Business Partnerships as a Force for Good | Case Study 4: Management case study

Business Partnerships for Global Goals COVID-19 Vulnerable Supply Chain Facility Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series

How the management of the Vulnerable Supply Chain Facility contributed to achieving results and increased scale; some lessons learned Case Study

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January 2022

Contents

Message from the Project Director, Business Partnerships for Global Goals

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Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Purpose of this Case Study 2 Methodology for this Case Study 3 1. Strategic Design 3 2. Flexible and Adaptive Management 8 3. Active Risk Management 10 4. Monitoring and Evaluation for Results and Impact 11 5. Learning and Communication with Purpose 15 Conclusion 18

Message from the Project Director, Business Partnerships for Global Goals The COVID-19 pandemic was not only a health shock but also a major disruption to the global trade and economy, impacting lives and livelihoods, especially of the vulnerable people.

Business Partnerships for Global Goals programme¹, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) UK was initiated in February 2020, two weeks before the Pandemic was declared. The programme was quickly pivoted to a rapid response facility, the ‘COVID-19 Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility’ to work through partnerships of businesses and non-profit organisations for immediate relief and longer-term resilience of vulnerable workers in acutely affected supply chains (agriculture and garments), leveraging business’ influence to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic. Mott MacDonald was the Facility Manager.

Eight partnership projects were co-created, co-funded and quickly contracted in a record-breaking time of under 10 weeks, implemented under crisis conditions and delivered extraordinary results at pace. Programme activities quickly ramped up soon after contract signing, with projects engaged in monitoring to learn, adapt, and improve. Programme management was highly agile, responsive, flexible and effective. Risks were proactively managed.

Between 2020 and 2021, through eight partnership projects, implemented in seven countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Tanzania, Zimbabwe), in partnership with 20 multinational companies (including 16 from UK), their 296 suppliers and our five not for profit organisations, the programme reached 1.4 million vulnerable people, 63% of whom live on less than $5.50 a day, and 55% of whom are women, contributing to 8 of the 17 Global Goals.

Despite being a short duration programme, it yielded high impact results, also in the fields of listening, learning and sharing. The Facility Manager organised 20 learning events attracting over 1600 participants globally and published 35 high quality knowledge products reaching over 178,000 audiences, effectively using social media. The language used for communications was simple and intended for the wider community of practitioners, including business.

The programme substantially exceeded logframe targets and started yielding systemic change with a wider autonomous adoption of some of these initiatives by industry. The programme was awarded A+ (Exceeding Expectations) in Annual Review 2020 and scored 76 (Exceeding Performance) in the Strategic Relationship Management Scorecard in 2021.

All partnerships remained healthy, gaining strength over time with additional partners joining the programme every quarter and existing partners continually demonstrating increased commitment. Business partners hugely value the programme results, the relationships built under the projects as well as the resultant future opportunities for continued economic and social impact.

These results were possible due to the effective management of the Facility and the partnerships modality adopted by the Facility Manager, catalysing faster, wider and deeper development impact, despite the COVID-19 disruption and a military coup in Myanmar.

There are lessons for future programming about how Facility Management can be a useful modality for addressing the systemic challenges in the pathway of achieving Global Goals in a post COVID-19 context for other programmes especially in complex operating environments.

I thank all our partners for making this programme a success. I also thank Liz Patterson, Ian Miller, Solene Bryson, Raania Rizvi, Kate Cooper, Radana Crhova, Ian Felton, Helen King, Jakesh Mahey in FCDO UK and the colleagues in the Country Offices in all 7 implementing countries for their support and coordination. Special thanks to Jane Marriott OBE (British High Commissioner to Kenya) and Minister for Africa, Rt Hon. James Duddridge MP, for their interest in the programme.

British High Commission Bangladesh

Many thanks to: Afsana Islam, Derek Griffiths, Khalid Gaffar, Mahesh Mishra,

Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Myanmar Tanzania Zimbabwe

Sergio Dista, Mark George, Matt Mahama, Julian Wright, Nina Hissen, Richard Sandall Dharmini Shah, Rachael Flaherty, Rob Hale Priti Prajapati Alex Mangowi, Tim Green, Tom Ratasakatika David Mollat, Matthew MacDevette

¹ Business Partnerships for Global Goals is a UK-aid funded programme implemented by Mott MacDonald. Accenture Development Partnerships and Institute for International Environment and Development are part of the consortium.

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Executive Summary

Our Partners

The Vulnerable Supply Chain Facility (VSCF) was a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, delivered by the Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Garments and agriculture are two supply chains which were hardest hit and involve large numbers of vulnerable workers including women.

The VSCF delivered 8 projects in 7 countries across Africa and Asia to support the workers in these supply chains recover from and remain resilient to the economic and social impacts of COVID-19.

Despite the unprecedented context in which the programme was delivered, which not only included the risk of the pandemic but also political risks like the military coup in Myanmar, the VSCF achieved remarkable results and impact for vulnerable workers in need. Some key highlights include: • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Arco Awaj Foundation CARE International Co-op Coventry University Dimensions Ethical Trading Initiative Fairtrade Africa Fairtrade Foundation Flamingo Horticulture Flower Hub Flower Watch FNET Girl Determined GoodWeave International Impactt IPL Marks & Spencer MM Flowers Mondelez International Minor Weir and Willis Monsoon Accessorize Morrisons New Look Partner Africa Practical Solutions International Primark Proctor & Gamble Sainsbury’s Tesco Union Roasted VF Corporation Waitrose Women Win Women Working Worldwide Xpol

Shortlisting, co-creating, contracting and kicking off 8 partnership projects in only 10 weeks.

Successful delivery of 8 partnership projects involving 20 international and UK retail brands, 5 not-for profit lead partners, and 296 suppliers in 7 countries across Africa and Asia.

Delivery of health, social and economic initiatives that reached 1.4 million people, and substantially exceeded all logframe targets.

Leveraging match funding from private sector partners that exceeded FCDO • contributions.

• Reaching those most in need – 63% of those reached live on less than $5.50 • • dollars per day and 13% lives under $1.9 a day.

• Contributing to 8 out of 17 Global Goals including No Poverty, Zero Hunger, • Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic • Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Climate Action and Partnerships for the Goals.

• • Catalysing innovation and facilitating systemic change demonstrated through • change in practices, policies and behaviour.

Listening, learning and communicating through 35 knowledge products reaching over 178,000 audiences and still counting, using the social media effectively and organising 20 learning events across projects and at the programme level involving over 1,600 participants. Partners organised 32 learning events and published 24 knowledge products for wider dissemination of lessons.

Drawing on interviews with VSCF partners and the FCDO team, as well as a review of documentation, this case study examines how the management of the VSCF contributed to the achievement of these results. It identifies five areas of activity that respondents identified as having enabled accelerated delivery and the quality as well as scale of results. These are: • • • • •

Strategic design: Co-creation process between the Facility Manager and FCDO to establish the Facility, and then between the Facility Manager, FCDO and selected partners to develop informed and high-quality Partnership Project Plans.

Flexible and adaptive management: Responsiveness to rapidly changing delivery conditions in the context of coherent and agreed governance structures roles and responsibilities, and clarity on expectations.

Proactive risk management: Identifying risks before these become problems through a robust process including contextual analysis and building scenarios for managing risks effectively.

Monitoring and evaluation for results and impact: Ensuring agreement on monitoring requirements for partners was impact and results focussed from the start and helped to build partner capacities, where needed, while focusing on beneficiary voices.

Learning and communication with purpose: Capturing programme evidence and communicating lessons learned for sustainability.

Lessons learned from the VSCF contribute further evidence about good practice models that can be replicated in future programmes. It also provides insights into the potential of cross-sector collaboration for systemic change, through sector-wide facilities.

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Introduction The Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was designed to invest in partnerships with businesses to test and scale shared value initiatives that support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme was managed

by Mott MacDonald with Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) as consortium partners.

The BP4GG programme had only just started in February 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Based on FCDO internal discussions and rapid research conducted by BP4GG, and with Ministerial approval, the FCDO made the immediate decision to pivot the programme to provide an emergency response to the crisis. As a result, BP4GG established the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility (VCSF) to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19 to support vulnerable workers impacted by the pandemic in the garments and agriculture sectors. The Facility was designed with the aim to provide an immediate response to the impact of the pandemic for 1 million vulnerable people working in agriculture and garments supply chains.

Following a competitive application process, the VSCF partnered with 20 international brands and retailers (including 16 from the UK) and five not-for-profit organisations, and 296 suppliers in Africa and Asia. Through these partnerships, the Facility delivered 8 partnerships projects, each one delivering a unique set of economic, social, environmental and health interventions within a specific sector, and geographical area. The VSCF projects were implemented in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

In a continually changing context with disruptions from COVID-19 outbreaks, and public health management responses that included lockdowns and travel restrictions as well as a military coup in Myanmar, the VSCF delivered exceptional results. The programme reached 1.4 million vulnerable people (55% women), 63% of whom live on less than US$5.50 a day, 13% live on less than $1.90 a day. Initiatives delivered by the VSCF contributed to improved business practices, safer workplaces and improved livelihoods. Delivering a range of interventions through partnerships, the VSCF contributed to 8 of 17 Global Goals including No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Climate Action and Partnerships for the Goals.

The Facility was established with a focus on learning from VSCF partnerships projects and communicating those results widely for uptake by the community of practitioners. The VSCF produced 59 high quality learning products.

Of these, 35 were produced by the Facility Manager and reached over 178,000 people online. Over and above learning events organised by each VSCF project, the Facility Manager also convened 20 learning events that attracted nearly 1700 participants across the globe. The lessons shared in these documents have been captured within knowledge management systems housed within FCDO as well as by Mott MacDonald.

Purpose of this Case Study FCDO has been appreciative of the management of the VSCF, implemented as a COVID-19 response and that led to fast, deep and wide impact in a short time scale against a very difficult operating context. The agility and flexibility to respond to developments during project delivery, the approach and effectiveness of risk management, and the speed of delivery all contributed to the scale of results achieved. FCDO described the pace at which the Facility solicited, evaluated and selected concepts, co-created and contracted projects as “record breaking” (SRO, 2020) and noted learning from implementation of the VSCF that can benefit other programmes.

The purpose of this case study is to examine how the management of the VSCF enabled the rapid pivot to deliver a COVID-19 response Facility, and the achievement of impressive results in a short time scale. Whilst reflecting on the past, the lessons are useful for future programming, not only for rapid response facilities but also for programming for development outcomes and sustainability. The experience of the VSCF provides insights of how specific partnerships within a sector of the economy can contribute to broader systemic change at scale through co-operation within a shared Facility.

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Methodology for this Case Study The study began with developing a research framework and questions which were agreed at a kick-off meeting between the researcher, and staff from BP4GG and FCDO. Following secondary research and desktop review of programme documents, a research frame was established with a clear line of inquiry. Data was collected through key informant interviews with staff of the VSCF, VSCF project partners and officials of the FCDO. Data was then analysed against the research framework and questions.

The research identified five areas of Facility Management which contributed to the accelerated delivery and achievement of strong results. This document describes specific features within each of the management areas.

Sections start with achievements of the VSCF in this area followed by a discussion of key strengths. Each section ends with a summary of lessons drawn from the findings that may be considered in future programming.

The five areas discussed by the case study are: (1) strategic design, (2) flexible and adaptive management, (3) proactive risk management, (4) monitoring and evaluation for results and impact, (5) learning and communication with purpose.

1. Strategic Design This section examines how the approach to the strategic design of the VSCF led to feasible, well-designed and effective projects that could be implemented at speed, and with potential to scale. Co-creation of strategy was at the core of the processes used to design the Facility itself, and the projects it funded.

Pivoting to COVID-19 response The effectiveness of the VSCF strategic design processes is evidenced by: • • • • • •

8 high-quality fundable partnership projects designed and contracted in 10 weeks.

Partnerships and projects with extensive reach that exceeded the target for beneficiaries reached, and hereby delivered greater value for money.

Project costs were reduced by 14% primarily through reduction in overheads and management costs in the project concepts submitted to the facility.

Increased partner ‘in-kind’ and ‘match’ contribution that surpassed FCDO investment, reaching 1:1:044 by programme end.

200 additional suppliers joined VSCF projects during implementation, stepping into trusted partnerships.

Positive changes in business practice such as the Sea Freight Flower project which resulted in an additional 30 shipments of flowers saving over 3,000 MT of CO2.

The BP4GG programme was initiated in February 2020, two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Since the pandemic led to adverse impact on the vulnerable workers, the programme was quickly pivoted to a rapid response Facility, the ‘COVID-19 Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility (VSCF)’, to work through partnerships of businesses and nonprofit organisations for immediate relief and longer-term resilience of vulnerable workers in acutely affected supply chains (agriculture and garments), leveraging business’ influence to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic.

The FCDO tasked the BP4GG programme to undertake rapid research on the COVID-19 response and footprint of UK companies in FCDO geographies to identify the sectors where the proposed Facility could have maximum impact for vulnerable workers. The research was led by the programme and identified the Agriculture and Garments sectors where the effects of the pandemic on demand reduction, factory closures and supply chain disruptions were already severely impacting the health, income, and well-being of significant numbers of vulnerable workers.

Quick and efficient project selection process. Upon approval of the pivot by Ministers at the end of April 2020, BP4GG swiftly finalised the design of the Facility with FCDO. The VSCF opened the Call for Proposals on 7 May 2020, received and quickly assessed a large number of applications, selecting 8 strong concept notes to take to full application. Although the Facility Manager² managed the selection process, staff from the FCDO also participated in the review of applications. A full day workshop was organised by BP4GG using the Teams platform enabled with Miro board to select the top 8 out of 20 shortlisted projects. Teams of technical advisors, MEL Lead and Project Director worked intensely, for almost 2 weeks to assess every application, with focus on weighted selection criteria, namely: relevance, impact, feasibility, additionality, and value for money. The engagement of the FCDO in the critical project selection process ensured that the partners in the VSCF were given clarity on strategic direction and purpose, as well as generated ownership from all in support of the Facility.

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Co-creation of partnerships projects. After concept notes had been selected, the successful applications entered a ‘co-creation’ phase for the development of the full project design. The full proposals needed to be developed and agreed quickly. The Facility Manager designed a co-creation process with lead partners, downstream grantees and the FCDO to improve project designs. The process encouraged a focus on results, maximising efficiency, considering sustainability, and improving value for money whilst managing and mitigating risks. The purpose of the co-creation process was to agree project design and contract negotiation quickly while ensuring rigorous project management requirements were met.

Respondents to this case study identified the co-creation process as a key driver of VSCF success.

1 Decision Email

Officially Start the project

Co-creation Process Project kick-off

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Contract negotiation meeting

1

Decision Email Emailing informing of shortlisting

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Contract negotiation meeting Confirm contract provisions including reporting requirements and budget disbursement schedule

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4

3

2

Introduction meeting First meeting to explain process

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Project kick off • Officially start the project • Technical Lead and PM continue to work closely

Co-creation working sessions

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Co-creation working sessions Support the applicants in developing Partnership Project Plan 3 parallel processes: • Technical • Due diligence • Contract review

JUNE w/c 8th

w/c 15th

Introduction meeting

JULY w/c 22nd

w/c 29th

w/c 6th

w/c 13th

Brief calls held with shortlisted applicants Introductory sessions for applicants Co-creation working sessions MEL Clinics (when extra support needed) Partnership project plans finalised for inclusion in contracts Figure 1: Co-creation process and timeline

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Mott MacDonald became the Facility Manager, and consortium partners nominated key staff to engage in specific roles within the Facility Management team.

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Working on multiple tracks simultaneously. The co-creation phase involved working on multiple tracks simultaneously: 1) improving the project designs technically while enhancing the focus on results and clarifying the governance systems, 2) improving value for money through enhancing partner match funding while reducing project management costs and increasing direct support to target populations, 3) due diligence of partners and early risk reduction, 4) legal review of draft contracts resulting in early contracting of the partners.

Clarity of systems, roles, responsibilities and reporting requirements. During co-creation, governance systems were clarified to the partners, giving them better sight of decision-making processes and ways of working.

This helped a shared understanding of the roadmap for the next 12 months. The Facility Manager set out the reporting requirements (including regular engagement with the Facility Manager and FCDO staff) and clarified the roles and responsibilities of all involved. Reporting requirements were agreed with partners alongside the agreed vision for Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Communication (MELC).

Improving projects designs. The co-creation phase enabled improving project designs by increasing focus on results, impact and VfM. Working sessions were held with partners to discuss technical improvements, and clinics looked at each project’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework providing additional support where needed.

MEL plans and budget reviews. Delivery approaches were discussed and agreed with partners during this phase.

All MEL plans for partnership projects were developed in collaboration with the partners during the co-creation process. Although the MEL plans are fully owned by the partners, the co-creation ensured that the grant-specific MEL plans were fully aligned with the emerging programme-wide MEL framework. Each partnership project developed a theory of change, MEL plan, and data collection plan. Additionally, a thorough review of partners budgets led to a 14% reduction in projects costs including reduction in overheads and management costs and increase in direct support to the beneficiaries.

Reducing risks from the very start. Shared concerns for the management of risk were heightened in the pandemic context. Co-creation included processes for the identification of risks and developing agreed strategies for risk mitigation. Key reputational, programmatic and operational risks were pro-actively identified, understood, and risks mitigation steps built into project plans. Risk management frameworks were prepared and agreed between project partners, and with FCDO. Respondents noted that in some cases, strategies were put in place during the co-creation phase, so that risks were already reduced when implementation started.

Due diligence and enhanced due diligence. In parallel, the Facility Manager carried out due diligence on 32 partners in less than two weeks and ensured that all lead partners completed their own due diligence on downstream partners. In some cases, enhanced due diligence was conducted where the potential of reputational risk was high, and agreements reached with business partners on how these risks would be mitigated if they materialised during implementation (with the help of an additional issues registers). ‘Know Your Customer’ standards were agreed with partners to ensure all beneficiary organisations conform to international standards on respect for human rights, treatment of workforce, and anti-corruption.

“The FM did a good job putting the grant arrangements in place. They acted very quickly and made it look easy – which I know from my experience it certainly isn’t! The emergency nature of the situation also brings people together faster. It did take the edge off hard bargaining positions and encouraged working in partnership which everyone involved wanted. We were all on the same page of wanting to get up and running quickly so that we could help people in need”. Ian Miller, VSCF Programme Manager, FCDO

Building partner relationships and increasing match funding. The co-creation process accelerated partner engagement and instigated ‘skin in the game’ in the form of increased match funding contributions from a leverage ratio of 1:0.43 at the concept note stage to 1:0.84 at the time of contracting, as well as providing a platform for stakeholders with differing or opposing views, to set aside differences and work together in support of beleaguered workers. Partner contributions were increased by 33% during the co-creation phase, from an original total in concept notes of £1.5 million to a committed total in contracts of £2 million. By the end of the programme, the partner funding outstripped the FCDO funding reaching a leverage ratio of 1:1.044, which is an evidence of the strength of the partnerships which were founded in trust established during this co-creation phase.

“One of the main lessons for future FCDO programming are the insights BP4GG provided on how to establish a rapid response challenge fund and deliver quickly. The team worked incredibly well together even though it had to be virtual. There was a sense of motivation to do something to help vulnerable workers even though we were working in a context where we didn’t what was coming around the corner.”

Liz Patterson, Team Leader, Business Partnerships Team, FCDO (2020)

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Developing a shared vision and purpose. The intense collaboration during the co-creation phase fostered clarity and a shared understanding across all partnerships. The Facility Manager steered the process of agreeing the vision, mission and purpose of the Facility itself, as well as each of the individual projects contributing to the Facility’s purpose during this phase.

Co-creation phase set the foundation for the future success of the projects. The co-creation process was considered to have contributed to VSCF success in several ways. It enabled full proposals to be agreed and finalised quickly, significantly reducing the time often taken to provide feedback on grant applications and receive re-submissions. The process also ensured dialogue and agreement to be reached on key priorities for FCDO, namely a focus on rigorous project management, results, maximising efficiency, and improving value for money (VfM) whilst managing and mitigating risks. This in turn ensured that contract negotiation could progress quickly due to the shared understanding built through co-creation. Fairtrade Foundation found the co-creation process very effective and requested support from the Facility Manager in the design of the challenge fund as part of the ‘Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund’ project to diversify income generating activities for cocoa unions. Fairtrade Foundation drew on the Facility Manager’s experience to design a grant strategy based on co-creation that would foster innovation, equality of access and prioritisation rooted in consultation and direction from cocoa farmers.

Beneficiary selection process clarified

Ensuring training materials are sharable

MNC sustainability commitments/ policy changes

X

X

X

X

X

X

Hidden Supply Chains in Bangladesh – Bringing agency and resiliency to informal workers

X

X

X

Preventing a COVID-19 Garment Health Worker and Supply Chain Crisis

X

X

X

X

X

X

Bridging the gap: supporting the transition from crisis to resilience

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Creating resilience and sustainability in flower supply chains

X

Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund Securing workers’ rights in a COVID-19 context in East African agriculture supply chains

X

Sea Freight Flowers

X

Additional due diligence

Partner roles clarified

Supporting women in the garment industry earn a living, stay safe and be respected in a COVID-19 environment

Reduced management cost

Project

Increased coverage/ targets/ no. of beneficiaries

Increased match funding

Measurable improvements in each project. The co-creation process resulted in measurable improvements across each of the projects as demonstrated in Table 1 below:

X

Table 1: Areas improved through the co-creation process, by project.

Contracting. Contracts take time for vetting, agreeing, negotiating and signing. The Facility Manager prepared the draft contracts early for the partners to review these in parallel while the project designs were being finalised. In the short co-creation and contract negotiation timeframe the Facility Manager successfully balanced flexibility with rigorous project design and management requirements, while securing agreement on the draft contracts. Weekly engagement of the Facility Manager with FCDO allowed early approval of the final Partnership Project Plans, with two projects commencing in July 2020 and the remaining six in August 2020.

“The speed of the VSCF setting up, from idea to contract awards in under 10 weeks, has been record-breaking.”

Nina Schuler, BP4GG FCDO Senior Responsible Officer (Feb 2020 to Nov 2020)

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Clarity on ways of working and implementation procedures. Fund management inevitably involves procedures across many functions. To further accelerate the set-up of the Facility and selection of projects, the VSCF Facility Manager produced a series of documents clearly setting out the necessary procedures as these were required, such as a Smart Operating Guide for the project selection process followed by Partner Procedures Guide to guide projects delivery and a Partners Communications Guidelines for clear, consistent and coordinated messaging during implementation. This approach required flexibility from the FCDO, and a move away from usual client approval of the full suite of procedures before allowing project applications to begin.

Once contracts were signed, the FCDO and Facility Manager held project ‘kick-off’ meetings with each project partner, including brand partners as well as the lead partners. As this meeting ensured agreement on the governance structure, ways of working, MELC systems, risk management and reporting requirements, it provided a strong shared foundation from which the Facility, partners and the FCDO could commence work. This also helped answer arising questions in the minds of the partners.

Shared goals in a crisis. Several respondents to this study observed that the pace at which both the Facility and projects were set up was aided by the nature of the crisis that the Facility was responding to. As FCDO officials observed, all partners – the FCDO, the consortium partners, Facility Manager, the not-for-profit lead organisations, the brands and their suppliers – all shared a common desire to respond quickly to the most vulnerable people in need within the supply chains that were evidently in crisis.

“The urgency of COVID-19 provided focus, we all wanted to go and solve the same things and that has helped. We were working towards a sustainable solution, a capability that can be built, leaving something behind. Not only putting a band aid.

Working with our people on the ground to leave something behind.”

Cathy Pieters, Senior Director, Mondelez

Summary of lessons for future programming This section has described how strategic design processes managed by the Facility contributed to robust, effective projects that could be implemented at speed, and with potential to scale. It identified features of the strategic design processes that laid the foundations for both efficiency and effectiveness of the Facility. Specific lessons which can be drawn from this experience to inform future programming are: • • • • •

• •

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Innovative partnerships between FCDO and businesses can be convened through a Facility with clarity of vision and shared purpose from the start.

Co-operation between FCDO and a Facility Manager on the strategic design of the Facility itself builds a shared vision of the purpose of the Facility, and the non-negotiable requirements of the funder.

Co-creation of funded projects encourages co-ownership, clarity on roles and responsibilities including governance, monitoring, and reporting.

Co-creation phase can enable a robust foundation where trust can be built early for strong partnerships between FCDO and the businesses.

Businesses need to engage with FCDO in a strategic manner. The ways of working organised by the Facility Manager from the start and implemented throughout the Facility period, enabled strategic engagement where FCDO and businesses could speak openly on topical themes in safe space scenarios, enabling agreement of future of Global Goals.

Clarity on proposal criteria, and on Facility Management procedures remain of critical importance in a rapid response facility, but this experience demonstrates the value of streamlining administration to the benefit of efficiency, without compromising effectiveness or risk management.

Providing as much specificity on proposal criteria and communicating this widely is of particular importance if minimum benchmarking for match funding or size of partnership is sought.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/9/4/extreme-risk-coronavirus-is-worsening-modern-slavery-in-asia

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2. Flexible and Adaptive Management This section describes how the flexible and adaptive management approach taken by the Facility Manager contributed to the achievement of results, and the extension of reach beyond original targets.

‘Flexible and Adaptive management’ results The flexible and adaptive approach to programme management delivered: • Adaptive, agile and results oriented project management which exceeded logframe targets by over 900% at Impact and over 1100% at Outcome.

• Rapid reapportioning of budgets and adapted activities to cope with COVID-19 waves and multiple lockdowns.

• Building scenarios for maximising results and impact for the vulnerable people through programme flexibility and adaptiveness. 136 change requests processed across both portfolios. Each change in project was informed by increased value for money, reaching more people, increasing impact through depth of breadth.

• Positive changes in business practice such as the Sea Freight Flower project which resulted in an additional 30 shipments of flowers saving over 3,000 MT of CO2.

• Increases in successful partnerships totalling 331 partners by the end of the programme doubling the original number of partners.

• Excellent participation of partners at high level learning and sharing events.

Building partnership through regular communication: The Facility Manager explicitly adopted a partnership management approach based upon principles of trust, clarity and flexibility to guide ways of working, which was achieved through regular engagement and open discussion. This approach was taken to building partnerships with VSCF project lead partners as well as with the FCDO. The Facility Manager set up routines for regular engagement with partners, including daily emails/calls, weekly check-ins, and monthly meetings. A quarterly review process was established whereby lead and brand partners came together to review progress, lessons were discussed, and decisions about action taken. Regular communication with partners and the FCDO was a central pillar to the shared risk management strategy, given the risks identified in delivering a programme at speed, in the context of a pandemic, with high profile organisations. The FCDO team worked collaboratively with the Facility Manager and took joint responsibility for decisions.

“We really appreciated the Facility Manager’s offer of weekly meetings given the complexity of the programme and the level of public scrutiny we expected from this project because we were working with large profit-making businesses. Throughout this programme the Facility Manager has always been ahead and on top of programmatic issues and brought these to us early, providing well thought through scenarios so that we had all the information available to make informed decisions in good time.” Raania Rizvi VSCF Lead Adviser (August 2021-December 2021), FCDO

The Facility Manager engaged with FCDO every week throughout the Facility implementation to keep them informed about progress, risks, strategic communications (over 70 weekly meetings were organised with FCDO by the Facility Manager). Monthly, quarterly and wrap up meetings with partners also enabled discussions around management issues as well as the strategic matters. Brand partners were invited in quarterly meetings whereas the lead delivery partners, Facility Manager and the FCDO met every month to discuss strategic direction and progress of the projects. This also enabled early identification of risks and addressing these in a timely manner. While this process was rigorous, it was also appreciated by several partners and FCDO as it enabled strong ownership of partners, clarity of communications, reflective review of past quarter while looking for future ideas.

The Facility Manager provided simple standard templates which were used by all 8 projects for reporting using MS PowerPoint instead of long reports every month. Divisions of the monthly and quarterly meetings between two sessions (45 minutes for strategic discussion and 45 minutes for management issues including MEL) was hugely effectively in engaging with the correct stakeholders in each session. Brand partners and FCDO were not required to participate in the management session where the FM and the lead delivery partner discussed management matters and resolved those quickly.

Flexibility integrated into management processes. Flexibility and agility were essential to respond quickly to the rapidly evolving contextual challenges caused by the pandemic. For example, unanticipated surges in COVID-19 infection rates in Bangladesh in August 2021 and in October 2021 forced factory closures and disrupted the implementation of project activities across the garments portfolio. The Facility Manager supported partners to adjust workplans and prioritise activities which could be conducted without physical interaction during lockdowns. This helped provide much-needed immediate support to workers and did not detract from overall projects’ objectives.

Equally, the Facility Manager introduced new activities in response to traction from within the sector, to support partners’ ambitions to take an innovation to scale. For example, the Sea Freight Flowers project attracted considerable interest from within the industry. To promote the potential economic, social and environmental impact of the sea freight on trade from Kenya to Europe and UK, the Facility Manager produced a CO2 emission study, an economic appraisal and a business case to strengthen sea freight uptake. This was complemented by an awareness and training campaign for 200 growers in Kenya. Subsequently 30 additional consignments have 8

been shipped autonomously by the industry saving over 3,000 MT of CO2 over and above the 13 consignments delivered through the pilot. The Facility’s responsiveness to evolving industry dynamics has contributed to industry wide uptake of some innovations led by the Facility for example the sea freight flowers project has opened opportunities for sustainable trade beyond flowers for perishable produce from Kenya to UK and European markets.

Strong financial systems managed flexibly. Inevitably, flexibility within workplans requires similar flexibility with resource allocation. To respond to needed adaptations to activity plans, over the lifetime of the VSCF, the Facility Manager processed 80 change requests in projects budgets in the garment’s portfolio, which together totalled £335,000 and 56 change requests in the agriculture portfolio budget worth £182,000.

Scenario planning to guide changes in strategy. The Facility Manager used scenario planning during implementation to inform and guide decisions about changes needed to VSCF strategy as a result to changing conditions ‘on the ground’. For example, when the Myanmar coup took place, the Facility Manager prepared three scenarios for the way forward and analysed the implications of each scenario. Based on the VFM assessments, FCDO took the decision to exit Myanmar responsibly and allocate the subsequent savings to other VSCF projects.

By reallocating funds to VSCF garments projects in Bangladesh, the Facility reached an additional 72,496 workers and community members at the cost of £2.10 per worker.

Coaching and guiding partners. The VSCF was not designed to deliver capacity building services to project partners. Indeed, the selection of partnership projects was informed by the capacity of the partnership to respond quickly, deliver effective interventions and monitor results. Even so, the Facility Manager was inevitably called upon to support partners with reporting requirements, and to play an intermediary role between partners’ and FCDO’s expectations on reporting, which was particularly valued by both.

“We simplified reporting processes for our partners, and provided steer and support, particularly for our private sector partners not as familiar with the rigorous reporting processes required by the FCDO. I think the real value of the FM role was to provide a mediator role between FCDO and the multitude of very different types of partner involved in the programme – both for- and not-for-profits. We were keen to be as flexible as possible when partners had a legitimate explanation for needing flexibility. We stretched deadlines for CARE and Impactt, agreed to significant changes in project design for Fairtrade, and provided additional funding to Flamingo. Mott McDonald has 15 years of experience managing grant mechanisms, and as a business ourselves appreciate the flexibility required by private sector partners. It was this combination which really contributed to our expertise and capacity to deliver this programme well.”

Nic Ramsden, BP4GG Team Leader (July 2020 to July 2021), Mott MacDonald

Flexibility to bring new partners to projects. Partnerships without an in-country presence struggled with implementation, and to deliver at the pace required. For example, the lead partner of the ‘Bridging the Gap: Supporting the transition from crisis to resilience’ project did not have a direct in-country presence in Myanmar, and this may have contributed to delays experienced with the implementation of core project activities, even though local partners had been secured at the outset of the project.

Summary of lessons for future programming “The FM did a great job not only supporting partners manage FCDO reporting requirements but also providing capacity building. I definitely observed the FM provide monitoring technical capacity that really helped the partners improve reporting their results.”

Kate Cooper, Impact Investment Adviser, FCDO

This section has described how a flexible and adaptive management approach supported the achievement of VSCF results and helped to drive the increased reach. It has highlighted some key lessons: • • • • •

In high risk, rapidly changing contexts, frequent communication with lead partners, and the client is essential, and may require different communication formats (e.g. meetings / emails / workshops / reports).

Shared responsibility for decision-making is essential at each level of partnership and can be aided through the choice of communication formats used.

Adaptive management requires flexibility in workplan and budget management practices.

Local partners are essential for rapid and responsive delivery in contexts where implementation conditions change quickly and often. Flexibility may need to include the possibility to bring new partners into consortium arrangements.

Scenario planning with associated risk assessments provides a useful tool within an adaptive management approach.

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3. Active Risk Management This section explores the role that pro-active risk management played in the delivery of the VSCF, a function of the Facility Manager that was especially important in a pandemic context and given the speed at which projects had to be delivered, the complexity of the project partnerships, and the innovative content of VSCF projects.

“In many ways COVID-19 provided an opportunity to take risk – but these were calculated risks across a portfolio approach where projects were selected through a rigorous competitive process selection which allowed for failure but prioritised impact.” Liz Patterson, Business Partnerships Team Leader, FCDO

Collaboration on risk identification, mitigation, and management. As noted earlier in this paper, risk identification and the development of risk management procedures formed an important part of the co-creation process. This collaborative approach to risk management continued throughout implementation.

Collaboration on risk management was extremely important given the very different appetites for risk, and different appetites for different kinds of risk, amongst the range of partners participating in the VSCF. From the outset, the Facility Manager had to accommodate the differing risk positions of the FCDO, multi-national corporations, SMEs, international and local NGOs. The Facility Manager actively managed risk in several ways. Risks were monitored continuously, by the Facility Manager, and by partners, using the agreed risk management tools. Every quarter, partners submitted updated Delivery Chain Risk Maps, including any new partners or additional downstream players. New risks identified, and the materialisation of known risks were managed through agreed escalation protocols.

In addition, the Facility Manager established a careful balance between scrutiny and flexibility that worked for the partnerships. Significantly, the FM established weekly risk discussions with the FCDO providing oversight of project risks and opportunities to take action to mitigate them. The Facility Manager also met weekly – and more frequently where required – with lead partners of VCSF projects. Proactive dialogue on contextual risks were considered on a weekly basis due to the changing nature of COVID-19 in country and the short implementation timeframe. The level of engagement meant neither the Facility Manager, VSCF project partners, nor FCDO were taken by surprise by unanticipated challenges.

Enhanced due diligence. Prior to contracting, the Facility Manager carried out full due diligence checks on all Lead Partners, as usual. However, given the heightened risks in this programme, the Facility Manager also performed checks on selected named subcontractors.

In addition, the Facility Manager secured assurances and declarations from partners on risks of potential business behaviour during implementation. Minimum standard checks described as the ‘Know Your Customer’ process was rolled out by Lead Partners. Furthermore, additional ‘Know Your Customer’ checks were made on factories participating in the high-risk projects ‘Bridging the Gap: Supporting the transition from crisis to resilience’ project in Myanmar and ‘Supporting women in the garment industry earn a living, stay safe and be respected in a COVID-19 environment’ project in Bangladesh. This included ensuring beneficiary entities were conducting ethical business practices and not violating human rights.

Scenario planning with associated risk assessments. At key moments in the lifetime of the VSCF, the Facility Manager deployed scenario planning with associated risk assessments to support programme partners’ decision making. For example, when Primark’s Myanmar suppliers were attracting negative press coverage for order cancellation and sacking unionised workers, thereby threatening the integrity of the Primark-Impactt project ‘Bridging the Gap: Supporting the transition from crisis to resilience’, the Facility Manager played a key role between Primark and FCDO by outlining risk scenarios. These scenarios equipped FCDO, Primark and Impactt to clearly identify the project related risks and mitigation measures. The approach provided the information needed to approve the project with confidence that the eventualities in any of the scenarios could be foreseen, and managed.

When the coup in Myanmar presented new risks, the Facility Manager developed new scenarios, helping the partners quickly review options and make the decision to pivot away from Myanmar and reinvest the VSCF funds elsewhere. The Facility Manager presented three possible scenarios, each with pros and cons to FCDO to make an informed decision. Within three weeks of the decision to leave Myanmar, following approval of the preferred scenario by the FCDO, three existing contracts for VSCF projects were amended to incorporate additional funds for extra activities. This rapid pivot was possible due to advance thinking and forward planning of the Facility Manager who had started the conversations for possible proposals with the partners across the garment’s portfolio ahead of time while keeping FCDO informed.

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Summary of lessons for future programming This section has explained how additional scrutiny on risk and risk management ensured VSCF project implementation throughout a period fraught with multiple risks. Lessons to be drawn for future programming include: • •

Enhance risk management processes as needed, and as contexts change.

Clarify risk appetite with partners from the outset, ensure all partners are informed about risks, understand each other’s perceptions of risk, and collaborate on risk management.

Agree timely, accurate and useful risk reporting to enhance decision making and support management and oversight.

Use risk scenario planning to anticipate challenges and choose paths that can be managed.

• •

4. Monitoring and Evaluation for Results and Impact This section describes how the Facility Manager’s approach to monitoring and evaluation contributed to the VSCF’s achievements. It highlights how a focus on monitoring for impact and fast-tracking of data collection, enabled responsive decision-making by programme partners, informed programme direction and maximised value.

The effectiveness of monitoring for ‘Results and Impact’ is evidenced by: • • • • •

BP4GG was awarded an A+ in the Annual Review 2020 and scored 76 on the FCDO Strategic Relationship Management scorecard - exceeding expectations.

Increased reach from an initial target of reaching 200,000 people to reaching 1.4 million people by the end of the programme.

Increased measures of VfM by a factor of 20 (4000 workers at £42.50 per beneficiary to 72,496 workers at £2.10 per beneficiary) by redirecting resources following the coup in Myanmar to the Bangladesh garments projects.

Over achievement of outcome targets: 11 times more beneficiaries reporting changed workplace practices than the original target set.

Over achievement of impact targets: 9 times more beneficiaries having improved livelihoods than the original target set.

Build the Theory of Change and logframe together, creating opportunities for ownership of the full theory of change and assumptions that underpin the change process. When FCDO decided to pivot the BP4GG programme and establish a COVID-19 rapid response Facility, the programme’s theory of change, and assumptions underpinning it, were revised. This created a unique opportunity for implementing partners to influence the full theory of change, which in turn created buy-in and ownership of the selected indicators of change used in the logframe.

The theory of change reflected a ‘shared value perspective’ i.e., if partnership projects delivered social and economic interventions for vulnerable groups to help them deal with the impact of the pandemic, these initiatives would also support businesses to continue their operations in a safer and more responsible way.

As it was impossible to predict what could realistically be achieved by the VSCF given the uncertainty of the pandemic, VSCF logframe targets were set with caution, whilst attempting to be realistic when ‘predicting the unpredictable’.

Focus upon big picture outcomes - not inputs. Given the volatility of the COVID-19 situation and the likelihood activities would be disrupted, the Facility Manager focused on the overall value, and results to be achieved at outcome and impact levels, rather than fixating on activity and output level targets. This reflected the importance of targeted impact to ensure the VSCF delivered value for money.

Managing Value for Money. Throughout implementation of the 8 chosen projects, the Facility Manager encouraged projects to improve value for money (VfM). The VfM improvements were managed in several ways, including through the identification of additional beneficiaries, and by adapting activities for greater impact. As a result, targets for indicators of VfM set at the beginning of the VSCF projects were exceeded. By the end of the programme, the cost per beneficiary reached with programme products and services (Output level) was £1.69 compared to a target of £11.87. At Outcome level, the cost per beneficiary reporting improved practices was £2.03 compared to the logframe target indicator of £23.75. At Impact level, the cost per beneficiary was £3.23 compared to the logframe target indicator of £29.68.

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Prioritising women and marginalised groups: ‘Equity’ was explicitly prioritised throughout each of the projects.

Women and marginalised groups were targeted beneficiaries during design and implementation which resulted in excellent VfM results. At the end of the programme 55% beneficiaries were women and girls. It costs FCDO £2.97 (a fraction of the target of £24.48) to identify a women worker, £3.05 to reach her (against a target of £24.48), and £3.67 to help her improve practices.

To ensure that resources were equitably distributed, and reached those most in need, the VSCF surveyed the socio-economic status of beneficiaries. VSCF projects beneficiaries included 36% youth and 3% People Living with Disabilities. The endline surveys carried out in June 2021 showed that 63% of beneficiaries lived below $5.50 (PPI 2011), 38% below $3.20 a day, and 13% below $1.90, confirming that BP4GG had successfully reached those most in need. In terms of gender, the VSCF target of 50% female was also exceeded. At the end of the programme 55% beneficiaries were women and girls.

Creating feedback loops through collecting beneficiary feedback to inform decision making. The VSCF established several methods to collect feedback from beneficiaries and generate data on how effectively projects were responding to need and maximising impact.

In the context of the rapid delivery of the VSCF and the lack of opportunities to travel and visit projects on the ground, the Facility Manager needed to find alternative means of real time, reliable data collection. The lean data supplier 60 Decibels was contracted to collect data quickly and safely, directly from beneficiaries. The supplier conducted 14 surveys. Seven were conducted mid-way through projects to capture early signs of impact on beneficiaries, two were completed at the end of the grants period and five were post-grant studies to capture impact beyond the VSCF funding period.

“The benefits seen of the union-led IGAs (Income Generating Activities) included real diversification, real experimentation.

I was surprised at how many types of IGA people wanted to try. It was important that we bought that risk, so they could see which IGAs would work. After consultation the unions came with what they really wanted to try – the main take away was that the grants supported the unions to experiment.”

Andrew Parker, Imani Development, Cadbury Wrap Up Workshop

A combination of remote data collection tools was used. Data were collected via mobile phones using SMS and Integrated Voice Recordings [IVRs]. To encourage participation, supplier factories informed their workers of feedback requests via their mobiles and reimbursed the costs incurred from survey completion. Worker data was protected through 60 Decibels data protection system removing all personal information so that feedback remained anonymous.

Feedback data also enabled partners to adapt project activities. For example, the ETI ‘Securing workers’ rights in a COVID-19 context in East African agriculture supply chains’ project asked workers which training methods and communication messages were most useful for absorbing COVID-19 health and safety measures. In Kenya, beneficiary feedback found training to be effective whilst in Zimbabwe responders said posters were the most useful learning tools. ETI used this feedback to prioritise the means of communication to the local context to maximise impact and reach many more beneficiaries with important health messaging.

Beneficiary voices provided vital sources of data to evaluate whether VSCF projects were successful in reducing the vulnerability of people to COVID-19, in supporting businesses to recover from the pandemic and livelihoods to become more resilient. Beneficiary Feedback surveys conducted in June 2021 confirmed that VSCF projects were achieving the desired results, as: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

93% of beneficiaries surveyed reported the support they received as useful.

85% reported their ability to cope with the pandemic has been improved.

96% reported workplace changes where employers have implemented changes to workplaces to make these safer.

92% reported satisfaction with workplace improvements.

92% reported that their sense of safety and security at work has been much improved.

63% reported improved confidence in earning incomes.

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Prioritising Social Inclusion and Climate Resilience. The scoping research completed to inform the design of the VSCF identified the garment and agriculture sector supply chains contained a concentration of women and vulnerable workers³ who were disproportionately shouldering the burden of the impact of COVID-19. Ensuring equity of benefits was at the heart of the VSCF which meant it also had to be at the heart of its MEL processes and systems. For example, the Fairtrade and Mondelez International Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund project was designed to have a 25% uplift for each female member. At the end of the project 82% of those earning incomes from non-crop grant activities were women. The ‘Bridging the Gap: Supporting the transition from crisis to resilience’ project in Myanmar supported over 1,500 workers (98% women, an increase from the original target of 92% women) in with cash transfers in the form of ‘two weeks’ stipends. People with Disabilities and young people also reported benefits from project activities.

Protecting the vulnerable from climate shocks and supporting people most impacted by the pandemic to become more resilient was central to the VSCF. The Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund project awarded income generating grants for activities specifically suitable to the local climate. Over 7,000 farmers received training on agronomy, Good Agricultural Practices and conservation agriculture embedded in community led planning in support of climate mitigation and adaptation.

Summary of lessons for future programming “One of our strategic plans or objectives is to expand or strengthen the livelihood activities that our women and youth are doing at the various societies. However, [having] the funds to do that at this COVID-19 pandemic moment was a challenge.

So the timely intervention by this project has helped the Union to [support] our women and youths who are jobless and this has completely added a face lift in our societies.” Fanteakwa Union, Ghana

This section has described how the VSCF monitoring and evaluation system was designed to enable responsive decision making and to maximise results. The findings suggest that future programmes would benefit from: • • • • •

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Using the co-creation phase to set the MEL plans with partners helped smooth implementation.

Allowing the lead supplier to update the programme theory of change and logframe at the outset of the programme, to strengthen ownership and understanding of the theory of change, and commitment to the logframe indicators.

Focusing on outcomes and impact from the outset and demonstrating flexibility in inputs and activities.

Creating feedback loops so that data on results achieved are collected early enough, and directly linked to decision making processes.

Using beneficiary feedback surveys to provide data for evaluating the effectiveness and impact of interventions.

Women make up to 80% of workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector and 60-75% of workers in Kenyan flower farms.

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5. Learning and Communication with Purpose This section describes how the VSCF captured evidence, and disseminated learnings generated by VSCF projects for longer-term sustainability. Learning mechanisms were established for partners to improve impact at project level. To encourage replication and scale beyond the project teams, lessons learned were widely communicated with external partners. Given the innovative nature of VSCF partnerships and projects, a key function of the Facility Manager was to harvest insights offered by VSCF projects into new ways of working and about the effectiveness of pilot interventions, to create evidence, and to share this even more widely, including to UK businesses, the wider UK government, and broader professional community.

The effectiveness of ‘Communication and Learning with purpose’ is demonstrated by: • A shared vision of the communication strategy built with partners and supported by effective tools (Strategic Communications Guidelines, quarterly Strategic communication meetings, Strategic messaging matrix and a communications calendar).

• Communication and learning activities were delivered for a specific purpose, with messaging, ‘hooks’ for events and products.

• Communication campaigns on specific themes were designed around global milestones, with events held and relevant products released to coincide with the global milestone, VSCF learning events for e.g., women’s day, G7 meeting (build back better) and COP 26 (climate resilience).

• Leveraging lessons from individual projects to aggregate findings and disseminate widely, through the 35 products produced by the Facility Manager and consortium partners (8 one-page project summaries; 10 Learning Briefs; 4 Case Studies; 1 Business Case; 3 High Level Event summary read outs; 4 Quarterly Newsletters; 4 videos on topical themes; an end of project brochure reaching over 178,000 people).

• 2 Business roundtables for safe and open discussion between business and FCDO with 60+ participants.

• 20 learning events were organised by the Facility Manager including technical sessions across portfolios and high-level events marking international milestones attracting over 1600 participants globally.

• Partners also published 24 knowledge products and organised 32 learning events reaching 1769 participants.

• High impact comms in collaboration with FCDO country offices. The FM worked closely with the BHC Kenya to provide content for the article in the Economist on 13 Feb 2021 and the Economist Intelligence Unit podcast (Exit-stage plight: Brexit’s costs come due - Economist Radio | Podcast on Spotify) which focused on the flower projects in Kenya timed with BHC visit to the project sites.

• Dissemination events held to communicate effective VSCF innovations to broader sector stakeholders. For example, support provided to the Kenyan Flower Council to hold an event on greening exports from Kenya through sea freight, attended by the BHC and Embassy of the Netherlands, at which findings of VSCF project shared and discussed.

Recognising learning and communication are important pathways in the theory of change. Recognising the vital role that learning and effective communications play within processes of social change, learning and dissemination were integral to the VSCF theory of change. These components of work were included in the logframe as a separate output, and VSCF projects included resources for learning and communication activities.

“Mott McDonald has been very directive in strategic communications management. We had been anticipating negative press. Their response was proactive. This was not a big programme, but it made considerable achievements in 12 months which were communicated very effectively across a range of media channels including targeting the private sector to encourage uptake of learning. There is real merit in the learning sessions. Many development programmes fall into a trap of becoming insular, only focussing on logframe targets and not understanding the value of external communication and lesson learning.” Raania Rizvi, Lead Adviser (August 2021-December 2021), FCDO

As a result, the VSCF spurred the development of a wide variety of learning and advocacy resources. For example, Fairtrade and MM Flowers developed the UK Covenant for the flowers sector which is being used for advocacy internationally and in the UK. ETI and Partner Africa prepared resources for a campaign on working conditions in East Africa. In Bangladesh, ETI created a free online learning resource (project materials and user guides) to help additional brands and factories implement Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) initiatives in the future. In Kenya, the Facility Manager supported the Kenyan Flower Council to hold a high-level learning event with participation from the British High Commission and Kingdom of the Netherlands. The event showcased evidence produced by the Sea Freight Flowers project led by Flamingo Horticulture, that demonstrated that sea freight is sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective route to export produce from Kenya to UK, contributing to economic growth and reducing carbon emissions. The event was attended by over 140 participants from the flower sector, including senior members of the Kenyan government and private sector players.

Strategic messaging across multiple communication formats. The Facility Manager prepared a messaging matrix to plan dissemination of learning about themes, across a library of publications. The messaging matrix is presented in Table 2, below.

“The pilot sea freight flowers project has highlighted the value and viability of sea freight transportation not only of cut flowers but other Kenyan produce. Sea freight offers great potential for economic growth and job creation as well as supports Kenya’s commitment to 0% emissions made at COP26. We are committed to supporting the infrastructure at the port and the SGR to prioritise sea freight expansion.” Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, Government of Kenya 15

Key messages (COVID context applies to all) VSCF business partnerships modality

Greener, responsible trade with the UK

Transparency of supply chains for building back better

Event

BP4GG learning and comms products used to amplify Case Study Learning Briefs

• FCDO-business Roundtable • High Level Event: Partnerships for building back better and greener from the Pandemic • End of project event

• Partnering for • Partnering in a pandemic: progress: How can Embracing uncertainty the FCDO work with • High Level Event 2: Partnerships business to deliver for building back better and the SDGs? greener from the Pandemic

• High Level Event 2: Partnerships for • How sea freight • Kenyan flower farms view sea building back better and greener from offers the Kenyan freight as a promising opportunity the Pandemic flower industry for greener growth • Global Green Growth Institute Event an opportunity • Diversifying income streams is • A Sustainable Trade Route for Kenya: for greener an effective resilience strategy for Unlocking opportunities for greener trade growth African farms and farmers growth through sea freight and increased employment • X-Garments event on transparency in • Building Back Better • Improving occupational health and RMG supply chains in Bangladesh in the Garment safety in ready-made garment • High Level Event 2: Partnerships for Industry factories during COVID-19 building back better and greener from the Pandemic • X-Garments Event – operational health and safety in factories

Using digital • X-Agriculture Event – use of digital innovations tools in African agriculture in supporting vulnerable workers in supply chains Climate change: • High Level Event 3: Business climate resilient Partnerships Tackling Climate farming, Change: Summary Briefing decarbonising trade

Women’s • HLE1 Partnerships empowering empowerment: women during the pandemic (Mar) increasing vulnerable women’s voice and agency within supply chains

Video End-of-project video

Short video

Short video – Supply chain transparency (August – ADP)

• Building Back Better • Leveraging Digital Tools to Support in the Garment Factories and Garment workers Industry • Remote survey tools for capturing farmer and worker information are here to stay • How sea freight • Business Partnerships Tackling Short video offers the Kenyan Climate Change flower industry an opportunity for greener trade growth and increased employment • Three lessons for empowering women during the pandemic (International Women’s Day Learning Brief)

Table 2: VSCF Strategic Messaging Matrix which mapped dissemination of learning in key themes to events and products.

Using a range of communication tools on the principles of the ‘attention economy’. The Facility Manager produced a variety of communication products, suited to different audiences, and to communicate in different ways.

The different events and products were convened under the title ‘Business Partnerships as a Force for Good’ learning series. This ‘brand’ not only ensured coherence across diverse communication outputs. It was identified as the specific communications niche occupied by the programme at the outset.

“The value of the programme was that learning was led with purpose – not just a learning event for the sake of it.”

Kate Cooper, Impact Investment Adviser, FCDO

A range of products in the ‘Business Partnerships as a Force for Good’ learning series included quarterly newsletters providing updates on progress to a very wide audience, short videos on very specific topics, Case Studies which presented research and learning by the Facility Manager (either across a portfolio, or the whole facility) and a business case that provided more technical detail on evaluations of the sea freight pilot. Learning events were followed by learning briefs which captured key lessons learned and shared at events so that stakeholders had a ‘takeaway’ document capturing salient points. Learning briefs also captured findings from field visits or insights from the processes and systems that BP4GG put in place, such as the impact performance management model, and how these insights could be considered by brands and retailers, donors or other stakeholders for similar initiatives or in similar contexts. All products were posted on social media, and over 178,000 people engaged with the 35 products shared this way.

The Facility Manager organised learning events that provided opportunities for VSCF projects within a sector to share learnings on specific topics. For example agriculture sector partners met to review lessons learned about diversification as a strategy for resilience for African farmers, agricultural workers and suppliers; garments sector VSCF partners convened to discuss how digital tools were used to support factories and garment workers in a time of crisis.

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Learning events organised by the Facility Manager were of three types: (1) Projects-focused technical learning sessions where different projects across the portfolio shared their lessons learned around a certain theme like digital tools or operational health, (2) Facility-wide High Level Learning Events organised around global milestones like International Women’s Day, the G7 Meeting in June 2021 and COP26, (3) Business roundtables organised by the Facility Manager to enable open discussion between FCDO and businesses.

A further type of event evolved during implementation, where other external stakeholders expressed interest to join hands with BP4GG. For example, the Kenya Flower Council and the Dutch Embassy in Kenya joined with FCDO (Kenya and UK offices) for an event organised by BP4GG in October about sustainable trade routes where lessons from the Sea Freight Project were shared externally. Additionally, FM participated in external events like the Global Green Growth Week in October 2021 to widely disseminate the lessons learned from the Facility.

The Facility Manager led learning events were organised on priority themes identified in the Strategic Messaging Matrix, namely Women’s Economic Empowerment, Partnerships, Building Back Better and Climate Resilience.

The High-Level Learning Events were facilitated with Business Fights Poverty, which increased the Facility’s reach into the responsible business community. For each high-level event and Roundtable, FCDO senior representatives provide the keynote messages which aligns and galvanises the partners around a common goal. Partners and FCDO colleagues interviewed for this case study commented very positively on the value the learning and engagement opportunities provided by the VSCF. These products have been collated by the FCDO within a knowledge resource which can be accessed by FCDO and wider departments of the UK government. In addition, the Facility Manager will maintain the VSCF site for a further two years.

Engaging FCDO in communicating VSCF results. Over 100 FCDO colleagues including across the global network of country offices, were engaged by the VSCF in a wider dissemination of lessons learned on a variety of topics in the countries in Asia and Africa where VSCF projects were implemented. Additionally, the FM engaged with other FCDO projects which can benefit from the lessons learned by BP4GG like Growth Gateway and Manufacture Africa to appraise them about the Responsible Leaders List which was a specific product developed

by BP4GG for engaging with responsible businesses.

Solene Bryson Host of RIB List Workshop

Keynote speaker

March 2021

Helen King High Level Event 2

Keynote speaker

May 2021

Ian Felton •FCDO Business Roundtable •High Level Event 3

Keynote speaker

Mita Samani High Level Event 1

July 2021 Sep 2021

Keynote speaker

Keynote speaker

May 2021

Minister for Africa, Rt Hon. James Duddridge MP Short visit to amplify the recent UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement. He was shown the container depot at Nairobi International Airport where flowers are packed for sea freighting under the VSCF-funded trials

Jane Marriott OBE, BHC Visit to Partner farms in Kenya

Visited Kenya

March 2021

Kate Cooper HLE2 and for critical events with partners

Feb 2021

Visited Kenya

Figure 2: FCDO engagement in VSCF communication activities

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January 2021

Summary of lessons for future programming This section has highlighted the role that learning and communication for a purpose played in the effectiveness and sustainability of the VSCF projects. Lessons emphasised by respondents to this research include: • • • • • •

Prioritise communication and lesson learning with a purpose within programme design, theory of change and logframe, and ensure resources are allocated to support these processes of change.

Using a Strategic Communications Guide that enables using one tone of voice and consistent messaging across a wide range of partners.

Ensure consistent and coordinated communication with a clear purpose through the strategic planning of themes, messages, learning events and products.

Engage the FCDO ‘Network’ to ensure lessons learned are being shared and institutionalised, thereby furthering sustainability.

Shared lessons widely with FCDO for enhancing the value of the work done by projects which can enable cross-programme learning.

Where possible, use external forums and partners opportunistically (like the GGGI workshop, the Dutch Embassy in Kenya) for expanding the outreach of the lessons learned by FCDO projects.

Conclusion Despite a short timeframe for VSCF project implementation, and volatile pandemic context, with high rates of infection, lockdowns, and a military coup in Myanmar - the VSCF delivered. The programme reached 1.4 million men, women and children, of which 55% were women and 63% with incomes less than US$5.50 a day, contributing to 8 out of 17 Global Goals. An examination of the management of the VSCF has identified aspects of Facility Management that contributed to this success: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

Collaborative approaches to strategic design of the Facility itself and co-creation of co-funded projects for increased ownership and effective projects that deliver development impact.

Commitment to funding and delivery through partnerships between organisations that have established relationships and those with complementary areas of capacity.

Shared purpose and clearly defined objectives.

Flexible and adaptive management practices implemented through very regular communication through varied formats.

Active risk management that is both well-informed and collaborative.

Monitoring focused on results and impact.

Creating feedback loops that ensure beneficiary feedback data can inform project management.

Integrating learning and communicating with purpose into programme strategy, project theories of change and funded activities.

Communicating clearly and effectively for consistent messaging using tools that enable strategic communications.

Using learning and sharing as a catalyst for continued adoption of proven good practice by a wide community of practitioners for sustainable impact.

Using social media effectively for wider outreach of the messages across the community of practitioners.

Effective management can enable the achievement of high value results even for short duration programmes which do not have a very large budget. VSCF has demonstrated that the value of such programmes can be enhanced through sustaining effective partnerships, sharing lessons widely and communicating strategically.

Partnerships are critical to achieving the Global Goals as the public funds are getting tighter. The sum total of a partnership is greater than the sum of its individual parts. However, partnerships need care and attention throughout the start-up, delivery and close out phases. VSCF demonstrates the strength of these partnerships where partners have not only committed and acted for now but also expressed continued commitment for future action beyond the projects (as evidenced from the wrap-up workshops, End of Programme Conference and the positive response to the ImpAct report survey).

Effective partnerships need trust, clarity and flexibility. Trust is built over time like a sequential game. VSCF shows how this can be done effectively by setting a solid foundation at the design phase and building on it through-out the implementation and close out phases by delivering on the FCDO and FM part of the promises, which solidifies partnerships as these mature.

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VSCF Vision “To enable vulnerable people and supply chains to recover from and remain resilient to the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, by leveraging the reach and influence of responsible businesses through partnerships.”

VSCF Mission “To enable recovery and resilience from the COVID-19 pandemic by forming strategic partnerships with global businesses. Working within supply chains in Africa and Asia, we will test and scale approaches to provide additional health and safety support, increase incomes, safeguard jobs, and ensure continuing access to markets.

We will support vulnerable people within supply chains to recover from COVID-19, and support responsible businesses to build on these experiences to become more sustainable.”

For further information please contact: Mehnaz.Bhaur@mottmac.com

Business Partnerships for Global Goals is a UKAid funded programme implemented by Mott MacDonald, with support from Accenture Development Partnerships and IIED. We partner with UK and international retail brands, not-for-profit organisations, farms, and factories to provide economic, social, and health benefits to around 1 million vulnerable women and men impacted

by COVID-19 in Africa and Asia.

Mott MacDonald Limited.

Registered in England and Wales no. 1243967.