PUBLIC CONSULTATION: Second round of feedback on GPSNR’s Assurance Model

Here are all their updates from the last month:

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

After conducting a gap analysis of GPSNR’s current activities based on the platform’s Theory of Change, the strategy and objectives working group is working on a strategy to address the gaps found, which they will soon present to the Executive Committee. The gaps found include government engagement and the enhancing the enablers mentioned in the Theory of Change. You can read the Theory of Change here. At the same time, the risk sub working group continues to develop GPSNR’s approach to evaluating and mitigating risk.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

Having onboarded 23 new smallholders into the platform this month, the working group continues to build on other aspects of its scope, including planning workshops for Liberia, Ghana and Malaysia, developing country-specific smallholder engagement activities with smallholders and Country Champions and appointing a consultant to develop the smallholder policy equivalent.

Policy Toolbox Working Group

This group is continuing discussions among its three subgroups: Transparent reporting roadmap, Implementation Guidance and RR Guidance & Tools. In the coming months, they will finalise guidance for the reporting requirements and share it with members.

Capacity Building Working Group

The group is currently busy in the development of GPSNR’s knowledge sharing platform, which includes smallholder interviews, compiling and assessing responses of member surveys and holding focus group discussions in May 2022. At the same time, they are working on advancing Capacity Building plans for Indonesia, Thailand and Côte d’Ivoire. For capacity building efforts in Indonesia, the group has formed two Task Forces under the Indonesia Subgroup to advance Budwood Garden and Disease Fighting strategies.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The Shared Responsibility has completed a draft of Shared Responsibility Framework and presented it to the membership at two member consultation webinars. In case you missed these, you can watch the recordings here. It has also opened the draft framework to member feedback till 2nd May. Take a look at the framework here and fill in your inputs here.

Using the Theory of Change model, the Working Group identified root causes that prevent the natural rubber supply chain from achieving the desired state. Once these root causes were agreed upon, effective strategies could be designed to mitigate them.

Considering that the natural rubber industry and the world around it is not static but changes with time, the Working Group has planned for the Theory of Change to be a living document that GPSNR members will continually update and maintain. This will ensure its relevance and role in realizing the vision of GPSNR.

In addition to the above, the Working Group is drafting the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Equity sub-Working Group. The sub-Working Group’s focus will be on how we can ensure equity along the supply chain.

‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group

Working Group members’ comments on the first draft of the top line policy components were consolidated and incorporated into an updated draft. For ease of understanding, it was agreed that the policy components and implementation components would be displayed in separate tables. This would allow members to more easily distinguish the policy commitments they should adopt, and the corresponding actions they should implement.

The Working Group aims to have the top line policy components finalized by the end of January for the Executive Committee’s approval.  

‘Capacity Building’ Working Group

The Working Group has designed the questionnaire on which it will base the interviews of stakeholders conducting capacity building activities in rubber-producing countries. Volunteers from the Working Group as well as the GPSNR Secretariat will contact the previously identified stakeholders and seek their input on past and existing capacity building initiatives, evaluating the success of the activities and exploring the role that GPSNR can play in ensuring that the initiatives fulfill their objectives.

‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group

Using the Theory of Change document as an anchor to their discussions, the Working Group was able to analyze how the lack of traceability and transparency in the natural rubber supply chain would constitute a threat to sustainability, and how to tackle the associating challenges. Next, the Working Group will start on the design of pilot studies for tools currently employed to assess supply chain risks and/or achieve supply chain traceability or transparency.