Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) such as the Open Government Partnership and the Open Contracting Partnership play an increasingly important role in the governance and development landscape. Operating at multiple levels – global, regional, national and local – MSIs can support efforts to put principles of transparency, participation, and accountability into practice, and ensure that practical experience informs the evolution and application of these principles. Despite some recent progress, too often, MSI processes focus on compliance, with governments championing, and winning acclaim for, reforms that fail to address the core priorities of local civil society and citizens. Too often, policies enacted through MSIs do not deliver their intended impact. If MSIs are to close this gap, they need to become more effective platforms for dialogue and action, which enable multiple players - governments, civil society, international agencies, and the private sector - to come together, collaborate, and navigate the political dynamics to deliver policy reforms that address citizen priorities.