Boosting Brazil’s fight against slave labour

InPACTO is viewed as a credible organisation in Brazil and has received some international recognition, however, there is scope to further improve its reputation and visibility. InPACTO’s influence lies in its ability to identify and liaise with different interests, participate in public fora, and advocate for change. The organisation has gained credibility in the production sector thanks to successful collaboration with companies and its capacity to deal with a major issue – modern slavery – in a technically rigorous way that helps companies resolve value chain challenges.

Positive results were concentrated in the coffee value chain and there was further reported merit in driving the carnauba (palm wax) agenda, against a backdrop of scarce resources. Action within the textile sector was less successful and conflicted with the agendas of other textile retailer bodies. International fundraising supported many of these efforts, with Laudes Foundation remaining a significant contributor to InPACTO’s budget. Over-reliance on foundation funding leaves the organisation at risk where financial sustainability is concerned.

As well as being aligned with the programmatic goals of both organisations, the core support grant boosted InPACTO’s organisational development and supported the human rights agenda in Brazil. The core support model enabled important capacity building through grant features like the medium term length of the partnership, financial support, unrestricted use of resources, leveraging co-financing and in-kind support. However, the partnership added a focus on the fashion industry and this shifted the emphasis away from the core focus on institutional strengthening.

The grant design was based on third party input from consultants, contradicting the aim of organisational strengthening. Plans developed by consultants were not typically effective in building capacity as they failed to take into account the feasibility of implementing proposals in practice

The monitoring mechanisms set up by the foundation involved frequent communication that enabled management to resolve challenges and triggered frequent realignment on the core support approach. The intensity of monitoring was reported as       unsustainable and unfeasible for partnerships supported by the foundation.

The process of strengthening the InPACTO team met with  difficulties including high turnover, an incomplete and overloaded team that was unable to meet demands and produce results, and the absence of development and learning opportunities. A lack of people management skills at the leadership level limited team management approaches and the time needed to devote to the organisation. Nonetheless, efforts were made towards establishing a more appropriate, integrated leadership team during the last year of the initiative.

The adoption of a governance model inspired by the organisation that incubated InPACTO was inappropriate for both the size and proposed mandate. The governance model was also not amenable to supporting leadership development. Further, the presence of Laudes Foundation on the Board highlighted challenges related to communication, independence and autonomy, and created a dilemma in terms of exiting the partnership. However, the restructuring of InPACTO’s management model is now underway.