Business and COVID-19 Respond, Recover and Rebuild Better

BUSINESS AND COVID-19:
HOW CAN BUSINESS SUPPORT
THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE?

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COVID-19 has impacted us all, but the most severe impacts are being felt by the most vulnerable people. On March 12 2020, we launched a programme to accelerate global learning and local action to support the most vulnerable people and enterprises in companies' value chains, communities and beyond.

Business and COVID-19 from Business Fights Poverty on Vimeo.

ACTION FRAMEWORKS

ACCESS FRAMEWORKS TO GUIDE ACTION ON RESPONSE,
RECOVERY AND REBUILDING BETTER.

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Harness your core business, philanthropy and policy engagement to support the lives, livelihoods and learning of the most vulnerable. Find out how, and access 200+ examples.

Use our Response Framework, Rebuild Better Framework, topic-specific Action Toolkits, and regular peer group and expert events to guide you.

Response Framework

Government leadership is crucial, but companies and civil society organizations also have a vital role in working together to respond to the immediate crisis and develop plans for longer-term recovery and resilience. This Response Framework, published in May 2020, highlights ways in which business can play a role, individually and in partnership.

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Rebuild Better Framework

While efforts are rightly focused on the immediate impacts, we need to start thinking about how to recover and rebuild, because action taken now will have long-lasting effects on people's wellbeing and resilience. This Rebuild Better Framework, published in March 2020, builds on the Response Framework to highlight ways in which business can play a role, individually and in partnership.

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A New Blueprint for Rapid Collaboration?

The National Business Compact on Coronavirus (NBCC) provided a platform for rapid collaboration in Kenya. Through analysis of NBCC materials and its work over the past year, a survey of those involved, together with first-hand interviews with key leaders, this report identifies ten key elements that were integral to its success, and that provide insights on the way organisations could work together to tackle future crises and challenges.

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Building Forward Better in Mining

This document seeks to explore the collective leadership of the mining and metals industry in rebuilding better in the wake of COVID-19. It seeks to connect the immediate crisis response to the long-term sustainable development challenges of communities and nations, focusing on practical action, and opening up new collaborative opportunities within and beyond mining.

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ACTION MAPPING TOOL

ACCESS TOPIC-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE TO INFORM YOUR DECISION-MAKING.

Businesses are stepping up in a variety of ways to support the most vulnerable in their value chains, communities and beyond. We map these against the Response Framework, to inspire new business action and collaboration.

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ACTION TOOLKITS

ACCESS TOPIC-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE TO INFORM YOUR DECISION-MAKING.

Gender-Based Violence

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘stay at home’ regulations, domestic violence and online bullying and harassment are expected to rise. What can companies do to support employees internally? What can they do to harness their core business strategies including marketing and innovation as well as philanthropy to respond to the increase in violence?

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Vulnerable Workers

COVID-19 has implications for all workers. Two huge groups of vulnerable workers are those whose health is at risk due to exposure to the virus, and those whose livelihood is at risk because they depend on export sectors that have ground to a halt. How can businesses support the most vulnerable workers in their value chains?

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Micro and Small Businesses

In countries with seriously constrained national budgets, weaker social protection systems and/or a large informal economy, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are particularly vulnerable. Even a temporary disruption to cash flow could prove catastrophic for these businesses. How can businesses support MSMEs in their value chains, communities and beyond?

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Handwashing and Other Measures

Until a vaccine is developed and comprehensive testing systems are in place, personal behaviors and hygiene will be essential to stop the spread of the virus. This includes maintaining hand hygiene, social distancing and other measures. How can businesses help raise awareness of these preventative measures?

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Rapid Innovation Through Partnerships

The urgency of mitigating the spread and impacts of COVID-19 has driven rapid innovation across many sectors, including health, manufacturing, and technology, among others. In many cases, a key has been partnerships, both internally and externally between companies and with other stakeholders. What can we learn about how businesses can foster rapid innovation through partnership?

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Supporting NGO Partners

Many NGOs are responding to a complex set of operational and business continuity stresses arising from the pandemic and from the efforts to contain it. The demands on many NGOs are increasing, just as their capacity to respond to those demands is being undermined. How can businesses support their NGO partners through the impact of COVID-19?

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National Collaboration Platforms

The solutions to the pandemic need an all-of-society approach that mobilises businesses and civil society behind governments' efforts. How can this be done in a focused, effective and rapid way, that brings together the key players and networks in a coordinated effort? What can we learn from efforts already underway in Kenya?

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Building Back with Better Jobs

This guide, developed with support from the The Lab Project at the International Labour Organization, aims to stimulate thinking and exchange within companies and external partners about what business models for more decent jobs should look like and how to mainstream these into business practice.

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A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING

ADVCE ON PLANNING DURING A CRISIS

This Guide is designed to help you plan out what to do, how, where, and when. Though this Guide can be applied in a number of different planning scenarios, it is specifically tailored to assist with navigating planning during a crisis; when traditional corporate planning processes may take too long or require too many certainties.

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EVENT RESOURCES

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Action Toolkits For Rebuilding Better

On May 7th 2020, we hosted this webinar on how we can Respond and Rebuild Better. Hear directly from the Action Toolkit authors regarding the resources available in the response centre. A summary of the online written discussion on May 14th is opening up the conversation to a wider audience and will be available soon.

Fighting COVID-19 in Kenya

On 9 April, we hosted a webinar with the Kenyan National Business Compact on Coronavirus, focused on actions being taken on the ground, and the lessons that can be learned by other countries

Action Toolkits For Rebuilding Better

On 26 March, we hosted a webinar with UNDP, McKinsey, the Connecting Business Initiative and Harvard Kennedy School, setting out the expected impacts of the pandemic, and the role of business in supporting the most vulnerable.

A dedication to the healthcare staff, frontline workers and unsung heroes who kept us safe during the pandemic.

About Us

WE ARE A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS PASSIONATE ABOUT BUILDING AN EQUITABLE AND RESILIENT FUTURE. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF BUSINESS TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIVES, LIVELIHOODS AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES OF THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES.

By curating purposeful collaboration, we help companies and their partners access the insights and relationships they need to unlock new opportunities for business and social impact.

With our world more interconnected than ever, driving system-level change for a better future will require us to unite across traditional divides and come together in fresh and creative ways.

Join us. We are Business Fights Poverty.

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