One possible outcome of successful stakeholder engagement is the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships between business, NGOs and government agencies and their respective stakeholders, such as education-business partnerships or voluntary agreements for best practice in a particular industry.

Partnerships involve two or more organizations taking on the responsibility for the financial and professional resources associated with a project, and jointly managing the concomitant risks and rewards. Such schemes have the greatest chance of success through joint action and by employing innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Partnerships help build greater trust between organization and their stakeholders and strengthen the foundations for further collaboration in the future; learning from such schemes can be highly beneficial for all parties.