Publication database

The report “Catalysing Change 2022” tells the story of the movement over the last two years and highlights the seven lessons of growing “catalytic networks”. This report is written for those who are looking to organise collectively for change, in particular, those who are seeking to exchange a competitive mindset for a collaborative one. It is designed to support leaders from all sectors – NGOs, non-profit organisations, social enterprises, businesses, government agencies, media and civil society – to work together to accelerate progress on the SDGs.

Since 2013, the G4AW programme has been supporting 25 partnerships in 15 countries in Africa and South-East Asia that have taken up the challenge to develop digital solutions, using satellite and geodata to improve food and income security at smallholder food producer level. The major lessons learned from the programme (about 8 years) are summarized in this new lessons learned publication. It focuses on the business-related decisions and the steps taken to move towards a sustainable business model and scale to other services and regions.

This snapshot report details how prioritising green and social enterprises delivers triple returns - economic, social and environmental – in both short and long terms. It analyses the status quo, gaps and potentials of green and social enterprises as well as the SME support landscape in different areas and locations. Building on in-depth SEED-conducted interviews with enterprises and enterprise support providers, green recovery contributions and support opportunities were identified to improve the existing support offers for green and social enterprises in a green recovery context.

There is a strong need for increased adoption of sustainable agricultural practices to bring the food from farm to fork while addressing three major challenges: feeding a growing population, providing a livelihood for farmers, and environmental protection. This is where decentralised renewable energy (DRE) technologies must play a key role. Moreover, as innovation in DRE-powered agricultural equipment and appliances steam ahead, their technical and commercial viability will improve further. Based on best practices from the 15 case studies, this publication makes recommendations for public and private stakeholders.

This report highlights opportunities for the private sector in Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS), including how to implement financially sustainable business models and recommendations for business. DCMS offer a huge opportunity to increase the productivity and resilience of smallholders and support sustainable food systems. 

This report explores how governments can benefit from collaborating with systemic social entrepreneurs, and the measures they can take to foster that collaboration. For each of these measures, this report outlines concrete recommendations and provides real-life examples of changes that governments around the world have implemented.

The Partnership Co-design Toolkit offers a disciplined approach to co-designing business models for resilient value chain partnerships. It builds upon MIT D-Lab learnings from designing and testing the P-ACT Conversation tool and SEED’s experience with their Entreprise toolkit; as well as an in-depth literature review of existing partnership design and facilitation tools.

What if world-leading organizations teamed up to develop, experiment with, and scale technology and business solutions to global poverty? This report is a reflection of the Practical Impact Alliance (PIA)’s journey and what MIT D-Lab learned from building and supporting the PIA network. The insights are also relevant for other intrapreneurs, practitioners, and network operators seeking to drive innovation, build capacity or foster collective action in the inclusive business or international development sectors.