Abstract
Performance Monitoring has evolved as a powerful sustainability measurement tool for supply chains. It allows managers to look beyond providing services or investments to actually understand the outcomes generated in the field. COSA and WDI help organizations to apply technically functional Performance Monitoring tools within diverse supply chains. Even with the sometimes difficult circumstances in developing countries, Performance Monitoring can provide information feedback loops so that managers can track sustainability performance throughout the project lifespan and thereby improve the likelihood of having successful outcomes. This chapter examines the challenges and benefits of implementing Performance Monitoring in supply chains, offers best practices in implementation, and illustrates lessons and limitations with case studies of the tool in use.
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Notes
- 1.
Note that Performance Monitoring (PM) and Impact Assessments are complementary tools that have different functions, but can be paired for maximum results. While a comprehensive Impact Assessment can tell you if an investment or project has had its intended effect over a period of time (usually multiple years), PM allows you to capture a point-in-time picture of a project to contribute to ongoing strategic decision making for overall project success.
- 2.
COSA uses the SMART principles in the design of indicators to quantify and clarify sustainability information in smallholder agricultural systems in a manner that promotes the understanding of key environmental, economic, and social issues (https://thecosa.org/what-we-do/our-approach/define-the-pathway/).
- 3.
For focus groups in particular, the approach will require some adaptation to accommodate the dynamics of a group and reduce the bias of groupthink.
- 4.
COSA (https://thecosa.org) is a non-profit and independent, global consortium of partners dedicated to accelerating agricultural sustainability through robust information systems that is financed in part by leading agencies including the Swiss Government (SECO), Ford Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
- 5.
See the Danone Ecosystem Fund website for details about the Semilla project: http://ecosysteme.danone.com/projectslists/semilla/.
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Mullan, J., Esper, H., Giovannucci, D. (2019). Performance Monitoring: An Agile New Tool for Facilitating Sustainability in Value Chains. In: Schmidt, M., Giovannucci, D., Palekhov, D., Hansmann, B. (eds) Sustainable Global Value Chains. Natural Resource Management in Transition, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14877-9_19
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