Impact on the ground should be the ultimate measure of the success or failure of the project. There is always a risk of co-option, that by working with a company, you ally yourself with those with power, to the cost of those without. There is a risk of losing focus. Where a business is not profitable there will be no chance of undertaking projects. Partners may not understand this.
Different time scales for work.
NGOs work slowly, with few staff committed to projects, and needing time for consultation and consensus building - the process approach . Social processes are necessarily slow. This can be difficult for businesses who are used to working with machines, not people. Businesses challenge NGOs to professionalise. Setting targets introduces greater rigour to NGO work.