Business Partnerships as a Force for Good | Learning Series | Learning Brief 6 - June 2021

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

Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Building Back Better from the Pandemic Learning Brief No. 6

By Mehnaz Bhaur, Project Director, BP4GG Business Partnerships for Global Goals is a UK Aid 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, environmental, and health benefits to around 1 million vulnerable women and men impacted by COVID-19 in 7 countries across Africa and Asia.

COVID-19 and the resultant lockdowns last year were not only a health shock but continue to cause a major disruption to global trade and economy. Even before the pandemic, the financing gap to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals was estimated to be around US$3 trillion per year (UNCTAD World Investment Report, 2014). Public funds alone cannot fill this gap. Private sector action is required.

COVID-19 has pushed approximately 150 million additional people into poverty this year, 47 million of them are women and girls (World Bank Group, 2021) and has impacted supply chains adversely.

Agriculture and garments are two supply chains which are hit hardest and also employ large numbers of vulnerable people including women across Africa and Asia. Evidence shows that in a pandemic, the most vulnerable are impacted disproportionately more.

Not only do they suffer health shocks but also face reduced incomes, job losses, an absence of operational safety in workplaces, and lack of the means and tools that can arm them to weather such a challenge. For women, these consequences are more pronounced than for men.

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For ‘Building Back Better’ the most vulnerable people need targeted and smart action. Three key lessons are emerging from the pandemic and can apply to emergency response projects that aim to build back better.

Mott MacDonald | BP4GG | Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series | Learning Brief No. 6.

1. Balancing immediate support with longer term benefits In the case of a pandemic, time is of the essence and it is critical to deliver support to those who need it most, when they need it most. But what is equally important is not to get lost in the immediate needs alone.

Building back better requires balancing immediate response with an eye on the longer term so that the benefits of recovery are not lost over time. Recovery should lead to resilience and to sustainable development.

Therefore, the need to not only provide food, safety and health packages but also to provide the tools, skills and means whereby the most vulnerable people can continue to improve their lives over the long term.

Good ideas that stick and can sustainably add value to improving lives of the most vulnerable people is a critical element of building back better.

2. Continually listening, learning and adapting Evidence is central to designing relevant projects. But what is even more important is to be able to continue to deliver relevant projects. During a pandemic, the context changes very rapidly, on a monthly, weekly and, in some cases, on a daily basis. What could be a relevant intervention at the start of the project may not remain so relevant after a few weeks or months into delivery. Hence the need to continually check in with the target population during the implementation is greater for emergency response projects that aim to build back better.

Listening to the most vulnerable people during the project delivery helps undertake adaptive management and responsive course corrections which keep project activities relevant, leading to real results and impact.

3. Doing more with less Resources are scarce in an emergency situation. And urgent action is critical. There is a tenuous relationship between these two competing asks. To be able to build back better, the modality used for delivery needs to be one which can deliver more with less. Partnerships are, therefore, central to building back better. The need for coordinated action is even more relevant during times of crises like the pandemic.

When the government, private sector and the not for profit entities come together through partnerships, they deliver faster, wider and deeper impact which is critical for building back better. The sum total of a partnership is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Since partnerships between a range of players need time to build trust, leveraging existing relationships and using those as building blocks to a strong and lasting relationship can help reduce time to impact while delivering more with less.

Awareness raising sessions on nutrition in a factory in Bangladesh Photo credit: CARE International

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Mott MacDonald | BP4GG | Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series | Learning Brief No. 6.

Our Conclusion There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Staying flexible, responsive and adaptive to an ever-changing context against the backdrop of the pandemic can help enhance the impact for the most vulnerable people including women.

During the times of crises, multi-party partnerships can serve as a credible modality to build back better and can act as a force for good in the world yielding economic, social and environmental impact for the most vulnerable people in the global value chains.

Bangladesh

Ghana

Myanmar

Ethiopia Kenya Tanzania

Zimbabwe

Female farmers at CMS Mutira, Kenya receiving seeds for kitchen garden Photo credit: Partner Africa

Map of countries we operate in

Business Partnerships as a Force for Good Learning Series 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.”

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