We basically used an existing structure, Tehran and Iran Chambers of Commerce as legally recognized bodies whose members include over 300 business associations. Plus our personal networks within the various branches of the government
1 Like
One thing that has inspired me in the last 6 weeks or so, is the way in which new coalitions have formed very rapidly, like the Kenya National Business Compact on COVID-19 (https://www.covid19businessresponse.ke/), while well established networks have mobilised and are collaborating in new ways, like the UN Global Compact.
The Global Compact Network Lebanon is collaborating with the World Food Programme (WFP) to support a two-month crowd-funding campaign, led by the private sector in Lebanon, in support of the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP). Due to the pre-COVID economic crisis and the social repercussions of the pandemic, the poverty rate in Lebanon has escalated to an 45%, with almost half of the population living beneath 4$/day.
2 Likes
Agree, there is huge value in using and scaling up activities and platforms that are workingâŚ
1 Like
Lets have a call at some point⌠I will share the NRNA global network model and how it is working ?
1 Like
Four key lessons seem to be common across many of the coalitions that Iâm aware of:
- Building on existing relationships and/or platforms and coalitions
- Focus on a few key and compelling national priorities â i.e. public health awareness and communications; getting PPE to essential workers; advocating for keeping borders open to ensure access to food, health products; supporting small and micro enterprises etc.
- Align with government priorities where possible and jointly advocate for better government support, policies and action if necessary
- Explore ways to work with the local UN country coordinating office, World Bank and local offices of other donors
4 Likes
Absolutely critical to work with what already exists: we talk about âjoin, adapt, buildâ in descending order - first look to see what already exists and join it if itâs doing the necessary work; second, if there is something close to what is needed, see how it can be adapted; third, only if nothing like what is needed doesnât exists - then build something new
1 Like
What are the lessons we can learn from these different examples? What are the risks, opportunities and best practice?
We are all trying to experiment with approaches and partnerships to address systems and supply chain issues and thatâs what we can do om the back of the crisis to have a long-lasting impact.
Engage with stakeholders and listen to their challenges, see where you can help, take a holistic view and look at the system, collaborate quickly and be decisive. Scale up what is working already as well as trying new things. We may all have to build the plane while flying it and âone size doesnât fit allâ in responses. Today we are looking at what we do now must solve a crisis. In an ideal world it should lay the groundwork for new approaches where we can build back better â more resilient food and health systems.
1 Like
I donât know a single person in business whoâs network hasnât increased dramatically since the pandemic began. We have had to reach outside our comfort zones.
Verified information has become a commodity, to be traded and shared for the benefit of our communities, our companies, and our countries. The relationship between the medical and business communities has never been more important.
We have long had a saying in Africa âIf you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go togetherâ, to respond to this crisis, collaboration is key.
This doesnât simply mean throwing some money at CSR teams and having a photo taken with our donations, it means genuine interaction and dialogue between Government, the Private Sector, and charitable organisations. If weâre smart, this collaboration will last long beyond this pandemic.
5 Likes
A2:
The first step towards these collaborations has to be openness. Businesses cannot work in silos to address Covid-19. This is a global pandemic that is forcing us to re-evaluate our priorities and none of these examples that I mentioned earlier would have happened if we were thinking in our traditional ways.
Once different businesses start collaborating, the next important ingredient is agility. Covid-19 response has mostly been a story of how fast nations and communities have responded. In the above cases, we pretty much bypassed all sort of regular business processes because the speed was of essence. For example, we expedited onboarding a campaign to the crowdfunding platform and made them live in a matter of hours while working on the paperwork afterwards. This meant that people could already start donating to a campaign while we were getting the paperwork done.
Another important lesson would be to think about impact before profit. While this goes against traditional thinking for a business, we are in an unprecedented time that requires us to think differently. For our crowdfunding platform, we waived all service fees so that everyone, even the smaller organizations and individuals, can bring their campaign to the platform without thinking about losing any percentage of the donation.
2 Likes
One of the potential challenges is the number of collaborative initiatives - both new and existing coalitions - that are being established in any one country. Is there a risk of competing for scarce resources? Or for public attention?
2 Likes
the purpose of a collaborative platform is to build trust & legitimacy, and increase efficiency of repsonse - this involves transparency, collective action/cost-sharing, communication & information dissemination. A platform can achieve coordination and coherence in strategy to address pandemic and enable/promote economic recovery from the crisis.
This needs consensus on the public health vs economy trade-off, which in turn needs a wide spectrum of input of different interest groups, especially economic interests. The outcome must be de-politicised â get away from specific interests, whether political parties, economic classes, or horizontal divides (race, religion, regionâŚ).
A second key lesson is the need for joint ownership of policies. We need to distinguish ownership and consultation â thereâs a difference between âin consultation withâ vs âafter consultation withââŚ.
2 Likes
In the experience of Business Fights Poverty, there are 5 factors that underpin effective partnerships, and the urgency of the current crisis has brought these to the fore: a compelling and shared why - a shared goal for the partnership; clarity about who needs to be around the table; a laser focus on what needs to be created, and by when; and a process - the how - that is based on authentic co-creation. I described this in more detail here: https://businessfightspoverty.org/articles/five-golden-rules-of-successful-partnerships/
5 Likes
Really like that approach Dave. Using what we know already and the multitude of activities in place and their learnings is essential.
In Brazil, UNGC network invited different stk to compound a task force for Coivd which resulted in âCovid Radarâ platform (https://www.covidradar.org.br/). Which is a set of applications to track and understand Covid progression. It includes a: (1) Monitoring Dashboard ; (2) a MarketPlace that make Connection between needs and Donations; (3) a citizen focused app with Information on virus treatment and prevention, self-diagnosis form (C2S) and safe zones
2 Likes
With an all volunteer set up based on prominent members of the chamber of commerce who are for the most part leaders of the business community, it was at some stages a challenge to set up a proper working structure to maximize output. Though all in all there is little I would change with the benefit of hindsight.
Our main sticking points now are how to formulate economic response given the stats of the Iranian economy that has been affected by sanctions and now the crash in oil prices.
In terms of formulation a health response and managing the infection rate, I think Iran along with Sweden has had an effective model given that total shutdown and parachuting money was NOT an option and that vigorous track and trace methods a la Korea and China were not socially or technically possible
1 Like
I really like these points Jane - I would add the following:
5 Learn from diverse sources: Think laterally about coalition-building and collaboration. What can be learned from citizen movements? What about working sub-nationally? Consider what roles you play as a business in coalition-building: leading? Coordinating? Networking? Connecting? Facilitating? Funding? A mixture?
6 Consider long-term transformation: Create a quick win through resource mobilisation / advocacy etc to demonstrate success and then consider transformation.
1 Like
itâs important to include all socially/politically significant interests, and also include voices of those groups that donât have well-organised interests, ie the poor and marginalised. Platforms are not only for business, though the role of business in them is crucial.
In many countries, solidarity funds have been set up for public donations, and this is an important way to bring the public in. But it is equally important that expenditure allocations are transparent, whether of the fund or of government.
1 Like
Absolutely Jane. So many groups form and then disband quite quickly. Never has the psychological idea of groups âstorming norming forming and performingâ been more apparent. The groups that benefit their members as well as society will be the ones that last.
1 Like
Strongly agree with Stephenâs comment about the need and challenge of building consensus on the public health vs economy trade-off. The single most important issue that needs to be addressed at national, regional and local levels as we start to move from the immediate crisis response to re-opening economies.
1 Like