Projects

The MSP Institute is working closely with partners from the public, civil society, and private sectors. We advocate and support, develop and implement, study and build capacities Depending on the project, the MSP Institute can pull together coalitions and teams of experts to collaborate.

Gender and Chemicals: our work on gender and chemicals is aimed at improving integration of gender in international and national chemicals and waste management, and increase the participation of women’s organisations and gender experts in the Global Framework on Chemicals (formerly SAICM) process and the Ad hoc open-ended working group on a science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution.

The 5th International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) adopted the Global Framework on Chemicals – For a Planet Free of Harm from Chemicals and Waste in September 2023 in Bonn, Germany. ICCM5 took several gender-related decisions, including a specific resolution on gender (V/4), which we helped to prepare.

We officially launched the Gender & Chemicals Partnership (G&CP) at ICCM5, and MSP Institute is proud to serve as the Secretariat for this international multi-stakeholder partnership (also see www.gender-chemicals.org/partnership and www.gandcp.org). 

From September 2024 to October 2025, MSP Institute, in collaboration with the G&CP, has been cooperating with the GFC Secretariat (at UNEP) to develop the draft of a Gender Action Plan for the Global Framework on Chemicals, with the objective of mainstreaming a gender perspective in the implementation of the GFC.

In November 2025, MSP Institute supported the launch of the Women’s Caucus in the Minamata Convention process, working with Women4Biodiversity.

Project: G&C Knowledge Platform – Building a knowledge platform on gender and chemicals
Duration:        Sept 2025 – March 2027
Volume:          119,792.90 EUR
Every year, nine million people worldwide die as a result of environmental pollution because they have been exposed to toxic substances in the air, water or soil. Alongside biodiversity loss and climate change, the pollution crisis forms what the UN Secretary General has called the triple planetary crisis and poses a threat to humans and nature. Women and girls are partly disproportionately, and partly differently, affected by the harmful health effects of toxic substances due to economic, social and physiological factors. Sustainable chemicals management must take gender aspects into account. This requires gender-specific data and research, as well as methods and tools for gender-responsive chemical management – both of which are currently only available on a selective basis. The Gender & Chemicals Partnership, an international multi-stakeholder partnership of actors interested in gender issues in chemicals management, will establish a new virtual knowledge platform to bring together information on the complex interrelationships between gender and chemicals and present illustrative materials for the relevant stakeholder groups and the general public. In addition to current research and gender-specific data, explanations of gender-responsive chemicals policy and a collection of training courses and tools on gender mainstreaming, the platform will also offer topic-specific fact sheets.

Project: “Know-How for European Chemicals Focal Points” 
Duration:  Feb 2025 – April 2027
Volume:  € 279.662,39
The project aims to minimise the negative environmental and health impacts of hazardous chemicals by better integrating the needs and expertise of all relevant stakeholders into chemicals management in Europe and promoting their equal cooperation. To this end, the expertise of National Focal Points of the Global Framework on Chemicals and the Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution is to be strengthened through training on multi-stakeholder processes with a human rights focus. In addition to promoting skills for stakeholder participation and cooperation, the project also aims to raise awareness of gender-specific risks and teach skills for taking gender aspects into account in chemicals management. The project focuses on online training and a final workshop and offers the focal points networking and exchange opportunities and supports implementation at national level. Learning successes, implementation experiences and best-practice examples are recorded and made available to all relevant stakeholders in chemicals management for long-term use.
The MSP Institute is supported by the Gender & Chemicals Partnership (G&CP), and in particular the G&CP Working Group on ‘Education & Training’, in the various activities to achieve the project outputs.
The project is financially supported by the European Environmental Initiative (EURENI) of the German Federal Ministry the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.

Previous work: Since 2017, we conducted a gender analysis (issues, policy processes) and a stakeholder analysis in the area of gender & chemicals, serving as a fundament for communication and engagement activities and policy suggestions. We are running blog series and webinar series on specific issues in the context of gender and chemicals, developed information material and a brief info movie, produce position papers and statements, and more. The work has been supported by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

We have also completed a project to develop a Gender Road Map for implementation of gender mainstreaming in chemicals policy at national level. This was supported by the German Environment Agency and the German Environment Ministry.

Decolonization and Sustainable Development: For Berlin’s Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district we have developed an issues and action paper on public interventions and dialogue projects aiming to sensitize its citizens on Berlin’s colonial past and its linkages to present sustainable development issues. In close collaboration with the district administration, the project intended to create public space(s) for constructive encounter and dialogue in the post-colonial sphere. Based on interviews with key stakeholders, the authors have developed various ideas for future decolonization activities in the district.

Please find the overview paper here:
Carlowitz Hemmati 2022 DecolonialisationProject_report (English)
and Carlowitz Hemmati 2022 Dekolonialisierungsprojekt_Bericht (deutsch).

For more information, contact:
Dr. Leopold von Carlowitz at leopold.carlowitz(at)msp-institute.org
and Dr. Minu Hemmati at minu.hemmati(at)msp-institute.org.

MSP Institute is one of the “radical collaborators” in the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People initiative, convened by EcoAgriculture Partners and championed by the Rainforest Alliance, UNDP, Commonland, WWF Landscape Finance Lab, and TechMatters. The goal is “to link currently fragmented efforts, develop missing tools, and unlock investment finance that will enable landscape partnerships everywhere to achieve their regenerative landscape and livelihood ambitions more quickly and effectively.”

Further Work on Multi-Stakeholder Processes and Partnerships:

Developed a Charter for Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (MSPs) and those working in and with MSPs, in collaboration with the Tellus Institute / Felix Dodds: The MSP Charter presents nine key principles of MSPs, from defining clear objectives through using a systemic approach and promoting good governance to building effective leadership and fostering learning. The document also includes concrete guidance on how to put these principles into practice.
Developing the MSP Charter (2017-2019) benefitted from a global multi-stakeholder advisory group of experts and practitioners, a 2-day multi-stakeholder workshop, and a wide consultation process among governments, intergovernmental organisations, civil society and business. Using UN decisions, research findings, and guidance literature as the basis, the Charter articulates a positive vision and valued principles of MSPs. It is aiming to promote high quality standards, thus contributing to increasing the quality of MSP practice and maximizing their contributions to realizing the SDGs.

Workshop in New York, July 15 + 16, 2017: Making Multi-stakeholder Partnerships Work for the Sustainable Development Goals: One and a half days of focused presentations and lively interaction bringing together multi-stakeholder partnerships that contribute to the SDGs under review at this year’s UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (1, 2, 3, 5, 9 and 14), and others interested in partnerships. Co-organized by MSP Institute and Tellus Institute.

April 2017, MSP Institute associate Minu Hemmati presented a paper on “Principles an Practices of Multi-stakeholder Partnerships for Sustainable Development – Guidance and Oversight from UN Decisions” at a workshop of the Friends for Governance for Sustainable Development at the UN in New York. (PDF Hemmati 2017 MSP_Principles_Practices_PPT)

UN Expert Group Meeting 2016: Minu Hemmati participated at a UN EGM on Strengthening the role of Member States in the review of multi-stakeholder partnerships for implementing the 2030 Agenda, held in New York in December 2016.

HLPF2016 Analysis of Country Reports: 22 countries reported on implementing the SDGs at the UN High-Level Political Forum in July 2016. In addition to studying the reports submitted, the MSP Institute participated at the HLPF to listen and to conduct interviews with governments and stakeholders. Our analysis was focusing on the overall approach to implementation, and the strategic use of multi-stakeholder engagement and communication that national governments are using to initiate transformation towards realising the SDGs. Initial findings were presented at the OpenSDG.Club.Berlin in November 2016.

HLPF2016 Workshop: In July 2016, on the margins of the High-Level Political Forum at the UN in New York, the MSP Institute co-hosted a workshop on multi-stakeholder partnerships for implementing the 2030 Development Agenda, together with Global Research Institute. We created an informal, safe space for dialogue among colleagues from the UN, governments, NGOs, multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) initiatives, and partnership experts.
We looked at the history of the UN’s involvement with MSPs, and considered options of future engagement in the context of delivering the SDGs. We also discussed factors, forces and developments that may support, or hinder, effective contributions from MSPs. And we talked about next steps.
There is a brief blog article about the workshop, and a summary paper.

UN Expert Group Meeting 2015: The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of UNDESA organized an expert group meeting on Social Development and Agenda 2030 from 21 to 27 October 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York to assist DSPD/DESA to better support Member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Minu Hemmati participated to present a paper on Engagement and Communication for Implementation and Review, focusing on engagement and communications in the transformation process, bringing the SDGs home, challenges of governance as well as monitoring, evaluation and learning.
This was building on a paper on Multi-Stakeholder Engagement and Communications for Sustainability: Beyond Sweet-Talk and Blanket Criticism – Towards Successful Implementation (Hemmati & Rogers, July 2015).

Accreditation at UN bodies

The MSP Institute is accredited as an observer to the governing body of the UN Environment Programme, granting access to the UN Environment Assembly and its subsidiary organs. MSP Institute is also registered as a non-government stakeholder to the Global Framework on Chemicals, and accredited as an observer to the Minamata Convention.

The MSP Institute is a member of several civil society networks:

For the purpose of transparency, we are listed in the Transparency Registry that the Federal Government of Germany hosts for collecting and providing information about organisations (beneficial owners) in Germany, and the Lobby Registry for the representation of interests vis-à-vis the German Bundestag and the Federal Government (Lobbyregister für die Interessenvertretung gegenüber dem Deutschen Bundestag und der Bundesregierung).