/ 16 April 2010

Collaboration is key

At the heart of many of the most successful Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives is collaboration.

At the heart of many of the most successful CSI initiatives is collaboration.

Building mutually beneficial relationships is hard work, but delivers more value than financial donations alone.

‘It’s not about writing a cheque and handing over a plaque,” said Francie Shonhiwa, CSI Manager at PPC Cement in Trialogue’s 2009 CSI Handbook, ‘It is about building relationships with the intention of influencing change.”

In many ways, this approach to creating sustainable CSI partnerships echoes the Walk Together scenario drawn up by the Dinokeng Team.

The most hopeful of the three Dinokeng Scenarios, Walk Together envisages civil society, private sector, unions and government deeply engaged with each other in a relationship that, while challenging, is about listening to each other so as to deliver on the expectations of all parties.

A social pact emerges between government, business and citizens to tackle core social delivery and economic challenges. Co-operation is the linchpin of a situation where each party respects the others’ strengths and strives to show leadership and accountability in their area of expertise.

The Walk Together scenario calls on citizens to organise themselves and demand government accountability and on political leaders to engage citizens and strive to be affective. Increasingly, NGOs, citizens, business and government are working closer together in more complex relationships, leveraging each others’ strengths to make enduring impacts.

Creating symbiotic relationships is not something that happens through money alone, but is about giving time, offering skills and building trust.

Among businesses, more than 60% of product and service donations are not included in the CSI budgets reported, and if one considers that, according to Trialogue research, R5.1 billion CSI spend is accounted for, the financial value of this unmeasured collaborative giving is likely significant.

This is not to mention the additional benefits of sharing non-financial resources: strengthening partnerships, building brand awareness, reducing waste, building capacity and motivating employees.

By collaborating with a strategically chosen partner, the range and impact of initiatives can be so much greater. For example, the Vodacom Foundation has begun deepening and expanding its partnership with Cell-Life, an NGO that helps and educates people affected by HIV and Aids using a variety of interventions through their cellphones.

‘Our existing partnership with Cell-Life is developing and changing form in a positive way,” says Mthobeli Tengimfene, Executive Head of Department: National Projects at the Vodacom Foundation.

‘On the Vodacom Foundation’s tenth anniversary we looked back and analysed what we were doing. We realised we were not fully utilising our resources and the power that we have to harness other partnerships to enhance the impact and sustainability of our projects.

Our approach to government now is that we want to use our resources to strengthen what government is doing. We have made a decision to move away from giving money and towards delivering solutions.”

The Foundation recognises that Cell-Life’s platform aligns with Vodacom’s core competencies. For Cell-Life, Vodacom’s infrastructure extends the NGO’s reach and ability to deliver consistently, exposing more citizens to their HIV support services and making the wide-scale systemic impact they’re aiming for.

Together, the Vodacom Foundation and Cell-Life support the work of the Department of Health, to improve HIV prevention campaigns and the efficacy of clinical treatment.

At the Trialogue Making CSI Matter Conference we will explore the value of appropriate non-financial giving, finding and sustaining common ground between partners, and supporting the work of government in developmental initiatives.

Peter Benjamin, the Managing Director of Cell-Life, and Mthobeli Tengimfene from the Vodacom Foundation, will discuss their processes around engaging each other, the complexities and potential of offering non-cash support, and the challenge of aligning the NGO, the Foundation, the business and government.

The Vodacom Foundation and Cell-Life collaboration case study will be complemented by other examples of successful ‘walk together’ partnerships. Held in the spirit of the Walk Together Dinokeng Scenario, which encourages both robust debate and strong leadership, this is sure to be a lively mid-morning session at the conference.

Key session: Walk Together case studies: Wednesday 5 May: 09h30 – 11h15. See the programme for more details. www.trialogue.co.za