From Transformation Auditor to Transformation Facilitator

To achieve their mandate of facilitating, encouraging, supporting and monitoring the Forest Sector Code, and thus transformation, the Forest Sector Charter Council (FSCC) have historically considered theirs as a job of two halves: reporting and monitoring transformation and B-BBEE advocacy.

Through B-BBEE advocacy, FSCC facilitate, encourage and support transformation across FSCC’s stakeholder groups: the forestry sub-sectors, community beneficiaries and the youth. Their Annual Status of Transformation Report provides detailed analysis of how the sub-sectors are faring against the targets set across the five transformation pillars – ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socio- economic development.

In recent years, however, FSCC have been placing greater emphasis on the transformation pillars as a platform for encouraging, supporting, and facilitating transformation across the Sector, rather than simply as a reporting tool.

The She Is Forestry SA initiative is a prime example of this, initiated by FSCC and Forestry South Africa (FSA) to promote gender equality, a key component of the Management Control Transformation Pillar.

Over the past four years, the She Is Forestry SA initiative has garnered huge support from across all the FSCC audiences (Industry, Government, Youth and Community), providing a platform to promote gender equality, recognise the integral role women play across the forest sector and to extend the opportunities found within forestry to those living beyond its borders. The She Is Forestry SA example showcases how investing in transformation pillar initiatives that facilitate, encourage and support the Sector in reaching its transformation targets, enables FSCC to create lasting change rather than simply monitoring transformation.

Furthermore, the relationships built through initiatives like She Is Forestry SA, between FSCC and industry players and/or associations, can be used as a conduit to facilitate and aid Sector reporting (Figure Two) in the form of a positive feedback loop.

“FSCC sees 15 years of transformation as an opportunity to do more than simply celebrate the achieved milestones, it is the chance to reflect upon the lessons learnt and adapt our approach appropriately to capitalise on the transformation opportunities ahead of us. No one could have envisaged the success of the She Is Forestry SA initiative, or the cross-sector support it has garnered, and I firmly believe this could be replicated across various transformation pillars with similar effect. It is an exciting prospect, as it signifies a new era of transformation for the forest sector, one where FSCC is no longer a transformation auditor but a transformation facilitator, contributor and collaborator.” Makhosazana Mavimbela, FSCC Executive Director.

FSCC have already taken the first step towards this, commissioning a strategic evaluation of FSCC objectives and deliverables, from which a five-year and one-year plan have been developed. “

We have been incredibly self-critical, identifying areas where we can improve efficiency, efficacy and overall performance. Some of the changes are small, tweaking key performance indicators to more effectively evaluate our efforts, others involve complete changes in approach, for example moving from transformation auditor to transformation facilitator. It is a really exciting time for FSCC, the 15 years milestone has really provided us with an opportunity to scrutinise all we have done to this point and evaluate how we can make an even bigger impact going forwards”, Mavimbela continues.

The next five articles outline some of the big changes FSCC is looking to implement, with a five-year timeframe in place for implementation and evaluation of these that will then coincide with the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

Written by: Makhosazana Mavimbela, FSCC Executive Director

Source: FSA Magazine (Pages 16 – 17)

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