A3 – Part 3: If you are the leader of a mission-driven company, developing a theory of change to understand your social and environmental impact can be a powerful experience. This measurement and communication tool when executed correctly, can unlock design flaws, operational inefficiencies and incorrect assumptions. As you identify your direct and indirect impacts and influence in households and communities, you can also begin to check your assumptions regarding unintended negative social and environmental impacts.
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Thats awesome! We had the opportunity to explore collaborations in the past! Poverty Stoplight its a self-assessment tool developed to empower families and individuals to overcome multidimensional poverty by using an interactive methodology. This tool was develop by Fundacion Paraguaya, so I remember that we interacted with MovingWorld before. It is just amazing to hear from your work and how aligned we are!
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Some challenges but consumer protection, the rapid rise in digital/technology advances married with old ways and thinking concerns me, looking at frameworks that can address this. Useful insights: AIR in the News | Alliance for Innovative Regulation. Related to financial crime which continues to be one of our biggest global challenges. Building a Unified Defense Against Financial Crime in the Age of AI - AIR
Explore how network-based defense and AI-driven solutions can revolutionize financial crime prevention by fostering collaboration among institutions, regulators, and consumers. Discover actionable strategies for overcoming regulatory, technological, and organizational barriers to build a unified, data-driven approach to combating fraud and financial crime.
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Couldn’t agree more David! It’s about taking the actions where you have the space to influence and create change - all of these add up
This are quite good points, especially accountability of resources being deployed as well as working together as a team rather than silos. For growth to happen and become sustainable, we need to collectively come together. Thanks for sharing @kindredmotes
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My advice to a CSR practitioner would be to recognise all of the existing processes and initiatives which support social development and build on these successes and learn from the negative experiences. Social and human rights review is as much about the process which has been undertaken as it is about the outcomes.
Hello Susannah, Great to e meet you. I saw that there is an NC before your name, are you in North Carolina, Would love to connect I am Tsegga Medhin Tsegga Medhin,MBA,CPC, CDE - The Pearl Leadership Institute https://thepearlleadershipinstitute.org/ | LinkedIn
All the best.
Tsegga
We need to act, learn through action… and collaborate
A3: Around 2012, a local social entrepreneur asked a group of corporate volunteers (me included) some questions that I only fully understood after I joined Smarter Good. So, ask yourself: “What do I hope to get out of this project in the first place?” Is it employee-volunteer engagement? Is it community immersion? What real change can you do in a day? If your answers revolve around you, then shift focus. You don’t leave the community at the end of the day and call it good. The communities should see real impact. Change has to be sustainable. It has to happen on-the-ground.
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- What are the most significant challenges the social impact community will likely face in 2025, and how could we approach them? Changing corporate social sector priorities and/or strategies, reduced investments, and declines in metric impacts. There will be a need to be agile: keeping up with rapidly changing regulations and pivoting risk mitigation strategies when needed. As well as a need to stay in and help to provide the evidence base on the impact on DEI and environment. 3. If you could offer one piece of guidance to a corporate social impact leader stepping into 2025, what would it be? Engage in this network and others to bolster your resilience during what will be a challenging year. Find additional avenues for partnership and joint collaborations. Stay the course where you can with existing partners.
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A3.
“Collaborate to accelerate impact.”
In 2025, the complexities of addressing social and environmental challenges demand collective action. We need to make sure to identify spaces to share with others and to understand from others’ experiences. I’ve been sharing a lot about living incomes which is so important as living wages and we should talk about both together. We need to make sure to harness the expertise of diverse stakeholders, understand global issues, and share innovative solutions. in different spaces and create new spaces if needed. Collaboration allows businesses to see the full picture, address root causes, and create sustainable, scalable impact.
Remember, the path to thriving farming communities and a resilient global food system is through collective effort—leveraging the strengths of different sectors to close the income gap and ensure a fair, sustainable future.
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All of my answers to questions 1, 2, and 3 have one central theme: How can we (re)build the business model of collaboration?
As a global first-responder to disaster, disease and conflicts around the world, the “demand” for International Medical Corps’ work is through the roof. Simultaneously the “supply” of humanitarian aid is getting throttled by dwindling support - financial or otherwise.
With supply and demand so fundamentally out of sync, we are at a pivot point.
So, how can business and social impact community work together to (re)build and reset the business model of collaboration? That could look like:
A1: Priorities and Actions from Businesses: focused on funding large-scale impact - funding issues, not just single initiatives and incoporating more trust-based philanthropy principles into their social impact work. Resetting the business model of collaboration for them means working with other businesses to create a larger pool of funding for the social impact community, create momentum and progress, and de-risk innovations that “bend the curve” towards massive impact.
A2: Significant Challenges for the Social Impact Community: The inverse is true. Social Impact orgs have to work together more, to amplify our voices, and build on each others’ efforts. If we stay fragmented, we will lose our seat at the table. Plain and simple.
A3: One Piece of Advice: We have to think beyond being individual contributors and being Force Multipliers. All of us, on both the Supply and Demand sides of social impact.
Business Fight Poverty - you can take a leading role outlining the blueprint for the business model of collaboration.
Deepti Tanuku
Strategic Partnerships
International Medical Corps
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this is very true and a real problem
In order for business to fight poverty, We need to move from being a THINK TANK to BE A DO THANK, Intentionally and with a purposeful leadership
Hello Tsegga! The NC is not for North Carolina, but I am on the same time zone as you and will reach out now over Linked In. It would be great to connect!
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For those that want to learn more about living income and incorporate it into your strategies please visit this website: https://www.living-income.com/
There are so many resources in there and events available to keep collaborating
I would love to do that. Especially as we come to women’s history month in March,
Thanks for being part of this intentional group. Stay brave and resilient in this season and beyond
Tsegga
A3: Advice
Build strong, deep partnerships. You cannot do this alone, and you will need the expertise, experience, and value-add of others. Cultivate and develop meaningful relationships with stakeholders across sector, and be open to your partners challenging you and pushing you to do more and better.
Have a clear vision. With so much happening all around, know where you are going with your social and environmental impact! And invest in gaining internal buy-in and building a deep understanding of what you’re striving to achieve and why.
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Thank you Deepti for your intentional leadership and for impacting the world on one of the most important issues - Health! Stay brave and resilient! Let’s connect to create and add value to our shared agenda.
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Agreed! I made comments along these lines as well, specifically in the context of private sector action in forced displacement. The private sector may need support to increase their impact (and reap benefits) by making their refugee engagement intentional and embedded in their core strategies (e.g., they may need proximity to displaced communities, market research/data, impact tracking frameworks, etc.). This support is available through partnerships with systems-change organizations in the social impact community.
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