget and report. Others implement parts of it. | There are few partners, some are new to the donor, or the lead will give capacity support. |
| Separate agreements, one coordinator | Each member has its own agreement and budget but shares one outcome and one logframe. One organisation coordinates. | All members are eligible to receive funds directly and carry similar risk. |
The single-lead model gives stronger central coordination, but it can create a power imbalance, because grant management sits with one partner. Separate agreements give each member direct accountability, but they ask more of the coordinator to keep activities aligned. Choose on purpose, and write down why.
What should you agree before implementation starts?
Time spent in the first weeks saves months later. The Partnering Initiative and Bond, who studied 13 consortia, recommend agreeing a governance structure based on the behaviours and principles members value, clear roles based on each member's skills, and what kinds of decisions the group will face.
Use this checklist in your set-up meeting:
- Purpose and added value. Write the shared objective and what each member brings.
- Roles. Name the lead or coordinator, the donor contact, the finance contact and one liaison person per member.
- Decision rights. List decisions by type: day-to-day, budget changes, work plan changes, new partners. Say who decides each and who must be consulted.
- Money and reporting flows. Say when funds move, who consolidates reports and the internal deadline for each member (earlier than the donor deadline).
- Dispute steps. Agree what happens if members disagree: first the focal persons, then the steering group, then senior leaders.
- Review date. Fix a date to check the agreement still fits.
Put this in a written agreement. OCHA's note says an MoU or internal agreement should not contain provisions contrary to the grant agreement, so read both side by side.
How do you run a consortium day to day?
Keep the rhythm simple and predictable.
- Monthly operational meeting. Review progress against the shared work plan, risks and open actions. Use one tracker for everyone. Our guide to issue logs and action trackers shows a simple format.
- Quarterly steering meeting. Senior staff review results, finances and strategic issues.
- One reporting format. Members send inputs in the same template, so the coordinator can consolidate without rewriting.
- Shared calendar. Mark internal deadlines, donor deadlines and visits in one place.
In Myanmar, many teams work across townships with limited connectivity or in different languages. Agree the working language, share documents in formats that work offline, and record decisions in writing after every call, so no one depends on a good connection to know what was decided.
How do you keep the partnership fair?
Power sits with whoever holds the grant. Good leads manage that openly. The OCHA note says lead partners can include reasonable, justified direct costs for managing the consortium, and that overhead or coordination costs should be shared fairly and transparently. Practical habits that help:
- Co-design the budget with members, rather than handing them a share.
- Pay on time and tell partners early if a donor payment is delayed.
- Share credit and visibility, including in donor meetings.
- Ask each member for feedback twice a year and act on it.
Our article on what to include in a partnership agreement covers the legal side in more detail.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming a signed proposal means shared understanding. Each member may read the logframe differently. Walk through it together.
- Letting the lead decide everything. Members stop engaging.
- Changing the plan without telling everyone. One partner's delay can affect another's activity.
- Never reviewing the governance documents. Mercy Corps advises regular review, and a yearly check is a practical minimum.
How EMPO can help
EMPO is a reliable, trusted training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training, with 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations. Based in Yangon, we work in English and Burmese, online and in person across Myanmar. We run project management training and can design a commissioned programme for your consortium team. See our training services or contact us.
Sources
- Guidance Note: Promoting Consortium Approaches (Consortia Operationalization) — OCHA Country and Regional Funds, 2026
- Effective consortia: a guide to emerging thinking and practice — The Partnering Initiative and Bond, 2021
Questions people ask
Who is legally responsible to the donor in a consortium?
It depends on the grant agreement. In a single-lead model, the lead partner usually carries the legal and financial responsibility. In a model with separate agreements, each member answers for its own part. Always check your own agreement or ask a qualified adviser.
What should a consortium agreement or MoU cover?
At a minimum: shared objectives, roles of the lead and each member, how decisions are made, how money and reports flow, how disputes are escalated and how the agreement is reviewed. An MoU does not replace a legally binding sub-agreement.
How often should consortium members meet?
Most teams do well with a short monthly operational meeting, plus a quarterly steering meeting for senior staff. Add extra calls only when a decision cannot wait.