The RISE Centres
RISE Centres – the core of our operations
Where we connect with our target partners
The HR&S Country RISE Centres are at the core of our operations. This is where all the different HR&S initiatives comes together as one.
- ROPE
- ActionInvest
- 22RISE
- CROSS
- REACH, FAST, SCALE, SERV
- RISEtalks
- RISEtrainings
- The Development equation
- RISEagency
The journey
- The journey towards a new HR&S Country RISE Centre starts when a country team is established and registers a for-profit HR&S Country Branch company.
- Funds are transferred to the Country company bank account by ActionInvest and these funds supports local entrepreneurs with business loans, who pay membership fees and interest. These entrepreneurs shall run solid businesses providing evidence based social impact. They become “RISEmembers” and are introduced to the HR&S concept through quarterly RISEtalks arranged by the Country Branch.
- ActionInvest also covers a minimum level of the obvious HR&S Country Branch start-up costs. The ActionInvest capital is never consumed but increases in size for every transfer, and this activity, with time, generates a profit for the local branch.
- This profit is the base for the creation of the RISE Centre. The RISE Centre is a physical location that brings together researchers, technicians, innovators, entrepreneurs, and other development stakeholders for training and coaching on the HR&S management strategy ROPE (Real-time Outcome Planning & Evaluation). Supported by ROPE our partners define their ambitions and their challenges, these challenges are then addressed together and through a set of steps our partners eventually implement procedures that ensures evidence based sustainable impact for development, while benefitting from institutional capacity and a profitable economy.
HR&S initiatives come together as one
The HR&S different initiatives come together as one within our RISE centres.
Our ROPE management strategy has four chapters (please find more details elsewhere):
- Design
Ambition, Outcome challenges, Planning, Progress markers, Base-line. - Implementation
Activities, Milestones, Output, Outcome, Sustainable impact. - Evaluation
Progress marker scoring, Testing the strength of evidence for impact, Lessons learned & Informed decisions. - Input
ROPE, REACH, FAST, SCALE, SERV, 22RISE management strategies.
Action10 & ActionInvest,
HR&S Country Branches & RISE centres,
Strategic partners,
Customer care.
Input
The design, implementation and evaluation are quite straight forward, we have lots of experience and our coaching is firm. The challenges comes with the Input. This is when all stakeholders have to meet, understand and respect each other in a win-win collaboration. There are few success-stories and thus little previous experience to lean on.
The HR&S Development Equation (DEq)
The HR&S Development Equation compiles the different categories of stakeholders and how to compiles during the design phase the size of risk that each stakeholder is willing to take with their investment, in relation to the expected gain. The stakeholders are the financial investors, the international managers, the country managers, the Programme Manangement Partners / entreprepneurs (PMPs), the Target Partners (TPs) and the customers.The investment are finances, work hours, knowledge and expert advice. The gain is financial profit, social good and sustainable development.
We have established HR&S local branches & RISE Centres in Sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Location
- Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
- Kenya, Nairobi
- Liberia, Monrovia
- Nigeria, Abuja
- Togo, Lomé
- Rwanda, Kigali
- Uganda, Kampala
- Zambia, Lusaka
The long-term goal is to have physical locations for each RISE Centre. This cost must be covered by the profit generated by the country branch.
RISEtrainings
HR&S Country Branch members that have special skills may want to provide HR&S RISE trainings.
- Kelvin in Kenya – social media marketing
- Sylvia in Zambia – accounting literacy
Operations
- The HR&S RISE trainer develops a tool-kit, a presentation material and an agenda with an examination. The examination is an oral presentation by each participant on a topic presented during the training.
- HR&S uses its network to announce the opportunity.
- Participants signs up and pay EUR 10 per person to their own Country Branch.
- Training is performed on-line and HR&S Sweden provides a zoom link.
- Participant who passed the exam is rewarded with a diploma (sent by e-mail).
- The trainer keeps track of who has paid, with support from the Country Branches, and who has passed the exam and distributes the diploma.
- The trainer keeps 50% of the income and the Country Branches keeps the rest.
- Each Country Branch keeps a separate ledger for the RISEtrainings to pay trainers from, and HR&S covers the income for the trainer when needed, avoiding transfers between countries.
ROPE _ RISE Centres
Background
HR&S has established HR&S Research, Innovation and Social Enterprising (RISE) Support Centres in Sub-Sahara African countries.
The Centres provide support to local social entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators to offer their products and services to the local community.
Each Centre has its own set-up, depending on the needs and the context. Besides the support programmes to the RISE members, the Centres offer consultancy, seminars and workshops addressing the HR&S practical strategies and ActionAreas to strategic partners.
Each Centre is always on a programme of capacity strengthening through weekly interactions with HR&S Sweden.
Ambition
Empower social entrepreneurs as well as researchers, technicians, innovators and sustainable developers.
The RISE Centre support team typically supports RISE members on the same topics as they are assigned to manage for the Country Branch: accounting, evaluation planning, impact assessment, marketing, customer surveys etc.
Our RISE Centre members, if in poverty, should come out of poverty significantly. In order to know what the members see as their solutions in their lives, this is one key question when initiating a collaboration.
Outcome challenges
Enough capital for loans
Access to capital to give out as loans.
Accountability
To run a business
Lack of understanding among RISE members of how to run a business.
To manage a private economy
Lack of understanding among RISE members of how to manage their private economy.
Company registration
HR&S Network management
Activity
ActionInvest campaigns
Support ActionInvest campaigns.
RISE member accountability
Develop and implement an accountability strategy.
- Agreements
- Branches and potential loan-takers develops a written agreement that are signed together.
- ActionTalks
- RISEtalks
- Monthly meetings with all RISE members jointly.
- The RISEtalks shall contain training as well as knowledge sharing among RISEmembers about their businesses, discussing the total amount of capital available for them to share and the level of paying back.
- The loans is paid only after a a potential RISE member has attended maybe three RISEtalks.
- Join procurement events
We only scale businesses that are already operational and successful. Reason being that Mzungu money are often considered a donation, and it is diffcult to know if the entrepreneur will be able to pay back the loan if the business is not already running. When it comes to provide small scale loans for example, we address such programmes that have already been implemented and add capital as well as training. Even within loan-giving programmes we only support businesses already running. If someone wants to receieve a loan but does not have a business, the person has to first start something, no matter how small.
Training on how to run a business
Evaluation planning
- Develop SfC roadmaps for all RISE members.
- Perform stakeholder analysis and stakeholder management.
- Compile the necessary data about RISE members.
- Support RISE members according to need.
- Performing programme evaluation planning training according to ROPE.
Impact assessment
- Perform customer surveys targeting i) research & laboratory management, and ii) social enterprising.
- Collect photos and videos with consent to be used for fundraising campaigns.
- Perform programme surveys with scientific evidence.
- Developing a survey manual.
- Micro survey management; Compiling baseline data. Compiling monitoring data and evidence according to TestE.
- Macro survey management; Compiling baseline data collected from the Programme management. Compiling baseline data collected from the national development plan and related information. Compiling baseline data collected from regional and international documents. Do state-of-the-art research benefitting from the scientific literature.
- Developing an annual Survey report.
Business management, Branding & Public Relations
- All aspects of business management in general.
- Programme public visibility. We benefit from PR management to protect, enhance, and build reputations through the media, social media, and self-produced communications.
- Performing an analysis on how our brand is currently perceived among supporters and customers, then proceed to plan on how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continue with ensuring that the brand is perceived as planned and secures its objectives.
- Connect the programme with the local community and share awareness about how this programme shall benefit the whole community. Invite the community member and leaders to make suggestions about the local benefit and sustainability of the programme.
- Assess the competition on the market.
- Develops stories for crowd-funding campaigns, with photos and videos.
- Share the link to crowd-funding campaigns on social media reaching out to the local and international community that may have an interest in that specific opportunity.
- Training
- Coach programmes on branding and public relations.
Laboratory Technician Adviser
Local advisers related to laboratory operations and accreditation can be assigned to the RISE Centres. The RISE laboratory technician advisers have the below assignments.
- Offer expert advice to RISE members linked to the HR&S Research management and Laboratory management programmes.
- Link HR&S to laboratories in the target country.
- Coordinate the country nodes of the HR&S Network of Technicians.
Accounting
- Overview and support the Branch team-leader with that contracts are developed and signed between the RISE members and the HR&S country branch.
Compile and store the contracts. Support the team-leader with ensuring that the content of the contract is honoured. - Overview that the bookkeeping of RISE Centre members is well managed and prepare for efficient auditing by the end of the fiscal year.
- Develop and give advice on internal financial control systems.
- Join when procuring items and ensure good and correct price in accordance with what is presented on the receipt.
- Accompany the survey management officer while performing surveys to collect financial monitoring data.
Auditing
The auditor is independent from the team of Operations and makes annual auditing of The HR&S local branch as well as each RISE Centre member.
- Accuracy of the bookkeeping according to international standard. Whether there is supporting documentation related to costs.
- Accuracy of that all funds related to the programme are kept at one separate bank account, agreed on by the Client.
- The accuracy of the monthly bank account statements was reconciled.
- Review if the outgoing balance for the previous period is the same as an incoming balance for the current period.
- Adequacy of internal control related to disbursement procedures.
- Follow up whether salary costs debited to the project/programme are recorded throughout the duration of the year in a systemized way.
- Examine whether foreign exchange gains and losses are disclosed.
- Compliance with the applicable tax legislation in regard to taxes and social security fees.
- Follow up whether procurement guidelines have been respected.
- Adequacy of internal control related to disbursement procedures.
- Review whether there is an unbroken chain of audited financial reports.
- Ensure communication around problems encountered.
Awareness raising on how to manage a private economy
Register a company
- Prior to company registration the programme can operate under the local branch company registration.
- Practical support with going through the business registration procedures.
Milestones
ActionInvest campaigns
Provide information about programmes to Action10.
RISE member accountability
- ActionTalks.
- RISEtalks.
- Join procurement events.
Empowering the HR&S four networks
- Researchers
- Technicians
- Social entrepeneurs
- Sustainable developers
Training Events
The training events targets our RISE members and is free of charge for them, as one of the benefits from paying membership fee.
As part of RISEtalks
by Country Branches
- The Country branches may want to develop a joint power point presentation, benefiting from the information available on HR&S website, and new information that they introduce to the team. The RISE operations team PR officer is in charge of the launching of training events.
- Locate a host during the start-up phase and arrange with good internet.
- The arrangements and lessons learned are discussed in the team-leader chat. The reason why it has to be separate is because the different businesses are very different, and we need to understand each entrepreneur as a family member, to be able to help in actual practice.
ROPE/ Lean business model
The ROPE Road-map is developed per RISE member to address progress for this RISE members exactly. We do not have to focus much on the method as such in the beginning but to use it directly. We go through slowly but firmly.
- What do you want ? – ambition
- What are your challenges to achieve your ambition? – outcome challenges
- What can we do together to address the challenges? – activity
- Who shall do what and when? – milestones
- Is the road-map developed useful? – outcome
- How do we measure progress? – progress markers
- Where do we want to reach eventually ? – sustainable impact
Expected outcome: Increased number of customers in actual practice.
PM: 10% increase after 3 months, 30% after one year. The RISE operations team evaluation planning and survey management officers are in charge of the training together with the team-leaders.
Accounting
A whole package of why business accounting is important.
1. Book keeping.
2. Advantages with bookkeeping.
3. Bookkeeping as important part of financial management.
4. Financial management, expenditure prioritization, and business growth.
5. Auditing and management report.
Reoccuring training
by HR&S Sweden
With examination and certificates for those who passed the exam.
The training events targets our RISE members and is free of charge for them, as one of the benefits from paying membership fee. Then also non-members are invited who pays a fee, this fee is a direct income to the RISE Centres, EUR 20 for non members (EUR 10 for students and non-employed). The focus of the biannual RISE training events are the members, arrangements are made to also serve non-members.
ROPE training by HR&S Sweden
- Annual training for researchers and technicians.
- Annual training for entrepreneurs and sustainable developers.
Thematic training by HR&S expert advisers
- Annual training for researchers on writing a manuscript. All participants have to bring a draft manuscript to work on and the progress marker is submission within two / four months after the training.
- Annual training for researchers on applying for grants. All participants have to bring a draft application to work on and the progress marker is submission within two / four months after the training.
Output
Progress markers
ActionInvest
Amount of capital raised.
Accountability
Entrepreneurs paying back loan with interest and in time.
Acknowledgement
Mr. Ramses HUTCHINS & Mr. Lionel GEORGE,
Thank you sincerely for your huge effort during the HR&S RISE Centre start-up. Your contribution to this team is what made it possible to be established. We will always remember. You have asked for nothing in return, but you have been working and you have delivered measurable results. Seriously. We are proud of you!
