Resource requirements

ITC can advise the Counterpart organisation and Coordinator about the cost of using Discover the first time and on subsequent occasions. We can help with building a budget and on how to encourage resource contributions from the business community and other stakeholders. The following people each play a key role in evaluating processes, and building the final Action plans:

Discover - Support structure
 

In-country resources

Coordinator
The Coordinator is a key individual in the success of value chain diagnosis and action planning. He or she must be seen to be independent of stakeholder interests. The Coordinator is responsible for organising and managing the entire process and workshop, including communications and reporting to the participants, counterpart organisation, stakeholders, and ITC. He or she provides the day-to-day operations leadership to keep the process on track, maintain the quality of the work and engages stakeholders to contribute.

To accomplish these tasks the Coordinator will be briefed and coached by ITC in the Discover process and may be further supported through the ITC web site, and a coach on the Discover team in ITC. Coordinators are often selected from a trade support organisation where this kind of problem-solving or business development work forms part of their normal responsibilities. An administrative assistant may be needed to support the Coordinator, whose duties will demand about 1 work month of time and for which he or she may be paid by a project if the work falls outside their normal duties.

Counterpart organisation
A trade support organisation that can provide administrative, information and facilities back-up to the Coordinator and can “host” the Discover process for future use.

Stakeholders
All people that are implicated and involved in, or affected by, the eventual Action plan are called stakeholders. The Coordinator must identify at the start those stakeholders whose support is essential to the successful development of an Action plan and its implementation. These key stakeholders should attend the initial consultation and briefing meeting.

Participants
The stakeholders who actually take part in the Discover workshop are called “Participants”. These people should either be decision-makers in their own organisations, business owners or technical specialists. They should each represent a stage of the value chain or process that is being examined; such as: producers, manufacturers, suppliers, exporters, business and trade support organisations (freight forwarders, logistics, inspection, finance, packaging and quality institutions), and government agencies (customs, port authorities and involved ministries). Because the emphasis in the workshop is on participants finding solutions for themselves the diversity, enthusiasm and competence of the participants is really important to the quality of the final outputs. A participant in the Discover process commits to contribute his or her knowledge and experience of the sector for a minimum of 5 working days over 2 months, by:
        > Providing information and data about the sector from their own knowledge – but not about their own organisation’s
             competitiveness secrets
        > Joining in, and contributing to, activities with a group of people around a table in the workshop and in plenary debate
        > Joining one of the short-term working groups to investigate and follow-up on specific issues.

 

External resources

ITC inputs, process and technical specialists

ITC assists country counterparts overall with technical market information, process guidance and coaching support focusing on six key areas:
      > Advice at the start on what to do, how to adapt and use Discover to suit the application
      > A consultation and briefing for the Coordinator and key stakeholders
      > Transfer of the Discover Handbook, distance coaching on call, organisational and process support and records back-up
         for the Coordinator
      > ITC international consultant specialists providing: process guidance and co-facilitation of a workshop, information
        on markets, value chain operations and requirements, review of outputs and evaluation of action plans (according to
        needs and available funds)
      > ITC missions to co-facilitate the workshop with the Coordinator
      > Process quality monitoring and technical review of all work outputs and results

ITC specialists may travel to the country 3 or 4 days before the workshop to consult with the Coordinator and visit stakeholders.

Other resource collaborators & implementing partners
Development agencies and banks, donors, buyers, government extension services, NGO’s and others may be invited to participate in the workshop or provide technical inputs during the value chain performance evaluation or action planning.