WASHINGTON, DC | March 24, 2014 - This week on BIZ+SOCIAL, we bring you the best from New Global Citizen, Devex, The Diplomat and more.

GLOBAL PRO BONO

Joint Initiative for Village Advancement Yields New Possibilities in Rural India

In September 2011, Sam Allen, Deere & Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, led a team from John Deere in a week-long corporate service experience in Rajasthan, India. Rolling up their sleeves in the high summer heat, the John Deere team spent seven days working alongside smallholder farmers in three rural villages. Despite the challenges created by garbled translations, cultural diversity, and a world of other possible differences or obstacles, the John Deere team used the universal language of hard work to connect with those most closely linked to the land. According to Mara Sovey, Director, Corporate Citizenship Center of Excellence, John Deere, and President, John Deere Foundation, that week was a transformative experience. “During that week, we did more than simply harvest black beans, cut fodder, and build livestock feeding bins with these farmers. We began to create a strong connection to the local farmers, their families, and their communities. We began to see—and feel—the challenges they face.” Despite representing many different corporate functions and originating from many of John Deere’s global operations, members of the John Deere team had two things in common. Read More...

IMPACT & INNOVATION

Harnessing Employee Generosity and Corporate Philanthropy for Greater Global Impact

During the 20 years that I have worked in international philanthropy, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many developing countries to see with my own eyes the problems that I was working to address. I’ve seen devastation caused by HIV/AIDS in Africa, the hopelessness of poverty in Asia, and the aftermath of natural disasters around the world. In each situation, I encountered many hard-working, dedicated people from a variety of organizations doing their best to make the world a better place. Likewise, in each situation, I saw a great opportunity for corporations and their employees to expand and accelerate this important work. According to Giving USA, an annual report on philanthropy in the United States, overall corporate giving grew from $16.2 billion in 2011 to $18.8 billion in 2012. The importance of corporate citizenship, or CSR, has increased over the past decade and, along with it, corporate giving. This increase is especially remarkable since other areas of philanthropy saw little to no growth during the same period. So, given that funding for CSR initiatives is growing, what factors are driving these investments? The answer is surprising. A recent study, commissioned by Global Impact and performed by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that, when determining how to spend CSR dollars, many corporations used the same top three factors to evaluate their decisions. Read More…

LEADERSHIP

Partnerships Roadmap: 5 Key Action Areas for Improvement

Public-private partnerships are increasingly part of the development toolkit, but most involved agree that there is much room for improvement in how partnerships are created and scaled up. This is why The Partnering Initiative is releasing on Monday a new report that lays out five key steps that can lead to more effective and scalable partnerships, and seeks feedback from stakeholders to come up with more recommendations in the future. “There has never been a time when partnerships have been so far up the development agenda,” said TPI Executive Director Darian Stibbe, adding that as a result, there is a tremendous burden on businesses and partnerships to deliver on development outcomes. The full report is available for review and the organization would like opinions, comments and questions so they can improve the survey. Stibbe said he hopes the consultation will lead to a more robust, practical and applicable roadmap in advance of the April meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. The report focuses on PPPs for development — which it defines as unregulated partnerships where the private sector and government, international agencies and/or NGOs combine resources to achieve development and business outcomes. Read More…

CITIZEN DIPLOMACY

Tapping into the Global Generational Pool

Times are changing and the competition between businesses for the brightest and talent is going to get fiercer in the coming years. As many economies face declining birth-rates and aging populations, the shortage of skilled workers is set to rise. This means that companies who intend on expanding and sustaining their competitive advantage on a global scale will increasingly have to battle it out to attract the best up-and-coming talent in the harshest talent climate. To access the best from the global generational talent pool, businesses should be prepared to understand what makes each generation unique, employ innovative strategies such as virtual platforms, and have the ability to manage flexible teams of remote employees. Working abroad still remains a driving factor for many talented individuals aiming to enhance their career development. However, understanding what makes each generation unique could better prepare recruiters and organizations to source the best of the best talent. In a report released by PriceWaterhouse Coopers on Talent Mobility by 2020, three generation of workers—be it the Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials—will have various career and remuneration expectations that will result in their different mobility practices. Read More…

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Time for Social Entrepreneurs to Share the Spotlight

Visionary. Self-confident. Utterly committed to their cause. It’s easy to see why social entrepreneurs are beloved by politicians and journalists alike. I’m enthused by them myself. Only last month I was bowled over by Locality, a membership organization of more than 700 community-run social enterprises. Since starting two years ago, it’s become adept at working with its informal network of community activists, and social entrepreneurs to spread ideas and knowledge across its network rapidly. From snapping up “heart-of-the-community” pubs (Brits prefer to overindulge in groups!) to persuading councils to use recent changes in legislation to take back derelict buildings for community use, Locality is riding the wave of community ownership with aplomb. It creates downloadable guides and tools that local activists can use to kick-start campaigns to bring neglected buildings back into the community. A couple of hours with the team, and a world of possibilities opens up. Its members fund projects through a range of means, including council grants, sales of properties to housing associations, and funds from charitable trusts and foundations. Inevitably, many of its achievements rely on the hard work and goodwill of volunteers. Read more…

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