Getting Combinatorial: Asia P3 Hub, One Year On

Asia P3 Hub
Jul 21, 2017 · 8 min read

by Christy Davis, Asia P3 Hub

Asia P3 Hub (People – Public – Private), hosted by World Vision International, is an open space for multisector collaboration. We tackle effects of poverty through partnerships across government, business and civil society to create solutions which multiply resources, break poverty cycles and benefit families and communities. With an initial focus area on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), the Hub launched in July 2016 at Singapore International Water Week.

Start at the bottom and work your way up!

In the beginning, there was an idea — a hypothesis that different sectors can find shared passion and common ground, sharing core competencies, benefits and risks to build equitable, creative solutions which produce a multiplier effect for all involved. Indeed, the hypothesis was that different sectors desired to come together — that they just needed an invitation, an opportunity, a safe space to meet new people and organisations. This percolated during my time as an MTSC student in its inaugural cohort of 2014–15.

Asia P3 Hub represents a new type of operating model for a large international nongovernmental organisation (NGO): a dedicated venture to bring the different sectors together to co-create market-driven solutions to development and humanitarian problems. The “secret sauce” for the Asia P3 Hub model and one of our core values is combinatorial innovation. Combinatorial innovation means that each stakeholder brings to the table their unique assets, be those financial resources, technical expertise, industry knowledge, people resources or networks. When combined together in new ways, this co-creation approach can yield breakthrough innovations to solve existing problems.

10 months since launching, we have learned a lot. 5 of our key learnings:

  • There is a need for a safe space. We regularly convene or facilitate events, workshops and conversations. Sparks fly (in a good way)! We know of new connections made and continued discussions for partnership which have nothing to do with the Asia P3 Hub. This is marvellous, and contributes to growing a resilient ecosystem of multi-sector champions and practitioners. Our growing community is reaching 500 organisations and individuals.
  • In the beginning was this idea — and then a proposal, followed by sufficient buy-in to secure seed funding to pilot the new idea. Then real life ensued! All concepts, theories, models and priorities conceived to launch this enterprise have been/are being revisited and validated as we have become operational. As a result, our strategy, targets, stakeholder engagement and priorities are stronger and focused.
  • Co-creation is an important core value. Co-creation allows us to learn from one another. It does slow the process, but creates mutually-valued outcomes which contribute to a solid foundation of trust and “social capital” and, we believe, a greater chance for the “staying power” of models, approaches, solutions and impact.
  • We speak different languages and live in different worlds. We are increasingly using a “language of pictures” rather than relying solely on spoken and written words. For example:
Equity is a core principle of partnership. What does “equity” really mean? Is it the same as equality?
  • Creative, shared-value partnerships of many kinds are also helping us build a robust and nimble model. For example, our partnership with The Partnering Initiative has produced our core partnering curriculum and methodology for multi-sector partnering. Collision 8 is a co-working space dedicated to creating an environment of innovation and collaboration. They host the Asia P3 Hub, many of our events, and indeed, “ideas collide” and new concepts are born every week.

We have benefited greatly from Singapore and Singapore-based businesses in building our Hub model and exploring ways to collaborate. The Combinatorials, a group of six advisors representing very different perspectives, has been a unique and invaluable partnership, working together since October 2015 to co-create the Hub design. (The Combinatorials are Hyflux, Proctor & Gamble, WateROAM, Akvo, Crazy About Water and World Vision.) A Very Good Company, a global social innovation agency, is helping the Hub build a measurement framework. Philips has been kind to share perspectives, experiences and lessons learned in multi-sector partnering, especially in Indonesia.

Shared-value partnerships are helping to build the Hub model itself — how we strategise, operate, measure, communicate, network, broker partnerships, offer business counsel and convene events. We are fortunate to partner with a number of entrepreneurs, social enterprises and small businesses whose creativity, expertise and nimbleness enable us to build and move in a more dynamic way. Finally, an important shared-value partner continues to be Singapore Management University, providing academic rigour, joint projects and access to their knowledge networks.

Partnerships and the Pipeline

With our initial scope focused on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), we have the benefit of being based in Singapore and leveraging the considerable resources available here for the good of the Asia region. Why does Singapore enjoy Hydrohub status? With over 180 companies operating along the water value chain, and with PUB, Singapore’s innovative and forward looking water agency, the country enjoys 100% potable tap water & 100% modern sanitation. Amazingly, less than 5% of water in Singapore is unaccounted for — one of the lowest in the world. (see note 1)

The first partnership facilitated by the Asia P3 Hub was between another global NGO and WV India. It began with an introduction at our launch last July, and produced a partnering agreement in India for a “soap in schools” project. Today, this is being implemented with other stakeholders in India.

Other discussions and partnerships in the pipeline include water quality measurement and sustainable filtration in Indonesia and India, water kiosks in Cambodia and the Philippines, affordable desalination (multiple countries), solar water solutions in India and Sri Lanka, access to clean water (multiple countries) — looking at solutions from a whole-of-value-chain approach which includes a wide variety of stakeholders.

What has pleasantly surprised us

  • The considerable desire to collaborate. This is not unique to any one sector, but the enthusiasm and interest — demonstrated formally (events) and informally (networking) — confirms there is a need for a neutral convener, a safe space in which to meet and explore how to “get combinatorial” and share core competencies and resources in new ways. Shared value (see note 2),while not a new concept anymore, is still a new operating model for most stakeholders.
  • The enjoyment of combinatorial innovation. Innovating together in a combinatorial way is less intimidating than trying to innovate from scratch. It takes the pressure off individuals and teams to come up with something completely new.
  • Combinatorial innovation is really hard work. We don’t see magic happening. We see people thinking hard, seeking to understand the problem, its impact, and how what they offer and contribute can be combined with other contributions for a multiplier effect. It is not organic or natural. It requires intentionality, commitment and creativity. We have filled many whiteboards many times over!

What is next?

We continue to transit from the initial idea into an operation with processes that evolve when needed. A small team is in place, and our strategic priorities and targets for the year are set. We have developed four primary operating models which we are testing with partners. We are finalising training and education resources which will help build partnering capability and capacity as we work together building and implementing solutions collectively with partners in countries around the region. A measurement scorecard is under development.

We continue to network, convene co-creation conversations, challenge labs and build implementation roadmaps.

We are excited to have co-founded with Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) the new Singapore-based Multi-Sector Collective, a group of 11 organisations and platforms actively working across multiple sectors. We are currently mapping the ecosystem of multi-sector actors across the Asian region to gain a better understanding of the activity, value and impact of these partnerships.

Cross-sector partnerships have been consistently identified in international processes (such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals) as an essential approach to delivering the post-2015 development agenda. There is now, more than ever, a need for collective action to bring about change we want to see in the world — fully cognisant of the complexity of the challenges, the necessity of systemic and transformational change, and the need to bring to bear diverse and innovative resources.

Lastly, we believe “open” is good. Embracing a mindset of generosity, abundance and kindness creates actions and an environment which enables cooperation and sharing. This mindset does not cause partners to receive less. These create a multiplier effect where everyone receives more.

In his 2016 essay, “Beyond a Scarcity Mindset: A letter from My Future Self”, Aaron Maniam encourages us to move away from a pure scarcity mindset.

He writes, “…resources like data, networks and relationships are ‘generative’ rather than scarce. The more they are used, the more of each resource we have; the better it becomes. Data begets more data, knowledge catalyses new knowledge, and the strong social capital underpinning relationships benefits from being carefully tended, much like gardens generate new life from periodic pruning.”

These words resonate with and undergrid the core values of the Asia P3 Hub — sharing our resources in new ways, ensuring mutual benefit and shared value, co-creating solutions — all these happen by people coming to the table with a generative spirit. In the same essay, Maniam so perfectly notes, “Generative resources suffer, not from overuse…but underuse.” (see note 3)

Leveraging and understanding multi-sector partnerships as a tool to provide mutual benefit in new, innovative ways requires us to pool our generative resources such as data, connections, relationships and creativity, get “combinatorial” to experiment and, with good judgment, take a risk toward a new future together in a shared mission to tackle effects of poverty, generate new economic opportunities and contribute to healthy societies.

This article was first published in Singapore Management University School of Social Sciences’ Tri-Sector 2017 Edition magazine. Download a copy of the magazine here. We are on pages 26–28. Visit their website for more information.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and may not necessarily reflect the views of her employer or organisation.

Notes:

  1. Source: PUB, The Singapore Water Story, April 2017
  2. “The concept of shared value…recognises that societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define markets. It also recognises that social harms or weaknesses frequently create internal costs for firms — such as wasted energy or raw materials, costly accidents, and the need for remedial training to compensate for inadequacies in education. And addressing societal harms and constraints does not necessarily raise costs for firms, because they can innovate through using new technologies, operating methods, and management approaches — and as a result, increase their productivity and expand their markets. Shared value, then, is not about personal values. Nor is it about “sharing” the value already created by firms — a redistribution approach. Instead, it is about expanding the total pool of economic and social value.” Porter, Michael and Kramer, Mark, Harvard Business Review (Jan-Feb 2011)
  3. Maniam, Aaron. The Birthday Book: What is Singapore’s Next Big Thing?, (M. Singh, ed.) Ethos Books (2016): 90.

)

Asia P3 Hub

Written by

An open space to spark and incubate shared-value, market-driven solutions for transformational change. http://asiap3hub.org/

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade