The Hamakua Institute is part of a global network of experienced professionals, known as the ACCESS Facility, who work on solving complex social problems and conflicts around the world. The members of our network are facilitators, mediators, social scientists, researchers, trainers, project managers and much more. The interest that draws us together is a shared belief that the system that funds our work and engages our services is often preventing real, sustainable progress and we want to introduce a better way.
The value chain from donor funding to actual efforts on the ground is usually long and convoluted. It has inefficiencies that not only increase costs, they reduce transparency and lead to poor decision-making with too many layers of management involved. The system disadvantages small, local organizations who represent better opportunities for sustainability. What is needed is a new system that enables donors and small organizations and consultants to link up directly through a common network and funding mechanism, which can occur in any currency to any location, involving any combination of donors and service providers for a project. This is where the ACCESS Facility comes in.
Under the ACCESS Facility, we are now designing a web-based platform for enabling members, donors and other stakeholders to work together more effectively in tackling complex social and economic challenges in various parts of the world. The platform will make it easier for ACCESS members to organize common interests, mobilize resources and facilitate collective action, ensuring resources to find a path of least resistance to efforts on the ground. The new web platform is being designed to be uniquely suited to engaging the right people and organizations to meet a specific challenge. It will offer an on-line system for starting projects, sharing information, costs, services and support for a shared project or common strategy. It will enable diverse representation between several organizations who can interact and transact under a single contract or agreement. Projects can be established under the ACCESS platform and designed to grow over time with additional support.
The funds raised from this campaign will be used towards the development costs of creating the first phase development of the new web-based platform.
