Tom Harrison

Following a number of management roles in NGOs and the tea sector, Tom became an independent consultant focussing on private sector development and cross-sector partnership. He has completed assignments for, among others, DFID, GIZ, the World Bank and UNDP. For a decade Tom had a lead role in management of the Business Innovation Facility (BIF) for which he was Technical Director for which he supporting BIF’s work in Myanmar he was involved in supporting large companies to develop innovative business models that benefit people on low incomes. This year Tom has led new partnership development for the Work and Opportunities For Women (WOW) Programme and has undertaken a review of a market-systems programme in Zambia and an evaluation of a partnership between Oxfam and Unilever.

With thanks to the companies who worked with BIF

Innovation
India
South Asia
30. Jan 2014

We live in a world where it is very difficult to be completely transparent. Any organisation that might at some stage be subject to media scrutiny is coached in how to answer media questions politely but blandly. They also generate their own material, which is carefully designed to present the company only in a good light.

Perhaps in frustration, any misstep that a company makes and is brought to light, is then reported in an exaggerated way, and out of context, so that it can become a ‘newsworthy’ story. This causes a further retreat by a company from being transparent about anything that has not gone well.

Yet we know that we often learn most from our mistakes.

I therefore want to applaud the companies that have worked with the BIF team and allowed the rich learning from these experience to be shared over the life of the BIF pilot, and now in our final reports which we are publishing this week. It has been a privilege for me to be part of some of the journeys made by these companies. I have seen them at first hand as they have tried new ideas, been knocked back and then dusted themselves off and tried again.

Our final reports would not have been possible without the companies that we have supported, but also their willingness to learn and allow us to share that learning. I hope you enjoy the reports.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Read all the final publications from the BIF pilot here

Find out more about the BIF projects here