GSN — The Strategic Plan v1.0
The Executive Summary — December 2016
--
Strategic Context
The Domain in which we operate determines our focus and informs our strategy.
“Decent Work & Economic Growth. This Means Prosperity In All Its Forms And For ‘One And All’. The GSN Is Uniquely Placed To Leverage The Contribution Of The Faith Leaders To Bring About Real Change.”
“The GSN Is A Network For One And All — All The Members Working To The Benefit Of All Humanity. A Network That’s Not About Individual Glory But About Collective Achievement.”
Clearly Defined Accountability:
- To help all those (with valid initiatives) achieve the targets of Goal 8. (Not to create more initiatives)
- To help those with initiatives to connect and collaborate to achieve/create greater impact.
- Together with the members — identify the capabilities and resources they may need.
- To generate greater awareness and scale for these initiatives on the worlds stage.
- To be a central repository (platform) for the distribution of knowledge and wisdom — for the benefit of the members and in pursuit of Goal 8.
- To develop additional capability and contribution (and membership) through the development of larger scale gatherings. (Summits and Conferences)
Having identified gaps in the existing system we will build ‘Action Groups’ (from members, advisors and by calling on senior leaders to tackle these challenges and gaps across sectors — in particular holding to account those in key positions to enable ACTUAL change — (Government and Media for example)
A Definition — The GSN is a growing network of passionate people and organisations built on a ‘Platform’ of people, knowledge, capability and resources.
The Initial Sketch:
An Organisation Emerges:
The Platform
A scalable platform for ‘connecting’ and ‘collaborating’ that’s been conceived and developed by (and for) its ‘members’.
- A globally distributed system that’s constantly learning. A place/hub/exchange of idea and resources.
- A place and space for the direct benefit of the membership and in pursuit of scaling the impact and our likelihood of achieving Goal 8.
- A single point of truth for the initiatives across sector that are contributing to our response to Goal 8.
The People
GSN is a magnet for passionate and powerful people — other networks and resources that are already working to achieve Goal 8 or who can have a direct or influencing role on bringing the results we all want.
- It is uniquely positioned because of its constitution — that of the Multi Faith leaders. Leaders who not only helped to create the network but can bring the kind of pressure to bear on Governments, Media and Business.
- By harnessing all of this capability we expect to deliver the scale of change we seek.
- Members are both those with initiatives and capabilities. The roles the advisers and panels play are explained later in the document.
A Defined & Shared Aim
- To achieve Goal 8 through efficient Collaboration. (Connecting and Collaborating with all those working to achieve the aims)
- Together with members and advisors we identify vital areas that need urgent action.
- Where we identify weakness or opportunity to deliver Goal 8 outcomes we will — agitate, constructively challenge and disrupt generating senior level pressure and focus. (Promoting the required collaboration to achieve efficient outcomes) (Tactical Initiatives/Action Groups)
- As a result we will enable those at initiative level to make a real difference in these areas and help us to collectively achieve Goal 8.
The GSN — What It Isn’t
The GSN is not:
- Is not a fund raising platform for initiatives, it’s a platform to find and then encourage meaningful partnerships and collaboration.
- It’s not a talking shop — whilst it will encourage healthy conversation and debate the period of talking about ‘what’ is over — it’s now about how and when.
- It’s not a large central Organisation/Infrastructure or Investment body — doing the work of the initiatives.
- It is not in place to remove or deflect away from the importance and brand of each initiative.
- It’s not a mechanism seeking to take the praise or the fame of the initiatives but to make them famous so that they change the inequity attached to the targets of Goal 8.
The Strategic Plan
How Everything Works
ONE: Awareness Of The GSN Network
Reputation and recognition is generated by the work of everyone in the network. The network effect is self perpetuating. New initiatives will come forward as a result and as the word spreads. Those with initiatives are invited to bring their ideas to the platform for membership.
This awareness creates a ‘brand’ that can be used as required for the benefit of each member. There will be a website and all forms of social and traditional media — PR as the strategy gets executed.
TWO: Vetting Initiatives
We have a set of membership criteria — this will be published in detail soon. It will ensure that these are genuine initiatives and have already achieved a certain number of important criteria*.
* By way of example — there’s a business case, core resources, the proof or evidence of need, access to other resources of some sort, the ability to share the learning, an idea of measurement (what impact, by when, and against which targets within Goal 8. They have a network of interested ‘others’, some existing successes and they are willing contributors to the platform, it’s open and transparent principles and importantly what’s involved in inputting and maintaining their activities.
TWO-A. Vetting Resources & Capabilities Beyond Initiatives
Not every member is working on an initiative. Many members will be involved as an advisor, a specialist in a subject, able to identify investors or bring celebrity or leadership status to the benefit of the initiatives. They will also be asked to populate the register of resources on the platform and in so doing suggest their availability or capacity to help the network.
Initial Vetting Criteria:
1. The Idea. 2. The Detailed Description. 3. The Name Of The Introducer. 4. Which Sectors (Business/Government/Faith/Community/Media) Are Involved? 5. What Capabilities Will It Need? 6. What Capabilities Does It Offer? 7. What Goal Targets Does It Support? 8. What Impacts Will It Have? 9. When Will The Impacts Be Realised? 10. Is There An Owner That Will Drive It Through? 11. Is It Scalable? 12. Is It Already Ready To Scale? 13. Are You Willing To Openly Share (Insights/Experiences) Across The Network 14. Can you bring other networks and groups into the network? — There may well be more.
THREE. Identifying Great Ideas That Will Create Goal 8 Impacts
We fully understand that in some cases initiatives will not be that far advanced and they may be classed as special cases. These kinds of opportunities will be put to a subset of members with the capacity, capability of resources if they pass the important vetting criteria and everything will be done to see if they can be actionable.*
* Our strategy is not to flood the member network with great ideas. It would soon become a distraction for everyone and everyone is already busy. We seek great initiatives and capabilities that can be integrated at scale with others. But we will be very sensitive to great ideas that solve an unmet need and that can create a real difference.
The First Set:
The Global Index For Sustainability In The ’Fashion/Apparel’ Industry. Redefining The CSR Laws (California Transparency Act). Creating Goal 8 Centres (In Country Coordination). Creating The Organisation (Foundation). SOLD — The Movie (Endorsed). Enslaved — The Exhibition (Endorsed). The Freedom Seal — (Accreditation) (Endorsed). Creating A Tax On The Defence Industry (Action Group Possibly Required). Creating A Tax On The Financial Industry (Action Group Possibly Required). FRDM — (The Slavery Platform For Business) https://madeinafreeworld.com/business. The Slavery Platform http://slaveryfootprint.org/. Creating A Meeting For The Broader Faith Groups. World Slavery Day (Creating The Event). A Focus On Data Collection (Creating a core capability). The Youth Initiative — ( The Platform For Education, Mentoring & Partnering Solutions). Creating The Role Of Ambassador To The White House. Build The Vigilante App. Undertake The Research Into Robotics & The Implications That Occur. The 30 Day Instagram Campaign. Creating The Communications Program Beyond Podio. Focussing Media (Exposing crimes — slavery, human trafficking or child labor in violation of Goal 8.). Making Government Audit Its Own Supply Chain. (Action Group Possibly Required). Awareness Of Goal 8 Issues Incorporated Into MBA curriculums. A Campaign To Focus Business On Corporate Finance/Analytics Tools (Helping business analyze the issues around Goal 8)
FOUR. Membership As A Strategy
The Network will ‘officially’ accept and then adopt members and their initiatives into the platform based on the acceptability (vetting) criteria. All new members will input their content against the criteria and that means the platform is immediately able to display their credentials, capabilities and contributions to the rest of the network.
FIVE. Capabilities & Contributions
Members are encouraged to freely explore and leverage all the resources of the GSN. The assumption is that all initiatives want to scale and increase their impact, they will want to identify new or better resources and capabilities. These resources and capabilities* will grow as we identify those that are required and as new members emerge.
* Through the membership process all new members of whatever variety will populate the register of capability — they will be explaining what they can contribute to others as well as what they need from others. That’s true collaboration and connection. That’s how a network works.
SIX. The GSN Strategy For Making Progress
The GSN will be working on specific and evolving activities* all the time. The emerging idea is ‘Action Teams’ made up from the right people and capability. The team is built (from members of the network) to work on something that isn’t an initaive but would remove the barriers to change for everyone — in Government or across industries. It could be around Policy change — something that requires lobbying. These activities are designed to support the network achieve Goal 8 — adding real value to all members and their initiatives.
* Other examples will be around putting on global events, generating awareness, or forming ‘Action Teams’ within an identified area. Designed to go after a specific but crucial challenge that’s beyond the level of an initiative. In addition we see merit in creating an Action Team to specifivally focus all the value of a collective set of initiatives within one of the 12 Goal 8 Target Areas.
Another example* is The Goal 8 Index — this will give crucial metrics, trends and analytics about the progress we are making and the areas where we need to encourage more action. For everyone.
SEVEN. The Tactics Of Priming The System
In these early days the founding members are already rallying round to do what they can for many initiatives. As the platform becomes more self organising initiatives will begin to take their own advantage of the network of capability*.
* Our plan is to get the system in place as a fast as possible and ensure everyone registers their capability, their contribution and their profiles through the vetting process.
EIGHT. Our Platform Strategy
What Is A Platform? Apart from it ‘being’ our strategy — the widely used definition of a platform is -
“A business model that creates value by facilitating exchanges between two or more interdependent groups, usually consumers and producers. Exchange is one of the most fundamental parts of being human.”
For GSN Specifically:
- It’s the basis upon which to build (at scale) the value between us (human beings) and the resources/capabilities we need.
- It’s a system of connected ideas and capabilities that we would find too complex and impossible to handle without collective endeavour and network accountability.
- It’s a common model for ensuring our consistent and aligned achievements because there are agreed rules and standards that have emerged from our year long design phase.
- It’s both a reaction to and solution for disparate actions — making the sum of all activities add up to far greater value and achievement.
- The GSN Platform As Toolkit ** All The Tools In One Place. A fundamental pillar of our strategy is to provide ready access to world class tools and techniques. ‘The GSN Platform’ is both people and access to the ‘things’ we need — it’s where everyone will find capability and access to expertise and resource. This is highly valuable to us all and provides the tools and techniques that would be hard to get to or out of the reach of many. It’s a mechanism for The collaboration and connection we will need.
- Access To Mutual Value. It’s a place and a space where value resides. It’s fundamentally three things.
- It’s a global and accessible mechanism where all members can freely visit and stay up to date in ‘real time’ with everyone and everything that’s going on in the global network.
- It’s a place for conversation and to suggest their contribution to others and find resources for themselves.
- It’s a place to find the capability — whether that advice, facilitation, mentorship, investment support — everything we need.
- It’s a place to stay aligned and up to date with the necessary understanding of the achievements and progress of each initiative and the activities of the global leaders and the calendars of events that promote the aims and achievements of Goal 8.
NINE. Our Strategy For Widening The Net
By creating awareness (social media, word of mouth, networking) — engaging with more world leaders and influences — and by doing larger and larger events our reach grows. As that grows our resources continue to grow and deepen — more willing people, more networks, more volunteers, more capability, more members profiles/registers, best practices, initiative descriptions and progress measures.
Everything we will need and at scale. The GSN member toolkit will scale with it and it will be self fulfilling.
TEN. The Challenge Of Working In A Network
Networks work when (and because) everyone engages. If people don’t engage then the network has no value. Nobody is centrally capable of inputting the knowledge of its members.
It has to be the clear responsibility of a member to publish and maintain both the progress and requirement and the capabilities they bring. It is a condition of membership that everyone spends the time to understand how the platform operates and their contribution to its upkeep.
In a network and platform world this is not optional or negotiable.
ELEVEN. Watching For Clues
Encouraging the spread of our ‘Collective Intelligence’ will mean that we will see patterns — new things will emerge that should get done. The Platform will build rapidly and it will hold important insight — case studies — articles, research, trends, examples and evidence from experiences elsewhere, ideas and thought experiments. Because it enables conversations and suggestions about everything gaps (and therefore opportunities) will open up.
It has things in it that we haven’t though of yet. This has to be structured properly. We will all be watching and identifying where gaps or risks to our success will bubble up.
TWELVE. Our Technology Strategy
Exploiting Technological Advantage. The GSN Platform is technology enabled. As the exponential rate at which technology continues to equip and outperform us there’s probably never going to be only one way to do all this.
So we will start with what we’ve seen and get the database and the collaboration platforms up immediately. To begin with it’s populated by a few folk but very quickly it becomes the responsibility of everyone.
“It will work because it’s owned by every member. It’s not the responsibility of someone — or someone else’s job. It’s the sum of all our endeavours. It’s all our jobs…”
This platform approach, enabled by modern technology is the only way a Global Network can scale. No longer is it feasible (or desirable) to have a central function where decisions are made and everything gets done. A network means that work is done within/across the network.
That’s the whole point.
THIRTEEN. Making Every Member A Responsible Node In The Network
Historically, networking organisations fail because they rely on a few people at the centre to all the inputting and directional tasks. In a true network model tasks are completely distributable and actively taken up by those with the passion and capability — wherever that exists and the workload is spread more naturally.
“The challenge with early stage network models is that the network has to be populated by people who understand, care, are accountable — they know they have to own the responsibility to get things done…”
They communicate, they discuss, they share information and they are team players.
FOURTEEN. The Right People.
‘The People Who Care And Can Do Both.’ And those who dream and do. The GSN has been highly focused on identifying who these people are. They are the ones who’ve left their ego at the door. It is likely that this is not for everyone and for good reasons and that’s okay.
* The GSN is not about ‘doing things’ on the initiatives (that the initiatives should be doing) but making the valuable connections for those within the initiatives to find for themselves the resources and assets they need from within the network.
FIFTEEN. The Strategic Guide Rails
The Principles & Rules Of Strategy
The GSN will provide — the basic rules, the principles the guidelines — the suggested standards, the important indices, the frameworks we’ve created and the narratives that have emerged from all the work that everyone has done. It will continue to add to all of this right through until 2030.
This will be the handbook for scale and the guidance that ensures wherever you meet a GSN member or advisor that the story is aligned and the Vision and approach remain the same everywhere.
SIXTEEN. The Big Picture Calendar Of Events
We will increase intensity in order to leverage the impact of world leaders and expertise — wherever we can find it. Because of the unique nature of the network and the Faith Leaders impact on Government we can open doors others cannot.
The GSN will move to develop a much larger calendar of events — larger-scale conferences/seminars that will bring more awareness.
SEVENTEEN. The Panels & Advisory Boards
We will seek contribution and membership from more and more ‘leaders’. These will stretch and grow across every aspect we aim to cover and in all walks of life.
“A core pillar of our strategy is to spread the net. Our strategy is to create far wider and deeper geographic reach and capability of the network and the platform it sits on…”
*There’s no limit to the capacity of humanity to engage at this level — from celebrities to business leaders and to the countless others who’ll lend their names, resources and experiences to this.
EIGHTEEN. Stewardship
The GSN, having set up the platform, will encourage and keep a caring eye on its evolution. It will do what’s needed to support its growth and effectiveness. It will continue its work to create the awareness and scale at the heart of the strategy.
NINETEEN. The GSN Is All Of Us!
The strategy reinforces this simple point. There’s nothing in the way of everything in our strategy being added to and done by you. Whether it’s creating more awareness in your region, bringing in more resources and capability (that meet the standards set in the frameworks) — they all qualify.
Making the connections and collaborating by signposting others to the listed capabilities/resources/assets in the GSN platform — they all qualify.
There should be no barrier to everyone of us opening up to the possibilities. Inspiring a tidal wave of positive contribution to achieving Goal 8.
Introduction To Podio
The detail that sits behind the above is already being imported into Podio. It contains the key aspects, perspectives, categories and fields that we think will empower us all — to make a difference through our contributions.
This Is The Automated Submission Process — A Work In Progress — This Is The First Version.
There’s A Place For All The Information
There’s A Place For All The Endorsed Initiatives
It Works Everywhere You Are
On Mobile And Smart Devices
Made Easy And Automated By A Simple Submissions Process
Back To The Overview Document
