Headline: Donors and Funders’ Meta-Governance of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

Partnerships are again being positioned as a central means of implementation (MOI)of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). After several decades of experiences with multi-stakeholder partnerships, current calls go beyond an increase in quantity and ask for better quality and impact, in particular regarding the concurrent objectives of becoming an effective, inclusive, and transformative MOI. To this effect, recent calls ask for frameworks and platforms tosupport and guide partnerships. This study uses a series of interviews with donors and fundersto evaluate if and how they, through the frameworks they provide, already assist partnerships in becoming effective, inclusive, and transformative. The findingsshow several examples that hold the potential to make partnerships fit for purpose of implementing the SDGs. Remaining gaps and limitations and possible strategies of donors and funders to overcome these are discussed.