What we think

Happy ReNew Year from Ethicore

15th December 2021 Posted by: Ethicore

This year we have worked with remarkable people and organisations striving to positively impact people and planet. People going above and beyond to creatively explore regenerative business, sustainability in food retail, tax reform and anti-corruption, support for communities with HIV/AIDs, housing access, universal WASH, sustainable pulp and paper, global health and sustainable development. It is a pleasure and a privilege to collaborate on such missions.

We hope that 2022 renews the energy, support and commitment to make a positive impact – whatever you do.
Happy ReNew Year!

This year, your seasonal message is in support of:
EMMAUS – a homeless charity offering active support to formerly homeless people and those at risk of homelessness.
DEC Coronavirus Appeal – Supporting people who are vulnerable and where vaccination rates are low.
Independent Food Aid Network – working so that everyone can afford to buy adequate, healthy, nutritious food.

Rachael

Disrupted Development Funding 2030

2nd September 2021 Posted by: Rachael

Of the image the photographer said: "During our road trip on highway 66 we stopped at a local shop and I spotted in a dark corner this old map with pins and currencies left by visitors from all over the planet."
With thanks to Christine Roy and Unsplash for the use of the image. She interestingly informs us that the image was taken “during [a] road trip on Highway 66 [when] we stopped at a local shop and I spotted in a dark corner this old map with pins and currencies left by visitors from all over the planet.”

As the damage of the pandemic continues globally, with 100 million more people pushed into extreme poverty1, the disruption in development funding is in critical focus.  Devastating cuts to aid are already being felt.  Fundraisers are adapting to the shift in aid spending and seeking routes to close the immediate funding gap.  Once seen as an area for exploration, the ability to unlock development finance is now essential. Significant not just to access established funding from institutions, but to close the gap to the ambition of the SDGs. 

The environmental movement has demonstrated that leveraging finance can mobilise large scale climate investments. The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development leverages institutional funds from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with leadership of the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, and WWF2.  Or the Blue Impact Fund from WWF and Finance Earth, focuses on the UK sustainable Blue economy.  NGOs are benefitting from private finance to pursue their missions. 

Development Impact Bonds (DIBs) show how finance can help tackle development challenges, with government funding to underwrite the outcomes.  The British Asian Trust is demonstrating results after two years of running the largest education DIB the Quality Education India DIB.  While still not mainstream, and technical to set up, the leading DIBs indicate this is a credible funding route, alongside other finance mechanisms. 

The challenge for INGOs is to speak the language of finance and build the capacity of institutional fundraisers or new teams to operate in this space.  Sharing capacity with global partners and moving beyond ideology will also be needed.  It is time to be bold to regain losses and boost progress on Agenda 2030. 

By Annabel Marks and Rachael Clay 

Footnotes

1ODA in 2020: Key facts from OECD DAC preliminary aid data – Development Initiatives (devinit.org) 

2 Dutch Fund for Climate and Development is supported by Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO, working with WWF and SNV. 

HOPE for 2021

16th December 2020 Posted by: Rachael

This year we have been privileged to work on: forests, decarbonising transport, WASH, best practice in HIV programmes, creating global prosperity, making nature pay, the future of work, tackling tax and corruption and improving shelter and housing, with some of the highest impact NGOs, funders, corporates and institutions.

 

Through turbulent times we have seen some of the best of human nature.  We have seen partners sensitively adapt their plans, funders increase support, collaborators solve problems and organisations prioritise issues and purpose.  It gives us hope for 2021.  Hope for a commitment to tackle climate change, action on inequality and true collaboration on the SDGs.

 

Here’s to 2021.

 

HOPEv3

 

Strong Team Canvas

24th April 2020 Posted by: Ethicore

Re-Group with a Strong Team Canvas

At times of crisis it helps to re-group and strengthen our teams.  Whether our core team, project teams or partnerships; teams that are new or existing; taking time to sketch out a team canvas can be an energising and empowering team activity.  A team canvas effectively captures ‘my team on a page’. It is a great tool to reset your scope and focus.  Here is a quick guide to developing your team canvas.

 

Ethicore Team Canvas Template_1

VISION – What does success look like?  Let’s get specific about the outcomes you want to see and in what timeframe.  This can be short – medium term in times of crisis.  I ask people to visualise this in a picture/description and take it from there.

 

PURPOSE – This is fundamental.  What are we here for?  Get to the real contribution your team are making to the goal: funding, increasing impact of interventions, etc.  Keep asking ‘why/so what?’ until you get there.

 

VALUES – Keep this to 5-7 key values.  They shape the way you deliver your purpose.  For example: being evidence-based or working in partnership with others.  Whatever they are, you they should clearly affect the way you make decisions or operate.  Explore what values look like in your team’s day to day work?

 

TEAM GOALS – You have set your timeframe in your vision, so what are the SMART goals to get you there?  Ask the team to bring their own personal goals and add them to the team goal.  Keep adding the £s, people, impact, influence until you have a rounded team goal.

 

TEAM OFFER – The special sauce of any team.  Start looking at the strengths and assets of the team.  It is worth taking time to really get this right.  Ask others to feedback – what is the value-add of our team?

 

PRINCIPLES AND EXPECTATIONS – Set out a clear scope for the team with roles and responsibilities.  We start with what you do and don’t do, to begin to flush this out.

 

WAYS OF WORKING – Focus on what really makes a team tick – how you make decisions, communicate, who you work with, etc.  Check through some of the issues and gaps, to make sure everyone is clear how you work.

 

This is a great team activity that can be done virtually, with teams visualising, sharing, adapting, editing.  Sketch it out in your first session, then build the fuller picture until you have a team canvas on a page.

 

Contact me if you want more detailed advice, particularly for rapid project/partnership team activities in COVID-19 related response.

 

Rachael Clay

 

 

VIRTUAL PRODUCTIVITY

13th March 2020 Posted by: Ethicore

Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash

Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash

COVID 19 – Accelerating our virtual productivity 

Turning social distance in to social productivity

COVID19 may be leading to travel bans and cancelled events, meetings and workshops, but it doesn’t have to reduce our productivity, social connection and interactions.  Virtual sessions can be even more productive, not just saving travel time and carbon, but getting deeper and more focused interaction with our teams and peers.  The key is in planning and preparing for productive sessions, and actively facilitating our interactions.  We have been developing virtual engagement for years now and have been asked for ideas for virtual team engagement.  Here are some of the learnings to be as productive as possible, virtually…
 

1. Design and facilitate sessions to be productive and responsive to need. 

  • Sessions need to be planned in advance and actively facilitated.  Bring in others from your organisation or professionals to help, where necessary.  It can make things more fun and productive, and build confidence of others to do the same. 
  • Consider what you want to get out of the ‘session(s)’ and what the participants need. 
  • Design sessions for their purpose: the activities, tools, inputs, discussion flow, technology and timings.   

2. Structure sessions with different techniques to respond to different needs 

  • Consider all channels of communication, collaboration and engagement from webinars, shared working documents, team zones, chat, calls, video, etc. 
  • Vary your approach between sessions.  Try things and fail.  We need variety to keep present and engaged.  If people are multi-tasking, productivity will drop.  So adapt and design for full engagement when their presence is required. 
  • Take time for the team. People will need their dose of personal social interaction.  Giving time for less structured team discussion can help.   
  • Use collaborative tools to work together online.  Set up working documents/propositions and work on them live.  It’s an opportunity to work together, not just talk/meet.  It makes conversation real.   
  • Try team working tools to avoid information overload.  People don’t need to be included in everything.  New tools allow you to check in to the latest discussions on an issue without excessive emails.  Keep communicating. 
  • Broadcast updates only where appropriate.  They can be live and/or recorded for people to check in their timezone.  Remember – not everything needs to be live, especially if it is about information sharing. 
  • Keep comments and feedback open.  Allow for feedback and discussion through comments/chat for a couple of days to get maximum input.  Encourage interaction between people and teams (not just with the ‘host’). 
  • Structure text based conversations in live documents (up to 20 people live) and in living documents – that gather feedback over days.  It is massively productive, allowing multiple people to respond simultaneously, not waiting in turn to speak.   
  • Use conversation/conference calls to discuss key issues that are emerging but not to get all the opinions out there, i.e. don’t rely on conference calls to get stuff done. Conference calls work to where you want to discuss the issues or to build on ideas.  It’s the builds that matter. 

3. Get your housekeeping in place so that people are prepared to be productive. 

  • Ensure people know to be logged with the right tools.  For example, people need to be logged in via their computers for working sessions so that they can fully interact and contribute. 
  • Be clear in advance if video is necessary.  For example, if you are working on documents, ask people to keep cameras off so they can focus. 
  • Be clear in advance if audio is necessary.  It might be better to focus on a text based conversation at times. 
  • Not everything needs to be live.  Be clear about that.  We have enough FOMO (Fear of missing out) already, so it is important that people know they don’t have to be in all sessions.   
  • Give clear deadlines for inputs/feedback so that people know they have flexibility to respond in their own time.   

4. Develop access and use of available technologies.   

  • Use all the functions of your available technologies to the full.  We often haven’t explored their full capabilities.  I don’t take a position on tech – you can use a  mix of tools, even in one session (conference call, shared document, chat, etc.).   
  • We need to make sure that our partners and participants have the necessary access and technology to be able to engage.  Support them where necessary.    
  • There are new tools that could make conferences and events even more productive than in person, allowing even greater transparency of participation and many of the same session formats, e.g. https://hopin.to/  It is worth investigating such creative tools, to enable participants to find and chat with each other without relying on serendipity. 

If we want to be carbon neutral and deliver the SDGs then using the COVID 19 crisis to develop productive virtual working is critical. Virtual sessions can be energising, insightful and creative.  There is potential to lower our carbon footprints and increase our productivity, if we plan for productive sessions using creative techniques and supportive technologies.  Let’s embrace change while we have to.