Engagement: Partner - Scaling up solutions on plastic pollution

Engagement Term: February 2024 – December 2024

Reports to: Project Manager, Plastic Smart Cities - Manila, Business Engagement Coordinator, Plastic Smart Cities - Manila

BACKGROUND

WWF is implementing the No Plastics in Nature (NPIN) initiative that aims to work with various stakeholders to stop plastic waste leakage by 2030. Under this initiative, WWF is implementing the Plastic Smart Cities (PSC) - Manila City, funded through the TV Aksjonen. This PSC project is implementing interventions including, but not limited to, awareness-raising campaigns, baselining, stakeholder engagement, pilot of entrepreneurial solutions, support for the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), and policy implementation.

As part of the PSC-Manila project, WWF is piloting solutions to address certain aspects of the solid waste management system. These solutions are expected to have been piloted and are working towards scalability. They can be social enterprises and/or local organizations that have proven solutions for piloting in Manila City. For this, WWF called for solutions from March to April 2023, wherein we invited about 10 solution providers for the pitching session in June 2023. All seven (7) selected solutions have undergone due diligence and ESSF clearance as part of the requirements for engaging them for the pilot implementation.

WWF is aware that not all solutions to be piloted are ready to scale and would need support in preparing their financial and operations aspects as they plan to scale. The project will engage a consultant for 12 months to help provide financial and non-financial support for the 4 engaged social enterprises with the goal of preparing them for scaling. The consultant will lead the incubation of the 4 social enterprises while implementing their pilot projects in Manila City.

To onboard a consultant, WWF-Philippines will issue a call for bid for proposals for those interested individuals or organizations. Interested parties must submit an organizational profile and proposal with a budget and time frame. It would be good to include training designs as well. The call for proposals will start on January 18, 2024 and end on February 1, 2024.

SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

1. Executive Education

The consultant is expected to conduct Masterclasses and workshops delivered by industry experts and thought leaders. The masterclasses and workshops are aim to develop entrepreneurs’/solution providers' skills and competencies and enable them to drive organizational growth outside the Incubation Program.

2. Technical Assistance in Piloting

Parallel to all other components, the consultant will be supporting the entrepreneurs in their pilots to help reduce plastic leakage for the City of Manila. The assistance will cover the following aspects of the pilots:

1. Design - How the pilot is planned aligning with the desired outcomes
2. Metrics - What will be measured/monitored to indicate progress
3. Budget - How funds are being allocated and utilized for the pilot
4. Execution - How activities are being implemented

3. Mentorship

The consultant will provide guidance to the entrepreneurs throughout the Incubation Program and monitor their overall progress. This component
includes two modes of delivery:

1. One-on-one sessions with the consultant;
2. “Office Hours” to consult external experts on various real-time concerns of the enterprises in logistics, marketing, HR, data management, and labor/taxation, as identified through needs surveys with the entrepreneurs.

4. Coaching

The consultant will engage the entrepreneurs in a thought-provoking and creative process to maximize their personal and professional potential. The focus of this component is the entrepreneur’s self-development: setting goals, creating outcomes, and managing personal change.

5. Peer Learning

The consultant is expected to conduct group learning sessions where entrepreneurs share learnings and challenges to gain insights from each other. These will also take the form of workshops on leadership development based on emergent needs from Coaching.

6. Ecosystem Building

In this component, the consultant will connect the entrepreneurs to a network and environment that will enable them to scale. This component will take the form of a Sustainability Fair that covers ecosystem mapping to identify additional partners, funders, and clients, as well as a Demo Day to present the entrepreneurial solutions and their outcomes for plastic leakage reduction.

7. Financial and Legal Compliance Monitoring

The consultant is expected to conduct financial and legal compliance monitoring. This component is crucial for the enterprises to prepare for scale as it will cover their progress in corporate compliance, such as filing financial statements, tax returns, incorporation documents, government-mandated remittances, and regulatory requirements.

8. Assessment and Feedback Loop

The consultant will establish a feedback loop to evaluate the Incubation Program’s effectiveness in enabling the enterprises’ growth towards scale.

8. Documentation and Reporting

The consultant will work on the following:

1. Comprehensive Documentation: To create a detailed and organized record of the Training/Executive Education component, covering both online and in-person sessions, including session summaries, key takeaways, participant feedback, and session materials.
2. Analysis and Insights: To analyze the effectiveness of the training sessions, including participant engagement and learning outcomes, and provide insights for future improvements.
3. Accessibility and Usability: To ensure the documentation is easily accessible and useful for stakeholders, including project participants, organizers, and future training programs.
4. Engagement and Participation Tracking: To track and report on participant engagement, attendance, and feedback throughout the training program.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Entrepreneurs will

• Strengthen their entrepreneurial mindset
• Strengthen their bias for action and experimentation
• Practice a systemic planning approach
• Build leadership muscles

Enterprises will have

• Validated business model and a clearer understanding of their market
• Surface unknowns
• Learn from experiments with rolling out and scaling
• Verify the reproducibility of the model
• Gain Insights on key success factors for scalability
• Build their organizational infrastructure
• Build their team for execution
• Develop the beginnings of a playbook and manual of operations for expansion in other areas
• Generate financial statements

Learning outcomes for the ecosystem

• Insights on what works and what doesn’t work
• Key success factors for solutions
• Tailwinds and headwinds
• Engaging with an LGU

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE

Incubation Proper
Duration: January 2024 - September 2024
Description: Capacity building through training/knowledge input; mentorship; coaching; peer learning; technical assistance, workshop and reflection, and demo day.