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 In the quest for sustainable development, there is a need for collaboration across public, private and social-impact sectors to enhance growth and positive change. Do it Now Now's initiative, AfriTech XYZ is dedicated to bridging these sectors, and connecting African start-ups with mentors and experts in the UK and US.
To help achieve this, AfriTech XYZ has partnered with globally renowned legal firm Hogan Lovells, to provide pro bono legal advice to a group of award-winning African social entrepreneurs as part of Hogan Lovells (HL) BaSE Catalyst. The programme delivered a workshop to four innovative tech start-ups across Africa, providing them pro bono legal advice to support them in tackling some of the most pressing challenges we face today, including employment, food security, and biodiversity loss. Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, D.C. It is a top 10 global legal services, and was listed within Forbes' list of America's Top Trusted Corporate Law Firms 2019. For more information on the collaboration and its impact, visit here.
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Delivering enterprise support for Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Ideas and Pioneers Grantees | Clients5/7/2021  Do it Now Now has enjoyed a long working partnership with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, having received our first grant from their Ideas and Pioneers Fund in 2019. As such we are thrilled to now be responsible for the running of the support programme attached to the Ideas and Pioneers Fund.
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Ideas and Pioneers Fund provides grants of up to £15,000 to support people with a vision of a better society to explore their ideas for change. Paul Hamlyn Foundation believes there is an urgent need to support people who are most affected by systemic oppression and or discrimination. Predominantly, “Black, Asian and other groups who experience racism, deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people who experience the effects of ableism, those who identify as sitting at the intersections of several minoritized identities as well as people experiencing poverty.” Phase one of this enterprise support delivery contract, that will be responsible for training 40 grantees each year, was a detailed research project. We interviewed current and former grantees of the fund as well as held focus groups with potential grantees and others currently engaged in the grant process with Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Through this process we worked to understand the grantees and their development needs, being mindful of both developing the individual and their ideas. We worked to distill the biggest challenges facing grantees, such as understanding and having confidence to run their organisations from a lived experience background as well as understanding how to access funding or revenue options, so that their journey as pioneers will lead to making the changes they want to see in the world. Commenting on why we were chosen to develop and deliver this programme of enterprise support, Jake Leeper, Grants Manager at Paul Hamlyn Foundation said: "Do it Now Now was built by an ambitious team that are determined to make change. This is exactly the ethos of the Ideas and Pioneers Fund, and is central to why we wanted to work with them. They don’t just talk the talk but have walked the walk, and we know that these experiences will be invaluable while they support our grantees. We hope our grantees will benefit from the breadth and depth of the sessions, which DINN have tailored to the needs of the Fund. We can’t wait to get started, and I know everyone at DINN feels exactly the same." Over the next year, we’ll be providing a number of workshops on core skills, delivering specialist one on one advice sessions, training workshops and creating an online community for grantees to access and connect with their peers. We are excited to be part of Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s ongoing mission to create a society where the disempowered are supported to bring their visions for a better world to life. For the latest news and updates about our work for clients and across all our initiatives, sign up for our newsletter.
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 What does it take to create a pro-bono practice that is welcoming and accepting to all? This was the question for HL BaSE, otherwise known as Hogan Lovells Business and Social Enterprise, which is a pro-bono arm for the international law firm. When Do it Now Now partnered with the firm, the aim was to develop an inclusive pro bono program that would provide world-class expertise to innovators and disruptors in the social economy space.
The training session Do it Now Now’s provided built upon the principles of HL BaSE, which is underpinned by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 of Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. In 2020, the firm spent 180,000+ pro bono hours to achieve a lasting impact for social justice and social enterprise innovators. The BaSE practice has supported over 100 businesses a year, and in 2020 it helped 140 impact organisations. It continues to deepen its focus on offering services to a broader cross-section of pro-bono clients. As part of the firm’s widening reach, it wants to develop a robust and inclusive practice to help disrupters from underserved communities achieve their goals. Do it Now Now was able to offer guidance to support the practice in its work towards these aims. When asked about why it’s essential to build inclusive programmes into their practice, Senior Associate Fenella Chambers said, “Access to our programmes has always been a focus, and the session highlighted how inclusion is so much more than access and that in order to provide the best and most impactful programmes that we can, inclusion is essential. It is also about designing programmes that recognise the shared value of working with our pro bono clients and how it is an exchange of expertise and experience.” HL BaSE has also provided pro bono advice to entrepreneurs who are part of Do it Now Now’s Afritech XYZ initiative. The legal advice has proved invaluable for the African tech entrepreneurs being supported by Do it Now Now - most in the very early stages of their business journey. HL BaSE’s determination to create an inclusive practice has helped people feel at ease and listened to throughout the process. Overall, Fenella Chambers feels Do it Now Now’s training has offered clear guidance about how the firm can continue to make its programmes more accessible by centering inclusivity at the core of its offerings. Through Do it Now Now’s practical training, HL BaSE was immediately able to implement some of the steps covered in the session. A highlight for the practice was remembering the importance of building flexibility into programmes and encouraging honest and open feedback. With a renewed zeal for championing inclusivity within HL BaSE, Do it Now Now is thrilled to be part of Hogan Lovells continued journey towards a more inclusive future. For the latest news and updates about our work for clients and across all our initiatives, sign up for our newsletter.
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 Youth charity Just For Kids Law has joined forces with Do it Now Now to broaden equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of its organisation.
Just For Kids Law’s work centres on helping children and young people promote and defend their legal rights. By fighting for legal reform and representing the best interests of the young people they come into contact with, Just For Kids Law is positively impacting young lives in Britain. Given the organisation’s role in advocating for young people from a diverse range of backgrounds, its commitment to creating an inclusive environment is critical to its work. Do it Now Now is supporting Just For Kids Law by helping the charity identify organisational processes that could reduce engagement with, impact in and access to underserved communities. Through Do it Now Now’s training, Just For Kids Law will be supported in achieving their goals for a more inclusive organisation for now and beyond. The 6-month consultancy and training being provided by Do it Now Now centres on strengthening different organisational pillars to create systems that operate with equality, diversity and inclusion at the centre of change initiatives. By focusing on substantial change that goes beyond what could be considered performative, Do it Now Now provided guidance and direction specific to the needs and ambitions of Just for Kids Law. From broadening the search for clients to adopting meaningful measurements and metrics for improved inclusivity, Do it Now Now’s training spanned many issues affecting inclusive organisational change. Topics included how to reach those most in need of support through development initiatives and how to create an inclusive culture. An important aspect of creating this inclusive culture is creating channels for open and real-time feedback. During our time with Just for Kids Law, we touched upon the importance of senior management being accountable to both trustees and employees to foster a more equal and diverse culture. In addition, our training included a focus on creating a holistic equality, diversity and inclusivity policy that would span, staff, Board, people receiving Just for Kids Law’s services, and their families. Speaking on the partnership, Just for Kids Law’s CEO, Louisa McGeehan, said, “When Just for Kids Law wanted to bring in some consultancy support, we spent quite a lot of time looking for the right organisation to support us. As a charity strongly focused on fighting racism and other forms of discrimination against our young clients, we wanted support that was tailored to where we are in our work on equality, diversity and inclusion. We have a lot of work to do to ensure our internal policies and practices are as strong as our external work and, in this work, relationships and trust really matter. We are enjoying building our relationship with Do it Now Now and have great ambitions for our future.” Given Just for Kids Law’s mission and enthusiasm for creating an inclusive organisation, we’re excited to continue building with them and fostering an environment that keeps inclusion, diversity and equality front and centre of Just for Kids Law’s efforts. For the latest news and updates about our work for clients and across all our initiatives, sign up for our newsletter. |
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