Legitimacy, Motivation, and Coordination in a Multistakeholder Partnership for Education in Emergencies: The Case of Vacaciones en Paz in Illes Balears

This article examines Vacaciones en Paz (VeP) as an example of a long-running Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (MSP) providing Education-in-Emergencies (EiE) support for Sahrawi refugee children. Evidence on how actor motivation, legitimacy, and coordination evolve over time in humanitarian-development contexts remains limited. Focusing on the implementation in Illes Balears (Spain) between 2011 and 2018, this article conducts a document-based content analysis of NGO annual reports, Corporate Social-Responsibility (CSR) reports, and public records, supported by stakeholder mapping. The findings show that (i) legitimacy diversity (pragmatic for public institutions, moral-relational for civil society, and symbolic for private actors) together with (ii) motivational complementarity and adaptive coordination anchored by the Associació d’Amics del Poble Sahrauí de les Illes Balears (AAPSIB), underpin the partnership’s long-term resilience. Despite financial fluctuations, stable participation and trust-based governance have enabled sustained medical and educational support for approximately 90 children annually. This article contributes an empirically grounded portrayal of legitimacy-based governance in MSP dynamics in EiE contexts and offers practical guidance for enhancing sustainability through modest formalization, diversified resources, and balanced accountability.