This publication is part of the Global Knowledge Partnership’s (GKP) “Knowledge For Development Series”, an overall effort to increase the availability of information and knowledge on various issues in the area of ICT4D. It is a GKP attempt to help mainstream understanding about MSPs, how they work, how they can be effectively formed and sustained, and their potential and actual contribution to the global effort to bridge the digital divide, deliver digital dividends and realise the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It also serves as a basis for GKP consultation and input to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).