Inclusive Business Models

What do we mean by inclusive business models?  We are focusing on “more inclusive” as meaning supply chains (or markets) that are able to achieve greater development impact (along with commercial viability) by have policies and practices that make them more accessible to small scale producers (particularly low asset farmers, women, and minority groups) and more stable, durable, and beneficial.

We have two major questions that we are working on:

• What are we learning about what suppliers business models, what specific policies and practices, what kinds of collaboration through the supply chain can lead to greater inclusively and under what conditions?  What are we learning from the failures?

• From the research and thinking together – what can we say in terms of useful guidance for suppliers or SME’s that interface with small scale producers?  What can we say in terms of useful guidance for lead firms creating incentives / support for those suppliers?

Performance Measurement

How can we measure livelihood and production conditions in ways that are affordable and scaleable?  How can we improve decision making at all stages in the supply chain based on better transparency of conditions?  Can we track progress and improvements from inclusive business model efforts?

 

Activities:

• Developing guidance for organizations for how to develop a performance measurement approach

• Collaborating with COSA, ISEAL, RA and others to develop common approaches to common practices (where possible and appropriate)

• Finding and sharing cases that illustrate costs and benefits of different approaches

Public Private Partnerships

How can we ensure that private-public relationships in agriculture benefit poor smallholder farmers, especially women? Enough anecdotal evidence suggests private-public collaboration in agriculture can reduce poverty and have a multiplier effect for all the stakeholders involved. However there is increasing concern that while PPP initiatives bring investment, they struggle to deliver beyond ‘business as usual’, rarely bring benefits to the majority of small producers or women and are not effectively held accountable to their poverty reduction goals.

 Activities:

• Build the evidence base on what works to improve the transparency and accountability of private-public relationships in agriculture

• Demonstrate the effectiveness of improved transparency and accountability through influencing the strategic priorities of a number of private-public relationships in agriculture

• To support learning within the development sector and influence how donors and Government use public finance to leverage investment in agriculture to reduce poverty.