Legal requirements on companies to protect and respect human rights are imposing the need for relevant data for insights and understanding of risks in global supply chains.

Jasmine Afshari

Program Manager, Quizrr

Quizrr and Ulula have partnered to advance data analytics from workers’ surveys and training, made possible with funding from the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and contributions from the service providers. The project is evaluating workers’ wellbeing and workplace conditions, strengthening knowledge and capacity within the workforce, as well as providing real-time data for informed business decisions on social sustainability dimensions for both brands and the factories that supply to them.

There is a growing momentum worldwide among governments and civil society towards improving corporate human rights performance through mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD). With international legal frameworks being put in place by several countries, the European Commission released its draft regulation on HRDD in the beginning of 2022. These frameworks require companies to carry out due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for risks for human rights impact throughout their value chain. This has consequently led to a growing demand for companies to address these issues. Digital solutions are playing an increasingly important role in meeting their corporate responsibilities in the labour rights context and thus improving work conditions for the millions, majority of which are women, employed in factories that supply to brands.

The UNCDF funding allows EdTech company Quizrr together with its tech partner Ulula, to further deep dive into the metrics of relevant data covering the social aspects of sustainability to guide action for improvement. The data allows companies to receive an instant view of the work conditions at a factory, as well as helps them to identify trends, patterns, and needs. Furthermore, it enables suppliers to build a business case for social sustainability and work condition improvements while taking ownership of their business and workforce.

Quizrr and Ulula have extensive experience in respective field of expertise – capacity building and assessments. In this program, Quizrr’s tech-based training and Ulula’s assessment solutions continue to build on their joint worker voice programs, with a specific target to advance data analytics and actionable HRDD insights. With the support of stakeholders such as Social Labour Convergence Program (SLCP) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Quizrr and Ulula work with H&M, Decathlon and Bestseller and their suppliers to pilot the capacity building and assessment tools.

“Successful collaborations can help us achieve stronger outcomes. By working together and focusing on one aim, we can build effective solutions for human rights due diligence worldwide.” says Sofie Nordström, co-founder at Quizrr.

“In the post-Covid world, the use of technology has increased in all sectors, as well as in the case of learning. We see through digital learning that this project has increased participants’ engagement and accountability. It also gives a personalized learning space according to their own pace of time” says Karobee Sultana, Program Specialist-Social at H&M.

One of the facilities agrees and explains the positive outcomes of the program.

“The program will help grow our company brand value. The employees have also learned a lot, which will be valuable in their personal life independent of where they work” says Pioneer Knitwear’s Assistant Manager Compliance Uday Hossain

The collaboration helps companies to utilize digital services, paired with advanced data analytics, to drive social sustainability and work condition improvements in the ready-made garments sector in Bangladesh, as well as other industries and markets. Quizrr and Ulula work collaboratively with leading brands and organizations that have strategic intent to impact social governance in their entire value chain ecosystem. Together, they help brands and their suppliers to identify pain- and gain points, raise awareness and nudge behavioral change, as well as assess progress. Given the complexity and interconnectedness of supply chains, businesses recognize that they cannot meet their sustainability goals alone. Pre-competitive collaborations such as this program are key to achieve systemic challenges and accelerate impact across global value chains.

The pilot project has allowed Quizrr and Ulula to reach 13,151 workers to date with training on topics such as basic rights, health and safety, fire and building safety, as well as financial planning. The training in combination with the assessment, allows the consortium to empower workers, assess progress and identify actionable insights from the factory floor.

About Quizrr

Quizrr is a Swedish EdTech company that offers innovative training solutions backed with real time data to advance corporate responsibility and capacity building in global supply chains. Founded in 2013, Quizrr uses digital training solutions to educate employees in global supply chains on issues such as employment rights, workplace safety, and social dialogue, using a bottom-up approach. Quizrr has engaged 1.2 million employees in 600+ factories worldwide. Quizrr is the 2021 Nordea Social Impact Award Winner as well as the 2022 STITCH for RMG: Global Innovation Challenge Winner. For more information, go to www.quizrr.se

About Ulula

Ulula is a human rights technology and data company that aims to improve working conditions across diverse sectors including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, electronics, construction and more, by sourcing and processing accurate and timely insights directly from workers and communities around the world. Ulula has engaged over 1.65 million stakeholders in more than 30 countries in 45+ languages. Ulula is a Certified B Corporation and was the 2021 winner of the Thomson Reuters Stop Slavery Award. For more information, go to www.ulula.com

About UNCDF

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: (1) inclusive digital economies, which connects individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; (2) local development finance, which capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and (3) investment finance, which provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

For more information, visit www.uncdf.org