Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
22 June 2022
Post No. 253
The Week’s Contents
• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis
• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 22/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
• Coming this Summer: Financial Updates – In Focus for this Year’s Edition: Financial Management of Crises
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Without research it would difficult for us to create and innovate solutions or find possible answers to problems that face our users; problems exacerbated by the current challenge posed by the rising cost of living. Likewise, without the development of ideas to respond the cost-of-living crisis, it would be difficult to come out this crisis.
Research and development are at the heart of everything we do at CENFACS. We research into new ideas to better help reduce poverty amongst our users in the community and Africa-based Organisations making part of our area of operation in Africa. We investigate as well into new ways of applying new facts and information to better help reduce poverty and hardships amongst the same beneficiaries.
The two interlinked functions (that is, research and development) within CENFACS are vital in the process of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development. Although they are linked, they can also be looked at separately from the perspective of management.
Concerning the research function within CENFACS, we would like to let you know that we are currently researching into income elasticity within our community members’ demand for staple foods during this time of rising food prices. The research will enable us to find out if this elasticity is higher or low or moderate. We are as well study the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure of our community members. The two pieces of research work are applied ones.
Regarding the development function within CENFACS, we would like to inform you that this function helps us to develop existing products, services and activities. The function enables us to build model to check or test the feasibility of any products or services designed. Furthermore, the development function helps to initiate change of systems in CENFACS, to adapt and positively respond to changes in the poverty reduction market, to continue to develop poverty reduction model, to increase communication, etc.
So, the key message is Creative Economic Development Month is also about research and development. It is a month to invent or create new products and services while developing or improving existing ones to make helpful difference to our users and fill gaps in the poverty reduction market.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further details about this first key message, and the focus on the current research and development trending, which is: Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis.
• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 22/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis are another trending activity we have planned for our Season of Rebuilding and Month of Creative Economic Development for this week. In this activity, we are interested in creations and innovations that develop long-lasting products and services to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.
Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations will be approached here as follows:
Understanding the Cost-of-living Crisis
Post-pandemic Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Post-pandemic Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
How CENFACS Can Create and Innovate with the Community to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis.
Let us each of these items that make this approach.
• • Understanding the Cost-of-living Crisis
Our understanding of the cost-of-living crisis comes from the Institute for Government (1). The latter defines the cost of living crisis as
“The fall in real incomes (that is, adjusted for inflation and tax) that the UK has experienced since late 2021. It is being caused by a combination of high inflation outstripping wage increases and upcoming tax increases that have squeezed incomes for many households”.
If wages and other incomes (such as benefits and pensions) are failing to keep pace with rising prices or inflation; then there is a need to help and support those who are not able to meet the rise in the cost of living. Amongst those who are unable to meet this rise are CENFACS’ Community members.
To support and work with those members of the CENFACS’ Community who are failing to meet their cost of living, we have identified some key areas of response/work with them, as the following notes show.
• • Post-pandemic Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Post-pandemic creations are the makings, inventions and productions during and after the cost-of-living crisis; creations that help to respond to the cost-of-living crisis.
• • Post-pandemic Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Post-pandemic innovations are the changes, alterations and reforms introduced during and after the cost-of-living crisis; innovations that assist in responding to the cost-of-living crisis.
The creations and innovations in which we are interested in the context of CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month would be those that help our members to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.
• • How CENFACS Can Create and Innovate with the Community to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Those in need like CENFACS‘ Community members may not avoid the cost-of-living crisis; but they can work with CENFACS so that together we can find way of responding to this crisis. Amongst the responses, we can mention the following ones which will depend on whether the emphasis is put on creations or innovations or both, as well as they will be contingent on the results of the distributional analysis of the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
• • • Working with the Community on Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis
Together with the community, we can create…
√ On the way to translate their needs into project proposals in order apply for financial support to finance these needs
√ To adapt and adjust behaviour and lifestyle within the community so that the members making our community can live within their means and budgets
√ To find new services and products to meet the needs relating to the cost-of-living crisis
√ To spend money differently to meet the cost-of-living crisis
√ To save and audit their accounts to avoid negative balances
√ To reduce debt and renegotiate it under the terms that match the situation of the cost-of-living crisis
Etc.
• • • Working with the community on innovations to respond to the cost-of-living crisis
Together with the community, we can innovate…
√ To factor higher prices in any household budget planning
√ Ways of better budgeting resources and expenses
√ To reduce digital exclusion that can exacerbate the distributional impacts of the cost-of-living crisis
√ To reduce the adverse impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on CENFACS beneficiaries
√ To empower digitally vulnerable users and develop their online skills (e.g. soft skills to deal with cash less or digitally enabled payment methods) that can enhance their chance to raise income
√ To guide CENFACS Community in order to stop fraudsters and scammers to target vulnerable members of this community
√ To cut back on non-essential spending
Etc.
The above mentioned creation and innovation activities will support the community, particularly the section of this community who needs most support. By working together through creations and innovations, we can bring CENFACS even more closer to the community its serves, the low-income users.
The above notes are about Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis. For any further details about these notes and Creative Economic Development Month, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Coming this Summer: Financial Updates – In Focus for this Year’s Edition: Financial Management of Crises
How to financially manage crises (e.g. cost-of-living crisis) using your household financial accounts
In this year’s edition of Summer Financial Updates (SFU), we shall provide advice, tips and hints about the processes of planning, organising, directing and monitoring the financial activities and resources of households with a view to working with them to achieve the goal of poverty reduction.
The 2022 Edition of SFU, which will be about applying the general management principles to financial resources of our users’ households in order to reduce poverty, will also highlight ways of handling the cost-of-living crisis using the financial tools that are at households’ disposal.
Many of our users do not know these tools exist for them. Through the 2022 Edition of SFU, we shall share with them these tools and how they can effectively and efficiently handle them in order to reduce poverty.
It is important to financially better manage households, especially at this time of the cost-of-living crisis.
For those members of our community who may interested in the 2022 Edition of SFU, they are welcome to enquire to CENFACS about it.
Extra Messages
• Thanksgiving Days: Supporters’ Days (27 to 30 June 2022)
The last week of June is a thanksgiving one in accordance to CENFACS development calendar. From 27 to 30 June 2022, we will be thanking all our supporters (current and past ones).
We would like to take the opportunity of the end of June to thank them (and you if you are one of them) for helping…
CENFACS IN ENHANCING AND SUSTAINING FREEDOMS AND CAPABILITIES BY WORKING IN ALLIANCE WITH LOCAL PEOPLE TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES.
• • What do mean by Thanking Days or Supporters’ Days?
These are Special Days of Thank You we would like to dedicate to all those who contributed to our work for any types of support they have given us over this financial year. This dedication is normally held in the last week of and by the end of June. For this year, Thank-you Days will be held from 27 to 30 June 2022 in order to keep our tradition.
As we are in CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month and Knowledge Year, we shall find all sorts of creative, innovative, knowledgeable and communicative ways of thanking our invaluable supporters and backers.
These thanking ways may include the following:
√ Conversing with our supporters over phones
√ Signing and sending thank-you prints or e-cards to them
√ Telling them the stories or outcomes about the people and communities they helped through their support
√ E-mailing, texting and tweeting them with messages of gratitude
√ Telling and sharing thank-you stories
√ Playing and listening with them music and songs of thank you
√ Making and playing thank-you videos and films
√ Giving back to them by volunteering our time to the cause they deeply care about
√ Undertaking a free translation service (French to English and vice versa)
√ Reading African poems and poetry
√ Sending to them digital and technologically animated thank-you messages
√ Doing creative and design works symbolising thank you
√ Sending designed and hand crafted made objects and crafts of acknowledgement
√ Making video calls if we cannot have in-person contact with them
Etc.
If you are one of the CENFACS’ supporters, please we would like to let you know the Thanking Days at CENFACS are your Days. Do not hesitate to get in touch, if you do not mistakenly hear from us.
We will welcome you, reconnect with you and thank you on the occasion for the helpful difference you made to our work and project beneficiaries, and for being with us on the side of those in need especially during this challenging year of the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis.
Your invaluable support has meant a lot for our programme and project beneficiaries over this ending financial year.
We would like to express all our sincere gratitude to you for helping us to help reduce poverty, especially at these challenging times of the side effects of the coronavirus followed by the cost-of-living crisis.
For further details, please contact CENFACS’ Thanksgiving-End-of-June-2022 Team.
• Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa
Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa is one of the Summer Appeal projects making the first part of our Summer Programme, which will be published soon. This appeal has been already launched.
The appeal is about supporting children, young people and families (CYPFs), in places in Africa where there is already high level of poverty, who cannot cope with the mounting pressure and damaging effects of the cost-of-living crisis. The cost-of-living crisis hits everybody and perhaps every part of the world, but its distributional effects are not the same, especially for those who are already living in poverty.
Supporting this appeal means helping CYPFs to minimise and mitigate the impacts of cost-of-living crisis on them. Your support will help to reduce the risks and impacts that the cost-of-living crisis can make in terms of tragedy, intergenerational poverty, etc. One can think of a child or young person without any dreams and expectations, what will be his/her future, especially in countries (like Burkina Faso or Mali) where there is deterioration of security conditions in conflict-affected areas.
Can you help this child? Yes or No!
If you say yes; then…
√ You can help that child to dream and expect for a better life and future.
√ You can help stop the cost-of-living crisis to become a structural constraint and handicap for that child.
√ You can help stop the cost-of-living crisis to create lifelong adverse impacts on children and young people.
√ You can help stop children’s and young people’s lives being reduced back below the poverty line.
√ You can stop the lost generation of the cost-of-living crisis to happen in Africa.
To make the above happen, support Distress-free Life from the cost-of-living crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa.
You can find further highlights of this appeal and ways of supporting at: cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/
• Arts and Design Project –
In Focus: Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers of Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development with the example of Young Creators and Innovators
Artists and designers play an active role in helping to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. So, this week we are working on some of the works carried out by artists and designers especially those from small scale and charitable backgrounds, the local arts and design products and services undertaken by local people and communities sometimes to make ends meet.
These kinds of work can include the following:
√ Those carried out by poor families, children, young people and those who are left out of the economic growth or upturn
√ There are works undertaken by unknown and unnamed artists and designers who may be amateurs or not professionals or not just celebrities.
Every year, we try to find out unknown and unnamed artists and designers, as part of Arts and Design Project. This finding exercise helps to know and name them.
All these small pieces of art and design works can help relieve poverty and enhance the process of sustainable development. They can help to positively respond to the cost-of-living crisis.
• • Example of Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers: Young Creators and Innovators
Some Young Creators and Innovators can be classified as unknown and unnamed artists and designers.
Who are they?
They are of all sorts of talents and abilities who can create and innovate to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. They can as well help to build forward better together cleaner, greener and safer. Their works can help reduce poverty induced by the cost-of-living crisis while keeping the progress of the realisation of sustainable development goals. They could be the finders of the today’s solutions for tomorrow’s problems.
So, this week we are continuing our Arts and Design project by looking at the contribution that unknown and unnamed artists and designers, and amongst them are Young Creators and Innovators, who are helping in reducing poverty and hardships as well as in enhancing sustainable development.
If you are a young creator and/or innovator and has some feeling that you would probably fall under the category of unknown and unnamed artists and designers, CENFACS would like to hear from you as well as your creative or innovative work.
Message in French (Message en français)
Jours d’action de remerciements (du 27 au 30 juin 2022)
La dernière semaine de juin est une semaine d’action de grâces conformément au calendrier de développement du CENFACS. Ce faisant, du 27 au 30 juin 2022, nous remercierons tous nos supporters (actuels et passés).
Nous aimerions profiter de la fin du mois de juin pour les remercier (et vous si vous êtes l’un(e) d’entre eux/elles) d’avoir aidé le CENFACS À AMÉLIORER ET À MAINTENIR LES LIBERTÉS ET LES CAPACITÉS EN TRAVAILLANT EN ALLIANCE AVEC LES POPULATIONS LOCALES POUR DÉVELOPPER DES INITIATIVES DURABLES.
Qu’entendez-vous par Jours de remerciement ou Jours des supporters?
Ce sont des journées spéciales de remerciement que nous aimerions dédier à tous ceux ou celles qui ont contribué à notre travail pour tout type de soutien qu’ils (elles) nous ont apporté au cours de cet exercice financier. Cette consécration a normalement lieu la dernière semaine de et avant la fin du mois de juin.
Pour cette année, des Journées de remerciement auront lieu du 27 au 30 juin 2022 afin de maintenir notre tradition.
Alors que nous sommes dans le Mois du développement économique créatif et l’Année de la connaissance du CENFACS, nous trouverons toutes sortes de moyens créatifs, innovants et communicatifs de remercier nos précieux soutiens et bailleurs de fonds.
Ces moyens de remerciement peuvent inclure les éléments suivants:
√ Converser avec nos supporters par téléphone
√ Signer et leur envoyer des impressions de remerciement ou des cartes électroniques
√ Leur raconter les histoires ou les résultats sur les personnes et les communautés qu’ils ont aidées grâce à leur soutien
√ les envoyer des courriers électroniques, des SMS et tweeter avec des messages de gratitude
√ Raconter et partager des histoires de remerciement
√ Jouer et écouter avec eux de la musique et des chansons de remerciement
√ Création et lecture de vidéos et de films de remerciement
√ Redonner à eux en donnant de notre temps pour la cause qui leur tient à cœur
√ Entreprendre un service de traduction gratuit (le français vers l’anglais et vice versa)
√ Lire des poèmes et de la poésie africaine
√ Leur envoyer des messages de remerciement numériques et technologiquement animés
√ Faire des travaux créatifs et de dessin symbolisant le merci
√ Envoi d’objets conçus et fabriqués à la main et d’artisanat de reconnaissance
√ Passer des appels vidéo si nous ne pouvons pas avoir de contact en personne avec eux
Etc.
Si vous êtes l’un des soutiens du CENFACS, nous aimerions vous faire savoir que les Journées de remerciement au CENFACS sont vos journées. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous n’avez pas de nouvelles de nous par erreur.
Nous vous accueillerons; nous allons renouer avec vous et vous remercier à cette occasion pour la différence utile que vous avez faite pour nos bénéficiaires de travail et de projets, et pour être avec nous aux côtés de ceux ou celles qui sont dans le besoin, en particulier pendant cette année difficile des effets continus du coronavirus et de la crise du coût de la vie.
Votre soutien inestimable a beaucoup compté pour les bénéficiaires de notre programme et de nos projets au cours de cet exercice financier.
Nous tenons à vous exprimer toute notre sincère gratitude pour nous avoir aidés à réduire la pauvreté, en particulier en ces temps difficiles des effets secondaires du coronavirus suivis de la crise du coût de la vie.
Pour plus de détails, contactez l’équipe ‘Jours d’action de grâce de fin juin 2022′ du CENFACS.
Main Development
• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis
To create and innovate solutions to the cost-of-living crisis, we need research and development. Research and development help to find ideas and tools to drive creation and innovation. But, what are research and development?
To understand research and development, we are going to consider the following items:
Understanding the concepts of research and development
Research and Development within CENFACS
Researching into income elasticity demand of food during this time of rising food prices
Study of the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure during this time of rising food prices
• • Understanding the concepts of research and development
There are many ways of conceptualising research and development. In the context of these notes, we have selected the following definitions.
Christopher Pass at al (2) define research and development as
“Any scientific investigation leading to the discovery of new techniques and products (INVENTION) and their commercial application (INNOVATION), together with the refinement and improvement of existing technologies and products” (p. 454)
Their definition, which is an economic one, focuses on the types of research and development conducted by business entities. It can be extended to include not for profit organisations.
Besides the above definition, we are appealing to what the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (3) states, which is
“Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge (p. 2)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argues that
“For an activity to be an R&D activity, it must satisfy five core criteria. The activity must be: novel, creative, uncertain, systematic and transferable and/or reproducible. All five criteria are to be met, at least in principle, every time an R&D activity is undertaken whether on a continuous or occasional basis”.
Alongside these five criteria, the kinds of R&D activities in which we are interested would be those that help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.
• • Research and Development within CENFACS
The functions of research and development (R&D) are important one within CENFACS. This is because we can only help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development if we are able to undertake research and develop solutions together with local people to poverty reduction and to the enhancement of sustainable development. In this respect, the kinds of research and development work we do are related to the core activities of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
In the context of this year’s Creative Economic Development Month, we are undertaking two types of applied research projects, which are: income elasticity of demand for staple products and the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure for the members of the CENFACS Community. This is the general scope of our research and development work for this month.
Let us highlight these two research projects.
• • Income elasticity of demand for staple products during this time of rising food prices
The aim of this applied research project is to find out if the fall in real income of CENFACS Community members (as result of the hike in the cost of living) is leading these members to spend more or less on staple products or basic foodstuffs (e.g. bread, sunflower oil, potatoes, etc.).
For example, because of the Ukraine war the price of 1 litre of Vita D’or sunflower oil has dramatically increased. It is £1.65 in Lidl at the time of composing these notes. Bearing in mind that Lidl is a budget food store, it could cost even more in other food stores or supermarkets.
This aim of our applied research project can be translated into economic terms as the income elasticity of demand for staple products. This elasticity is a measure of the degree of responsiveness of demand for any staple products to a given change in income.
The findings from this applied research project will enable us to quantify if their demand is income elastic or inelastic or neutral as well as to know how the rising food prices are affecting them.
• • Share of food expenditure in total household expenditure during this time of rising food prices
The aim of this study is to find out economic vulnerability and resilience from the members of our community concerning their ability to have a basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake.
As the World Food Programme (4) puts it
“The food expenditure share (FES) is an indicator used to measure households economic vulnerability. The higher the share of households’ expenditure on good out the total expenditure, the more vulnerable the households are to food insecurity”
Depending on households, food expenditure can be flexible whereas other household expenses could be fixed for a period. For example, rent, utility bills, council tax, etc. could be fixed for the duration of rental agreement. However, at the time of the cost of living crisis characterised by interest rate at 1.25% and inflation at around 9% in the UK; most of the prices and bills, including those of food, have gone up.
Rising food prices may affect the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure for many households, including our users. The study will help to know how vulnerable and resilient our members of the community are in face of rising commodity prices and inflation. The findings of this study will as well enable to create and innovate ways of working with the community following the emerging needs that the study will generate.
For further details and or enquiries about these Research and Development activities, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
_________
• References
(1) https://www.institutefor government.org.uk/explainers/cost-living-crisis (accessed in June 2022)
(2) Pass, C., Lowes, B. & Davies, L., (1988), Collins Dictionary of Economics, HarperCollins Publishers, London Glasgow
(3) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Frascati Manual 7.0, Chapter 2, The full Frascati Manual and current and upcoming online at http://oecd/frascati (accessed in June 2022)
(4) https://resources.vam.wfp.org/data-analysis/quantitative/food-security/food-expenditure-share (accessed in June 2022)
_________
• Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.
JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)
Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.
With many thanks.
