Why join the Fair Trade Software Foundation?
Do you want to make a tangible contribution to the fight against global poverty and economic crisis?
The market for ICT services in developing countries is growing fast with demand from government organisations, NGOs and many sectors of economic activity. The capacity for ICT to create jobs and transform services such as Healthcare or Finance is widely recognised, and it is clear that digital technologies have the potential to make a significant positive impact on society. Despite the opportunities, developing countries lack capability and growth in the ICT sector because shortage of management expertise, particularly project management, severely constrains local companies ability.
We can fix this problem. In developed economies these skills are learned from role-models and mentors in the work place. This on-the-job knowledge transfer opportunity can be extended to young professionals in the developing world simply by finding new ways to work that form relationships between peers from developed and developing countries. Working in this way provides mutual benefit for everyone, but we need people to join the Fair Trade Software Foundation to help promote this.
Companies in developing countries
You may be so busy trying to find work and pay the bills that foreign cooperation seems like a distraction, but consider
Individuals and non-commercial organisations
New ways to trade are possible and businesses can be more successful if they put people first.
Commercial organisations in OECD countries
If "just because you can" and "simply because it is good" are not enough, consider
The Fair Trade Software Foundation acts as a bridge to connect individuals and companies located in Europe with counterparts in the developing world. Join us in exchanging skills and reaping mutual benefit.
Membership Criteria And How To Join.
Membership of the Fair Trade Software Foundation is open to ICT Companies of all sizes in both developed and developing countries. Supporting organisations such as academic institutions and NGOs are also welcome to join, as are individuals such as technology consultants or members of the public who are enthusiastic about our work. Any person or organisation interested in becoming a member of the Foundation must demonstrate compliance with membership criteria and ongoing membership requirements. There is no application procedure for individuals who wish to join as "Supporters". For other membership grades the application and accreditation system is as simple as possible in order to keep barriers to entry low and encourage maximum participation. There are a number of categories based on the type of organisation and degree of commitment and involvement.
Membership Application Procedure
In line with Agile thinking, we value dialogue over documentation. Businesses may employ a wide range of different business models and we do not wish to stifle innovation, therefore there is no fixed form or format. The application procedure consists of simply explaining what your business is, and how and why you feel that it fits within the framework of Fair Trade Software. The Board will then review the application and, if approved, allocate a membership category. Each application will considered separately and on its' own merits. There is opportunity for dialogue and further explanation if prospective applicants do not agree with the initial assessment.
You are welcome to contact our board to start the procedure. Companies must be able to show adherence to 10 principles of Fair Trade, applicability of their work to marginalised people (such as urban youth in developing countries), and in addition show commitment to the following principles:
To qualify as Fair Trade Software, software and services must be created through co-development between a member in an OECD country and an ICT project or company in a developing country. Applications must show how their business model contributes to knowledge sharing, capacity building and stimulating local cluster development.
Ongoing Membership Requirements
Fair Trade Software is not required to be the core business of Foundation members, however the use of the FTS logo on non-FTS products is prohibited. Any project claiming to be Fair Trade Software must relate to work conducted in a way that adheres to the accepted definitions of Fair Trade and Fair Trade Principles, and the additional FTS Foundation Principles as outlined on this website. Promotional material related to Fair Trade Software must be clear, related to specific projects that are demonstrably FTS, and not misleading in any way. All Foundation members must actively promote Fair Trade Software.
Failure to comply with the Ongoing Requirements may result in immediate termination of membership and forfeit of any remaining membership fees.
Extending Fair Trade
The Fair Trade movement has done a great job in providing opportunities for marginalized producer communities through fair access to export markets. A secondary but equally important Fair Trade success has been in raising consumer-awareness regarding unjust and unfair practices and structures in international trade. Fair Trade Software (FTS) builds further on this work and exploits the possibilities presented by the Internet and Digital Economies. Fair Trade Software extends Fair Trade into digital employment relevant to Urban Youth and does so in a way which leverages international trade to achieve measurable development goals.
The Foundation strongly believes that FTS should not be a stand-alone movement, and has to engage with, and contribute to, current best practise in economics, sustainability, aid and development. Conventional Fair Trade initiatives have been criticised for sometimes lacking academic rigour and failure to incorporate ideas from the latest theories on economic development. We wish to avoid such criticism from the outset, and are actively involved with governmental development organisations, universities and NGO’s in relation to current thinking on economic development. Our commitment to development goals has enabled us to move beyond traditional Fair Trade, extending the impact in multiple ways whilst addressing many common criticisms.
Progress through collaboration
In some developing countries IT infrastructure and education have improved significantly resulting in a good supply of young people wanting to work in digital industries and many small companies or “startups”. There is also a rapidly growing demand for ICT services from government, NGOs and international organisations, but these projects are often considered too large or complex for local companies to undertake, so they tend to be outsourced. Local companies find work running smaller projects and services. Between the large outsourced projects and the smaller service companies a capability and capacity gap exists, shown below.
Projects that fall in this gap are too small or low-budget to be outsourced, but too complex for local companies. As a result projects fail or are abandoned, and many of these projects are in important areas such as health and social improvement.
The capacity gap creates three critical problems:
The gap exists because startups in the developing countries are typically formed by young people as a vehicle for freelancing and/or an alternative to unemployment. These people may have exceptional technical skills and motivation, but are short in the management skills required to undertake complex work and build successful businesses. In developed nations startups are generally formed by people who have gained business experience in larger firms, but in developing countries entrepreneurs and ICT professionals do not have the opportunity to develop the necessary management skills first. People need a way to come in contact with role models, and opportunities to learn industry best practice. This is particularly true of skills such as project management which are difficult to learn in an academic setting and are typically acquired by imitating more experienced colleagues.
International collaboration is the solution to provide the mentoring and knowledge transfer opportunities lacking in developing countries. Giving software developers the opportunity to work alongside professionals on real projects managed to international standards provides the role-models and learning “food-chain” currently missing.
The Fair Trade Software Foundation was founded to provide a vehicle for change in the IT sector by closing capacity gaps so that developing countries able to own, design, direct, implement and sustain processes themselves. Capacity building is the practice of gearing education, training, mentoring and investments towards the strengthening of economies, societies, businesses and individuals in order to generate a sustainable change.
