Developing knowledge & capacity building
To achieve positive environmental and social impacts, people at all levels of companies, government and civil society need to understand the challenges of responsible sourcing and production. Once they are aware of the problems and opportunities, they can make meaningful commitments to change.
These key players also need practical information, tools and guidance to help them turn commitments into action. So, by developing and sharing knowledge and capacity, we support them in this transition pathway.
Knowledge and capacity are essential foundations of sustainable management of natural resources.
All of the work Proforest does to support companies and support collaboration is underpinned by our work on knowledge and capacity development, from initial awareness of key issues through to in-depth technical competence. We have welcomed more than 2,000 people into classrooms and field workshops across four continents, to develop local skills and boost capacity on the ground. In addition, we have produced more than 100 original publications and updates to provide strategic thinking and technical guidance for people working at all levels of the industry.
Innovating tools and guidance
We produce a huge range of practical guidance and briefing notes that we make freely available. These range from thought leadership such as the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework to build transparency, practical guidance like the soy toolkit, to introductions on Responsible Sourcing or mainstreaming gender quality, for example. We also develop and support locally adapted tools and guidance that allow people to better understand and take ownership of issues and solutions in their own area.
Building capacity
We have a range of approaches that span awareness-building, to enable people to understand issues and commit to change, through to in-depth technical competence that underpins implementation of better practices. We run our own training (online and in person) and provide long-term mentoring, offer webinars for companies and governments, and partner with organisations such as RSPO and HCV Network to run accreditation courses.