Government-to-government coorporation
Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) is a government-to-government cooperation. It is a central instrument in the Danish foreign and
security policy and development cooperation. The cooperation is between Danish
public authorities and national partner authorities and promotes
equal partnerships.
Government to Government
Denmark’s strong position across various sectors is reflected in both Danish authorities and companies, strengthening sectoral linkages.
Denmark has two main modalities for government-to-government cooperation:
- An aid- and development-oriented modality in developing countries and growth economies, including in EU neighbouring countries
- A commercial- and export-oriented modality with high-income countries and selected emerging markets. Read more about this modality here
Strategic sector cooperation
Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) is a government-to-government cooperation within a specific sector. It is a central instrument for the Danish foreign and security policy and development cooperation, and also paves the way for Denmark’s economic diplomacy.The cooperation is between Danish public authorities and national partner authorities and promotes equal partnerships.
The SSC creates alliances by sharing expertise and experiences through peer-to-peer collaboration within policy development, regulation, planning, enforcement and implementation.
The primary aim of the SSC instrument is to help strengthen the capacity of the national partner authorities in improving framework conditions and related product or service delivery to enhance partner countries’ inclusive, just and sustainable social and economic development and green transition. This is done by engaging Danish authorities in sharing relevant experiences and competencies. The secondary aims of the SSC instrument are to strengthen Denmark’s bilateral diplomatic relations, including climate diplomacy, and to pave the way for further engagement and use of Danish technology and knowledge on a commercial basis in the countries in the longer term.
The SSC instrument focuses on sectors where Danish public authorities have knowledge and expertise that are in demand internationally. These include for example energy, water, environment, urban development, maritime affairs, health, food, statistics, education, intellectual property rights and agriculture, and cross-cutting themes such as the green transition, good governance, and sustainable economic growth.
The foundation of the SSC instrument is an equal partnership between Danish public authorities and public authorities in partner countries, which is reflected in peer-to-peer collaboration between public sector experts working for similar authorities in their respective countries. As such, the starting point of each cooperation is a match between the demand and priorities of the authority in the partner country, based on nationally identified issues in the local context, and Danish best practices and solutions as per the Danish public authorities’ competencies and expertise.
outcomes
The overall objective of the SSC is to contribute to improved framework conditions for partner countries’ inclusive, just and sustainable, social and economic development and the green transition.
The outcomes of the SSC instrument:
Primary outcome:
- Strengthened capacity of partner countries to develop, implement and enforce framework conditions for inclusive and sustainable social and economic development, including, but not limited to: sector-specific and multi-sector policies and policy coherence, laws, regulations, strategies, plans, programmes, services and tools;
Secondary outcomes:
- Strengthened bilateral relations between Denmark and partner countries on sector-related issues, through bilateral agreements and in international fora; and
- Enhanced engagement of the Danish private sector in partner countries in the long term, sharing knowledge and possible solutions and identifying opportunities for promotion of financial investments, contributing to inclusive and sustainable social and economic development in the partner countries.