Reports Database

“Kopernik sent 992 d.light solar lights to Oecusse, Timor-Leste and worked with its local partner, Fundasaun Esperanza Enclave Oecusse (FEEO) to ensure these solar lights reached remote villages in the enclave.

Kopernik Fellow Michael Woon (October 2010 – January 2011) designed a baseline lighting survey, and worked with the FEEO team to implement it. Sally Bolton (January – June 2011) took over the baseline survey from Michael, and worked with FEEO to complete a follow-up survey.

Oecusse is an isolated enclave on the north coast of Timor bordered by the Indonesian territory of West Timor. Very few people in Oecusse have access to electricity and 92 percent of households rely on fuel-powered lamps (mainly kerosene) for light. FEEO staff conducted baseline surveys with 258 people who purchased solar lights. Follow up surveys were conducted with 55 people who had participated in the baseline survey. Typically surveys were conducted after people had been using solar lights for between two and four and a half months.”

“Since November 2014, Kopernik in partnership with Community Development Centre (CDC), has delivered over 200 d.light solar lights to last mile communities in rural India as a part of the Light Up Madhya Pradesh project. This project is ongoing and will distribute a further 100 solar lights to households, making a total of 306 solar lights at the project’s completion.

In June 2015, Kopernik Fellow, Philip Murphy conducted an impact assessment with the primary objective of identifying and measuring the effects of solar lights on the lives of people located in the last mile. This assessment involved interviewing 50 solar light users (25 percent of the total user population) and working directly with the local partner, CDC, to collect data.”

“Kopernik distributed 205 d.light S250 solar lanterns in Kenya’s Western Province in 2012 through a partnership with Action for Child Development Trust (ACDT). Kakamega and Busia counties encompass towns connected to an electricity grid and rural areas without access to electricity. There is a strong demand for solar lanterns in towns, where the electricity supply is unreliable, and villages, where people want to switch from kerosene to a brighter, cheaper and cleaner light source.

This impact assessment was conducted over three weeks in April and May 2013. Aided by ACDT, the information was collected from (i) 30 face-to-face interviews, (ii) field observations, and (iii) immersion in the local environment.

ACDT used its connections with local schools to market the solar lanterns. The lights were sold to individuals, community groups and one school on a first come, first served basis. Individuals paid a subsidised price in a one-off payment, while community groups paid market price and resold the lanterns offering payment in instalments.”

“Kopernik made 204 d.light S250 solar lights available to communities in remote parts of Atauro Island, Timor-Leste. Kopernik Fellow, Rob Weiss conducted a 3-week assessment of d.light solar light distribution by local partner Roman Luan. Rob, with the assistance of bilingual (English-Tetum) Roman Luan staff, took a ‘cluster sampling’ approach and conducted 33 interviews with people from 3 random villages, Makili, Beloi and Makedadi.”

“The Government of Indonesia is facing significant challenges to provide electricity to its population due to geographic and financial constraints. Off-grid solutions provide the potential for electrification in remote and sparsely populated areas. Solar lanterns are one example of an alternative lighting device for domestic consumption in remote communities.

This report was created as part of Columbia University‟s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) Workshop in Development Practice. The project was undertaken by the request of the client, Kopernik, who is currently implementing a solar lantern project in 3 villages in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The project is being executed in partnership with the local NGO, Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF). The objective of the report is to identify the need and initial impact of solar lanterns in 3 remote river communities.”

“Indonesia’s rural population faces significant challenges in accessing cooking fuels. The use of open fires and inefficient cookstoves degrades the environment as well as causes detrimental health effects for households. Poor households face substantial time and cost burdens from purchasing or collecting wood to use with traditional cooking methods. Additionally, the Indonesian government’s progressive reduction in kerosene subsidies
makes it more challenging to afford kerosene. Access to clean drinking water is also a challenge for rural and poor communities. Rural development challenges combined with Indonesian gender norms result in a lack of sufficient income generating opportunities for women.

Kopernik works to address critical development challenges through the distribution of lowcost, life-changing technologies to rural communities. In September 2011, Kopernik introduced the UB.03-1 Biomass Cookstove and Nazava Water Filter to selected communities on the island of Lombok, Indonesia. Kopernik disseminates the technologies through Pekka, its local partner organization. Through this partnership, women become
“Technology Agents” by selling the biomass cookstoves and water filters on a consignment basis. This program is intended to not only introduce the technologies to poor communities, but also to provide an income generating opportunity for poor women without the burden of taking on debt or risk. As of April 2012, 280 biomass cookstoves and 30 water filters were sold.”

“Kopernik partnered with local NGO, Haritika to distribute Greenway Smart Stoves in Madhya Pradesh, India. The cook stoves were made available at a subsidized rate of Rs.500 (US$9). Those from lower income families were given the option of paying this amount in installments. More than 80% of customers live on a monthly income below Rs.6,000 (US$108).

The Greenway Smart Stove has had a positive impact on peoples lives:

• 65% said it now took less than 1 hour to collect firewood (whereas initially only 12% of respondents took less than one hour to collect wood for the chulha); and
• 74% of customers rated the stove as “useful” or “very useful”.

The users particularly enjoyed the stove’s:

• ease of use (70%);
• increased speed of preparing food (10%);
• using less firewood and emitting noticeably less smoke than the chulha (20%).

One of the limitations of the stove that has been identified is its size when used in larger families of nine or more members. The customers pointed out that cooking pots for the family of this size tend to be too large to fit on top of the stove.”

“Kopernik introduced drip irrigation to 55 households in Kechla, India. Kechla and the surrounding communities are located in rural Orissa (an eastern state of India) in the KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) triangle known to be one of the poorest areas in India. We partnered with AuroMira Service Society (AMSS), a Delhi-based NGO to deliver the Driptech micro-chip irrigation system. Drip irrigation targets water specifically to crop roots, minimizing the use of limited water supplies and maximizing crop yields. Its benefits are particularly meaningful for farmers in Orissa state who have historically irrigated dry season crops by hand and juggle multiple jobs to sustain a basic living.”

“The Drink Up Bobonaro project in Timor-Leste started in August 2014 when Kopernik partnered with local partner, Hemetin Asaun Dezenvolvimento Edukasaun no Ekonomia Rural (HADEER), to distribute 480 Nazava water filters in Bobonaro district. The Nazava ceramic water filters remove microorganisms from the water and reduce the level of harmful chemicals, such as pesticides and chlorine. After filtration, the water is safe to drink and has a pleasant taste.

In June 2015 while the distribution was still ongoing, a Kopernik fellow, Imelda Wang, visited Maliana in Timor-Leste to conduct an impact assessment. By conducting household surveys, she identified the impact of the use of water filters on the lives of people who bought them. The impact assessment involved interviews with 54 water filter buyers (from a total of 115 buyers when this report was composed).”

“In Wales, between 300 and 350 people die from suicide each year. While causes of suicides are complex, we do know that there are factors which increase the risk for specific groups and individuals. These factors include poor mental health, deprivation, gender and alcohol misuse.

Suicide is now the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK, with 76% of all suicides in 2014 being men. Men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women in the UK and in Wales; the rate is at its highest since 1981. In 2014, 81% of all suicides in Wales were by men.

The link between socio-economic deprivation and increased risk of suicide is well established. Previous academic studies have shown us, for example, that men from the lowest socioeconomic group living in the most deprived areas are at greater risk of suicide than those in the most affluent group living in the most affluent areas. Every local area in Wales has a unique geography, economy, and population. It follows that a profile of deprivation and associated suicide risk will also vary between local populations.

The breadth of complex factors involved in suicide risk highlights the need for multi-agency and cross-governmental action. This is not a single task for any particular organisation or sector in isolation. It is instead, a local and national imperative and one that should be seen as a major and urgent priority in the national public health agenda in Wales. We must be able to give people the best chance to turn their lives around when they are struggling.

In Wales, we work to reduce suicide across our nation. We reach out to high risk groups and communities, we work in partnership with prisons, schools, hospitals and rail staff and we engage with Welsh Government and the National Assembly to influence policy and legislation.”

“Thread builds responsible, transparent supply chains from Ground to Good™. We invest heavily in the first mile of our supply chains – the individuals and areas where plastic bottles are picked up from the ground. The first mile of supply chains is an area often ignored and as a result, this portion of supply chains tend to cause ecological and human harm.

A recently released McKinsey report (see fig. 1) showed that supply chains are responsible for more than 90% of the environmental impact of products, leaving less than 10% of direct environmental impact in the hands of consumers.

Thread has also found that enormous opportunity for social impact exists in the first mile of supply chains. Often, the work at this stage is informal, unregulated, and difficult to monitor. The individuals involved are constantly evolving, making it difficult to track exactly who is responsible for the collection of raw materials. While there is a movement among apparel brands to become increasingly transparent and publicly list their suppliers, many brands are only able to list their tier 1 and maybe tier 2 suppliers. The places where goods are cut and sewn, or perhaps where the fabric is finished.

Textile supply chains are long and complicated. Before a fabric is finished, it must go through several processing steps and vendors who extrude, spin, knit and weave fibers together before it is dyed and finished. At Thread, we are proud to not only publicly list every vendor we work with to create our fabric, but the individuals who pick up the bottles that make our fabric as well. Until this level of transparency is commonplace, and this understanding of the first mile of supply chains ubiquitous across industries, social and environmental harm will continue. We cannot fix what we don’t know. It is time for us to know.”

“Fair for You is a registered charity which makes loans to low income households through its lending subsidiary, Fair for You Enterprise CIC. The lending subsidiary is a form of social enterprise, which began making unsecured loans for the purchase of household items available from its ‘online high street’ in December 2015. The loan product provides a real alternative for people who would otherwise have to use high cost lenders, particularly rent to own stores such as BrightHouse, PerfectHome and Buy as You View.”

“What does the STP do?

• It helps Aberdeen City residents (aged 55 years and over who can’t use regular public transport) to improve and maintain their quality of life
• It does this by helping them access health and social care in the city
• It provides a door-to-door, more accessible service, charged at a maximum return fare of £3.00 to the person and travelling and no additional cost for a carer who travel with them”

“Women Make Music is a PRS Foundation initiative launched in 2011 in response to the low representation of professional female songwriters and composers in the UK. In 2011, only 13% of PRS for Music members were women and 16% of applications for commissions received by PRS Foundation featured female composers and songwriters.

Women Make Music grants are available to any female music creator, with a professional track record of 18 months or more, whose project fits with PRS Foundation’s aims to enable talented music creators of any background to realise their potential. Women Make Music grants have supported a range of activities that help female artists to develop their careers including tours, recordings, commissions, residencies, promotion and marketing, new collaborations and childcare.

Women Make Music aims to:

• Raise awareness of the gender gap amongst songwriters and composers
• Encourage more female music creators to come forward for funding
• Increase the profile of women who are creating new music in the UK and support role models for future generations.”

“Ensuring our kids develop the academic skills and intellectual curiosity they need to be successful adults is not solely the obligation
of schools. It is the biggest and most important responsibility of the entire community. Students and educators need support from
families, businesses, organizations, civic entities, and faith groups. Learning is a continuous process that spans a pipeline from early
childhood to postsecondary education. Working together to nurture success at every milestone gives our kids the skills they need
for the future and provides our community the foundation it needs to thrive.

Three years ago, the concept that “it takes a village” to educate our youth was the driving force behind ImpactTulsa, and it still is
today. Utilizing data to identify what works in the complex web of learning resources and employing collective impact to help align
partners on shared outcomes is at the heart of what we do. Along the way, we have discovered an incredible spirit of collaboration
among partners and a genuine desire to create an education system that embraces diversity, equity, innovation, and continuous
improvement.”

“IHS is a private affordable housing investment manager. We raise institutional capital and invest it in the development or renovation of affordable housing in Sub-Saharan Africa, both for-sale and for-rent, affordable to the fast growing low to middle income market in South Africa and other target Sub-Saharan countries. IHS is owned by MMA Capital Management LLC, a publicly-listed US affordable housing and renewable energy investment manager (formerly MuniMae). As such, we are under the corporate governance of this major US shareholder, and are therefore governed by their rigorous policies and procedures, including their code of ethics and principles of business integrity to combat issues such as bribery and corruption.

To date, our investments have resulted in the production of about 18,000 homes. In our current Fund, IHS Fund II, we have raised capital specifically for the purpose of “greening” a portion of the homes produced. Based on capital raised to date, we have committed to 5,060 green homes (25%). We have so far closed six projects in Fund II (five green home projects).”

“In all our regions, our lawyers, professionals, and staff are serving our communities in substantial ways to address hunger, lack of education and poverty. We are collaborating across borders and oceans to develop meaningful strategies for maximizing our positive social impact.”

South Africa has various state-supported housing programmes, of which RDP housing (currently termed “BNG” housing), and more recently Social Rental Housing (SRH) are significant components.

Although over 2 million houses have been provided to date through the RDP housing programme, the programme poses several challenges, not least being the implications for the future sustainability of cities and their municipalities in South Africa.

SRH is seen as an alternative to RDP housing. Although the observed initial construction costs of SHR are higher, so too are the long term benefits.. SRH addresses an important demand and income segment within the housing sector and market in South Africa.

This report contains the results of a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) undertaken to compare SRH (as the potential investment or “project case”) with RDP housing (as the status quo or “base case”). The objective of this analysis is to assess the relative benefits to society in the provision of SRH and RDP housing, and takes into account all costs and benefits to society over the life time of the housing.

Step by Step offers services to empower young people and prevent homelessness throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, and Dorset.

Building on its strengths in digital products, ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Ltd. (“ASUSTeK” or ”ASUS” ) has run the ASUS Computer Recycling and Education Project (“the project”, “project”, “Digital Education Project”) since 2008. The purpose of the project is to recycle discarded ICT products and appoint a refurbish factory to refurbish computers for donation to non-profit organizations. Under the project, ASUS volunteers assist in the creation of courses and of basic digital environments to help build an ideal environment of Digital Inclusion.

Through the Digital Education Project, ASUS aims to create real change. Thus we have established a Social Return on Investment (SROI) performance management mechanism (“SROI mechanism”, “this mechanism”, or “this report”) since 2016. This performance mechanism and information feedback help manage the project and improve efficient allocation of resources.