Giving Compass' Take:

• Stanford Social Innovation Review explores the power of cross-sector partner networks, and how to cultivate them.

• As the article explains, it's on the shoulders of those in the nonprofit world to entice engagement from businesses; to do so requires a precise strategy that shows how such a collaborative network will produce a solid ROI.

• Here's more on how organizations should effectively collaborate.

The importance of engaging the private sector in efforts to address social problems is increasingly apparent. Wicked problems defy single-point solutions, and no single organization or sector working in isolation can solve them. This widespread understanding is matched by a growing number of businesses exploring the integration of social impact into their core strategies and collaborations.

If you are talking about ... climate change, over-fishing, or deforestation, no one can push solutions on their own — it will take collaboration across industries and supply chains. And these efforts are business driven, not driven by values or altruism.

What we came to understand was deceptively simple: If we want to see more cross-sector collaborations, we have to get better at crossing sectors. What this entails, at a very tactical level, is that social change leaders intent on recruiting the private sector into their network craft business cases that clearly articulate the value of engaging. A business leader needs to see a clear path to participation, sense how that participation will serve a high-priority business need, and feel confident that their commitment is both well-defined and tightly bound.

Read the full article about cross-sector collaborations by Anna Muoio and Faizal Karmali from Stanford Social Innovation Review.