Consultant Aecom is working with Highways England to embed circular economy thinking across some of the countrys biggest road projects including the A303 at Stonehenge.

Sustainability in design and construction is a hot topic with organisations increasingly seeking routes to mitigate environmental damage and reduce resource depletion.

The concept of the circular economy offers a philosophy for sustainable resource management, which has gained increasing traction in the construction industry in recent years.

But varying academic definitions of circular economy principles have ultimately led to some confusion about what the concept actually means.

Consultant Aecom started working to develop a circular economy approach for Highways England in 2015 and sought to adopt a specific working definition for the concept. It has based its definition on that promoted by charity the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

This relies on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems.

In a traditional linear economy, you take resources, you use them and then you dispose of them at end of life or you might recycle a certain proportion. Its very much about take, use and dispose, explains David Smith, Aecoms technical director for business sustainability.

In contrast, circular economy thinking aims to disrupt this conventional approach and avoid disposal to landfill by keeping resources at the highest level of utility for as long as possible.

Within the context of an organisational approach to the circular economy, its critical to embed these processes from the start of a project, insists Smith.

Traditionally, companies follow processes and end up with waste. They then start to think about how or where that waste can be recycled.

With the circular economy approach, you plan the route for the sustainable management of resources right from the outset.

Mitigating the environmental impact is an obvious benefit of the approach, but there are also advantages in terms of reducing supply chain risk.

With major construction projects getting the green light across the UK, there is more competition for resources.

But from a business perspective, circular economy principles can help an organisation retain control.

For example, if a business recycles its own resources, then theres less need to go out into the marketplace to buy in those new materials,says Smith.

However, the circular economy approach is broader and far more ambitious than simply recycling resources.

Smith explains it is about taking a holistic view of how resources are managed from the outset and making design decisions that keep opportunities open.

So how has Aecom applied these principles to its work with Highways England?

With the circular economy approach you plan the route for the management of resources right from the outset

Its first commission from the highways operator was at a corporate level. The project involved developing a transition plan to explore existing activities that could contribute to a circular economy, as well as identifying key stakeholders andhow they might facilitate that transition.

A key element of this work was a pathfinder project, which involved developing and recording the practical applications of circular economy thinking at project level to support the transfer of knowledge to future projects.

It was about finding out what works and what doesnt work, says Smith.

The 1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme is the first Highways England project to incorporate circular economy principles. Aecom joined the project during the detailed design phase.

Most of the key elements of the scheme had been designed before Aecom joined the project, laments Smith.

From a theoretical perspective, the earlier youre involved in a project, the greater your ability to influence the design.

The bottom line is that humanity isnt using resources sustainably, so something has to change

In contrast, for the 1.9bn A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge) project Aecom was involved through the preliminary design phase. The scheme includesa 12.8km dual carriageway and a 3.2km tunnel underneath the World Heritage Site.

The team has participated in the statutory powers and procedures phase of the scheme, which includes work towards the appointment of main contractors.

Smith says: Weve sought to integrate circular economy requirements into the contracts so that they get taken forward in the project. Potential contractors need to demonstrate particular behaviours, impacts and deliverables.

Weve learnt and refined our approach from our experience on the A14 project, he adds. Weve deliberately sought to integrate the circular economy into business as usual. Instead of being an academic research exercise, its practical, its hands on, and its about collaboration.

A collaborative approach is key to the success of circular economy principles. Smith insists it is impossible for any organisation to embrace the approach in isolation.

You need to work with other stakeholders. You need to be aware of where your materials are coming from and what infrastructure and requirements are likely to be available to manage those resources at the end of service life, he says.

It is also important for organisations to understand any critical restrictions or limitations on resources. For example, combining particular materials during a project might prevent them from being recycled or reprocessed at a later date, so understanding resource flows and communicating this to key stakeholders is essential.

Ensuring consistent communication across projects is vital, especially because circular economy principles can be highly nuanced, and organisations tend to approach them from differing perspectives.

Everybody has a piece of the puzzle, but they dont necessarily see the big picture. The approach requires fundamentally changing how we do things, explains Smith.

He insists the key to Aecoms success in implementing circular economy thinking across projects has been identifying the right stakeholders with the influence and motivation to make it happen. As a consultant, gaining client buy-in is crucial.

Highways England has been brilliant as a client from that perspective, he adds. They get it and theyre really committed.

Aecom is increasingly looking to promote the circular economy across projects and ensure it is widely recognised as a requirement.

With sustainability high on the agenda for most organisations, circularity offers a much-needed step change to ensure that a thriving economy does not come at the expense of the natural environment.

The bottom line is that humanity isnt using resources sustainably, so something has to change, says Smith.

The circular economy is a way of contributing to a more sustainable future.

Like what you've read?To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here.

Here is the original post:

Highways England and the circular economy - New Civil Engineer

Submitted by Thurston Economic Development Council

The Department of Commerce is offering a new Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant (WWSBEG) program to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Small businesses who qualify for the grant program and are located within Thurston County must go here, which will link to a Commerce page with complete instructions download the application, fill it out electronically and email it to the Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC) at grants@thurstonedc.com.

The Thurston EDC will prioritize applications based on the severity of the impact the business is facing due to COVID-19, including from being forced to close by the government-mandated closures, social distancing measures or illness. Awards will be approved on a case-by-case basis and are dependent on the availability of funds. The objective is to support businesses through the crisis and enable them to retain as many employees as possible.

Eligibility: Applicants should have been in business for at least one year. Please note that funding is not meant to help launch a business, but to support existing businesses who are specifically impacted by one of the executive orders and are vital members of their local community. Applicants are eligible to receive one WWSBEG award during the current budget cycle, which ends on 06/30/2021.

Grant Awards: County/regional economic development organizations will be asked to verify the size of candidate companies prior to submission. For each award, local economic/development organizations are encouraged to be judicious in discerning an appropriate and proportional amount based on the necessity to the business and importance to the local community so as to ensure that this emergency resource can be utilized by companies across communities in Washington.

Application Process: Applications will be reviewed as they are received and applicants will be accepted or denied on a rolling basis.

Approved grant expenditures: Grant funds can be used for expenses related to consulting, marketing, and training or for operational expenses including rent, supplies/inventory, utility bills, etc. Applications must include a list of proposed expenses grants will be spent on. Applications without a list of proposed expenses will be considered incomplete.

Note that payroll cannot be reimbursed via WWSBEG. Please direct all payroll needs to Employment Security Department. The following expenses are not eligible: capitalized equipment, travel, office equipment, and computer software.

WHO: Thurston EDC & Department of CommerceWHAT: Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant programWHEN: Grants opened on April 7, 2020, at 1 p.m.WHERE: https://thurstonedc.com/resources-for-small-businesses-impacted-by-coronavirus-covid-19/FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call the Hotline at 1-888-821-6652 or email grants@thurstonedc.com

About the Thurston Economic Development Council and Center for Business & Innovation:

The Thurston Economic Development Council has been supporting a strong economy in Thurston County since 1982 with a mission to create a dynamic and sustainable economy that supports the values of the people who live and work in Thurston County. At the foundation of the work we do are three main principles: recruit, retain, and expand.

We work to maintain the health of local businesses by offering technical assistance, and providing advocacy on their behalf. We present market opportunities to Thurston County employers, providing support for them to expand their operations. We actively attract investment and employment opportunities into our region through outreach, promotion and trade missions.

See the original post:

Working Washington Emergency Grants Now Open to Small Businesses in Thurston County Impacted by COVID-19 Crisis - ThurstonTalk

by Minji Ko|April 7, 2020

Photo: Cari Shimkus

In mid-February, Casey Ryan came to Columbia to talk to students about how culture, resilience, and sustainability play a role in his tribes management and protection of natural resources. Ryan isa member of the Bitterroot Salish Tribe currently serving as a hydrologist with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Natural Resources Department in western Montana. After speaking to Professor Lisa Dales spring class, Public Lands in the American West, he graciously gave an encore presentation for the Undergraduate Program in SustainableDevelopments Speaker Series.

Ryan began his talk with a short afternoon greeting in the Seli (Salish) language and a discussion on how the identity and culture of indigenous people are intimately connected with seasons. Tribes often develop knowledge and traditions through interactions with the environment and climate. For example, Seli people have different gatherings and festivals depending on the season, and those events have played an integral role in building community values. The Seli people particularly treasure cold winters and utilize the time spent together inside during the season as an opportunity to pass on their wisdom and unwritten memories to their children, through sacred creation stories, also called Sqllumt.

To the Seli Tribe, evidence of climate change is in some ways more apparent than to urban populations. Living within nature, they have developed an intimate intuition and knowledge of local plants, animals, and fluctuating climatic cycles. Thus, they are more sensitive to even the slightest shifts, such as snow melting earlier than usual, and fall precipitation decreasing over time.

Climate change is also affecting the livelihoods of tribal members. Located on the Flathead Indian Reservation, tourism is an important industry to the Seli population. The community has noticed that as air quality worsens, likely due to energy dependence on oil and gas in the region, the number of tourists has decreased and that has had a negative effect on their economy.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Climate Change Strategic Plan

In 2013, the Seli, Qispe, and Ksanka Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation authored a climate change strategic plan. The plan comprehensively covers how to manage different natural resources, such as forestry, land, water, and wildlife. The plan suggests ecosystem-based measures for each resource. For instance, to preserve forestry, it suggests promoting native and cultural plant species and managing invasive species across the landscape. Furthermore, the tribes aim to improve natural resources resiliency through communities. An example of this is how the Seli Tribe teaches ecological knowledge to visitors, calls on members to gather local evidence of climate change, and organizes a climate strategic committee composed of local resource managers and engineers.

Ryan stressed that cooperation between relevant stakeholders is the key in solving the wicked problem that is climate change. The state of Montana and the Seli Tribe have negotiated specific terms to jointly manage natural resources such as fisheries and wildlife in a more sustainable way. Ending on a positive note, Ryan shared his belief that his ancestors stories of survival transmits hope for our future and that no issue is impossible to address when everyone joins forces. Ta piste qe qs mqnmist We will never give up.

Columbias Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development hosts speaker series every semester to provide opportunities for students to explore professional development related to sustainability and the environment. To learn more about the program, please visit our website or contact Program Manager Cari Shimkus at cshimkus@ei.columbia.edu.

Minji Ko is an intern for the Office of Academic and Research Programs at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. She is an MPA candidate at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.

Link:

Culture, Resilience, and Sustainability of the Salish People - State of the Planet

(RJ Cormans train rolled through downtown Midway recently. My son, Brad, and his wife, Kate, showed grandsons Ford and Jack the importance of the rail to our city and commerce / Photos by Gene McLean)

From the RJ Corman Website / Courtesy of William Downey:

The ripple effects of the COVID19 pandemic are changing daily life on a global scale. As the coronavirus advances, threatening the health and well-being of the nation, the operations of vital industries remain up and running to provide stability for local economies and jobs. One such industry that rolls forward to ensure the continuation of functions that are critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security, is our nations network of railroads.

Freight rail has been deemed as essential and critical during this time of crisis. R.J.Corman Railroad Company is part of the extensive rail transport system thatprovides a lifeline of goods to North America. The railroad industry is a vast network to imagine, yet R.J.Corman has a case study that brings it all home, especially for those who live in the Bluegrass State where the company was founded and remains headquartered.

From a birds eye view, freight railroads are key in the supply chain that moves critical commodities from producers to those in need. According to the Association of American Railroads freight rail plays a critical role in nearly every industrial, wholesale, retail and resource-based sector of our economy railroads typically originate roughly 60,000 carloads of food and agricultural products per week.

R. J. Corman serves all seven North American major railroads, many regional and short line railroads and dozens of industries having rail. Services include owning and operating 14 short lines, one of which is in the heart of Kentucky. The Central Kentucky Line transports a variety of commodities including agricultural products. This is very important in a region renowned for the best fried chicken, the smoothest bourbons, and prize-winning thoroughbred horses.

The Kentucky Derby held in Louisville, KY is one of the most prestigious horse races in the world and nearby Lexington, KY which is surrounded by over 400 horse farms is known as the Horse Capital of the World. As reported by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA), the equine industry combines to generate $6.5 billion in annual cumulative direct, indirect and induced economic activity and a total of 60,494 jobs in Kentucky. One might not realize that the vitality of the horse industry depends in part on iron horses.

Even with the postponement of the Derbys most exciting two minutes in sports due to the coronavirus outbreak, horses still need to be cared for. R.J.Cormans Central Kentucky Line makes that possible. This short line railroad delivers specialty oats and grains to McCauleys Brothers Feed, an Alltech Company, (known simply as McCauleys) for their premium feeds and nutritional supplements. McCauleys is a dedicated equine-only nutrition company that has been operating since 1938 and provides feed to a large number of world class horse farms across the region.

Additionally, the Central Kentucky Line transports hay coming into the heart of the Bluegrass from Standlee Hay Company, Inc. which is based in Idaho. Standlee Hay harvests over 31,000 acres of carefully managed alfalfa, timothy grass, orchard grass, alfalfa/grass and orchard/alfalfa forage. Horse farms rely on these goods to keep their animals well fed and healthy throughout the year.

Railroads play a significant role in feeding the equine industry. R. J. Cormans Central Kentucky Line is just one example of this. Now, more than ever, railroads are playing a crucial role in logistical infrastructure and supply chains across the country. R.J.Corman is proud to continue providing the highest quality service and execution to the railroad industry to keep our businesses alive during this critical time in history. The companys iron horses will continue to run with the heart of Kentuckys unbridled spirit to support all the vital industries that rely on rail.

More here:

RJ Corman: From Iron Horses to Race Horses - The Pressbox

Mesut Akdere, associate professor of human resource development in Purdue Polytechnics Department of Technology Leadership & Innovation and director of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Virtual Lab, has been invited to join a task force at this Novembers G20 summit, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

At the summit, members of the Economy, Employment and Education in the Digital Age task force will make recommendations for policies that reform education and provide opportunities for training and entrepreneurship. They plan to address such topics as the digital continuum within the changing labor market, challenges raised by the platform economy and the implications affecting the young. Their policy recommendations will provide concrete and sustainable policy measures that maintain individuality, respect confidentiality, and encourage inclusion in the digital age.

The Polytechnics HRD Virtual Lab, which Akdere directs, investigates how human resource training and development can be augmented through immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). At the G20 Summit, a policy debrief from each task force member will be shared with G20 leaders for their consideration. Akderes policy debriefing, entitled Re-skilling Employees for Future Work: How G20 countries can utilize immersive learning technologies to scale up workplace training, explores the potential of immersive VR and AR technologies in employee re-skilling in the face of rapid automation, digitalization and artificial intelligence.

The task force is part of the T20 entity of the G20 Summit, said Akdere. Think20 (T20) is responsible for connecting and collaborating with regional and international think tanks to contribute to the G20 Summit by providing research-based policy recommendations for societal impact.

The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. Members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. Collectively, G20 members represent around 80% of the worlds economic output, two-thirds of global population and three-quarters of international trade.

The rest is here:

Akdere invited to join G20 taskforce on economy, employment and education - Purdue Polytechnic Institute

For all The Spinoffs latest coverage of Covid-19 seehere. Read Siouxsie Wiless workhere.New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country isshut down, apart fromessential services. For updated official government advice, seehere.

The Spinoffs coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work,join The Spinoff Members here.

On the afternoon shift: Leonie Hayden

As telegraphed in this mornings Bulletin, a set of tools for coping with the effects of Covid-19 and the alert level four lock down on our mental health has been released. Getting Through Together is an online resource divided into subjects such as parenting and whnau, workplace wellbeing, te ao Mori and identity and culture, and offers written articles, tips, questionnaires, activities and games delivered in a range of formats. Phone numbers for services such as Lifeline and Healthline can also be found on the site.

The Christchurch-based organisation behind it, All Right?, was launched in 2013 to support Cantabrians following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Information about them and their research is also available at allright.org.nz.

The newly launched Getting Through Together website aims to help Kiwis with their mental health during lockdown.

Two recently opened South Auckland community testing clinics, opened in tara and Wiri on the weekend, will mean a sharp rise in the number of Mori and Pacific people tested for Covid-19, according to Waitemata DHB CEO and Northern Region Covid-19 lead Dr Dale Bramley. Bramley says that over 17,000 people have been tested across the Auckland metro area since March 21, and the two new sites offer a culturally appropriate approach to testing for Maori and Pacific.

So far no data on how many Mori or Pacific people have been tested has been released, despite people supplying their ethnicity data when registering for the test, but Bramley estimates theyve accounted for around 20% of those tested in Auckland. As of today Mori make up 7.8% of probable and confirmed cases, and Pasifika 3.4%.

A full list of Auckland community-based Covid-19 testing centres can be found here.

Unite Union says SkyCity has broken the law by making 200 salaried workers redundant without consultation or discussion, reports RNZ. The casino operator laid off the staff late last week, citing lost revenue due to the Covid-19 outbreak. According to the union, SkyCitys letter of notice said the decision had already been made and it was not seeking the employees views to the extent it would do under normal circumstances. Unites national secretary, Gerard Hehir, also said the company didnt apply for the governments wage subsidy scheme, adding that the union had never seen such a large scale blatant and deliberate breach of the law around restructuring and redundancies. He said the union would take SkyCity to the Employment Relations Authority if necessary.

No doubt after spending some time exploring the searchable database that went live last night (its fairly addictive), Stuff has reported that two New World supermarkets have applied for the governments wage subsidy.

Parent company for New World and Pak n Save, Foodstuffs, has since said those supermarkets will either pay back the subsidy or withdraw their application. A spokesperson said: The Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island co-operatives have each taken the decision to communicate to their owners that at this time no New World or Pak n Save stores will apply for the Government wage subsidy and the strength of each cooperative will be used to support individual stores that have been affected negatively.

Shane Joness Provincial Development Unit is looking at how it can repurpose the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund to help those worst hit by the economic impacts of Covid-19, and those most essential to rebuilding the economy. We need to be throwing everything we have at our disposal at keeping Kiwi businesses going, workers in jobs and regional economies afloat and viable. If Provincial Growth Fund money is not going out the door through conventional projects then it needs to be repurposed for other initiatives, regional economic development minister Jones said.

Ministers will receive advice about which projects can be prioritised, which will include nationally delivered programmes and investments that support short-term employment. Other applications and projects that have already received funds may be deferred or terminated.

The PGF will also be delivering some of the key projects within the $100m worker redeployment package announced on March 20, which has already helped redeploy 300 forestry workers on the East Coast.

Vanuatu, which declared a state of emergency on March 25 due to the Covid-19 crisis, has been hit by the category five tropical cyclone Harold. Many areas have had to be evacuated, putting paid to measures such as physical distancing for the time being, and 79 New Zealanders are currently stranded after flights were grounded as part of Covid-19 measures. Winston Peters told Morning Report today that they are working with the Australian and French governments to find a way to bring them home.

On whether New Zealand will be able to assist Vanuatu in relief efforts under the circumstances, the prime minister confirmed in her media briefing that the New Zealand Defence Force will fulfil its duties.

We dont anticipate that being challenging because our defence force as a matter of course have to be ready and able to deploy within a very short period of time no matter what status New Zealand is in. Thats in case we have any natural disasters domestically or in case theyre called upon internationally.

Meanwhile, Ardern is seeking legal advice as to whether cruise ship the Ruby Princess fulfilled its obligation under New Zealand law while in our waters, in the wake of a criminal investigation launched by the Australian government. The Ruby Princess allowed around 2000 passengers to disembark in Sydney with confirmed Covid-19 cases on board. The docking is thought to be responsible for 10% of Australias 6,000 confirmed cases and more than 10 deaths.

Its a delicate balance for the opposition on being constructive while critiquing the government response. It was notable, for example, that Simon Bridges resisted any temptation to have a go at David Clark over his humiliation (and stay of execution) earlier today (see 7am).

But he has just announced that National is trying something else: a petition, calling on the government to require all people arriving in New Zealand to spend at least a fortnight in mandatory quarantine.Experts and clinicians across the country have been calling for this for weeks. National has echoed those calls, he said in a press release. The feedback from the public has been overwhelmingly in favour of this. Its time the government listened to the experts and all New Zealanders about this issue.

Based on what Ardern said moments ago, it seems as though the government is heading towards such a measure, though not as quickly as many would like.

Some more detail on the Covid-19 subsidies paid out, via a press release just received.

The release notes: The Treasury estimates the 12-week scheme will pay out between $8 billion and $12 billion. For each full time worker, businesses receive a lump-sum payment of $7,029.60, and for each part time worker $4,200. The full value of the subsidy has to be passed on to employees, unless their normal wages are below the subsidy, in which case the employee must be paid at least their normal wages.

Chris McDowalls daily update of the latest numbers in a series of charts will arrive later this afternoon, when the Ministry of Health updates its data. But hes plugged in the headline numbers and sent this, which offers some real encouragement that the measures are having an impact.

Heres what the numbers of new cases have been daily since the start of lockdown:78, 85, 83, 63, 76, 58, 61, 89, 71, 82, 89, 67, and 54 today.

The signs are promising, said Bloomfield at the briefing. But it was important to stick to the alert level four requirements over Easter, he said. Have a staycation.

Bloomfield has also updated the numbers on enforcement of the lockdown. He said police had recorded 291 breaches of the relevant orders, with 16 prosecutions, 263 warnings and 10 youth referrals.

There are 54 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, Ashley Bloomfield, the director general of health, has just announced; 32 are confirmed and 22 are probable. It brings the total to 1,160.

There are 12 in hospital, with four in ICU (in Wellington, Waitemat, Counties Manukau and Southern District). One is in a critical condition.

There is now confirmed community transmission of 2% but this number is likely to climb.

Yesterday, 67 new cases were announced.

The ethnic breakdown: 73% European; 8.5% Asian; 7.8% Mori; 3.4% Pacific.

The seven day rolling average of tests is 3,063. The total tests undertaken to date is 42,826 and yesterday there were 2,908 tests undertaken.

Bloomfield noted updated recommendations from the World Health Organisation on the use of masks. The WHO doesnt recommend the use of surgical masks by the general public, except in particular circumstances, [such as] where someone is sick and wearing a mask protects others, or someone is caring for a sick person and the mask can help them, he said.

Bloomfield is appearing today at the Beehive press conference with the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. The pair will henceforth routinely run a combined press conference. I will make sure we linger longer to take questions, said Ardern.

On the question of David Clark (see 7am), Ardern reiterated that in normal circumstances she would have sacked him from his health portfolio for breaching distancing guidelines. It was a massive mistake, but my priority above all else is our collective fight against Covid-19, she said. We cannot afford massive disruption in our health sector. His associate finance roles will be shared by Grant Robertson and David Parker.

The prime minister faced a range of questions about the viability of Clark remaining after what has happened. Removing him from his role at this time would not be in the best interests of the response that we are focused on, she said. Im focused on getting on with it now and he is, too.

To have fired him from the role would have left a challenge to get someone else up to speed in the role. That would not have been the right decision.

On the numbers announced today, Ardern said, for the moment we do appear at this moment to be on track.

On the wage subsidy, Ardern said 435,000 applications had now been lodged, with more than $6.6bn paid out, supporting more than a million workers.

On the prospect of mandatory quarantine of arrivals to New Zealand, Ardern said that was under consideration. She wanted a watertight border and we can do better on that.

Just as important, she said, was contact tracing. For a summary of why contact tracing matters, see our explainer from this morning.

Ardern also noted the plight of Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, who is now in ICU with Covid-19. Upon learning the prime minister had tested positive for Covid-19 some days ago now, I sent a message to him to pass on New Zealands best wishes, she said. He replied to that message and said his thoughts were also with all our friends in New Zealand. This more than ever is a time when every nation is connected and I know will want everyone in the UK, especially the prime minister, to know that we are thinking of them.

Winston Peters has announced a cabinet decision to open up potential airport transit by foreign nationals through New Zealand. There are millions of people around the world stranded by Covid-19 and we are continuing to do our part to help them get home, said Peters. Accordingly, cabinet agreed yesterday that New Zealand would seek reciprocal transit arrangements with a number of countries to enable our citizens to transit each others airports.

Strict regulation for these transits will be put in place, with protection of public health of utmost importance, he said in a statement. Transiting passengers cannot enter New Zealand, must have a maximum of 10 hours between flights, and must have no symptoms with Covid-19 nor contact with any suspected cases.

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has released the results of a survey giving a partial glimpse into how businesses think Covid-19 will impact them and the economy. The quarterly survey of business opinion showed that business confidence plummeted in the lead up to the lockdown with 67% of businesses expecting general economic conditions to deteriorate. Most firms expected to perform poorly next quarter, even after the lockdown was lifted, with hiring and output the common thread. The data also showed that that while activity held up reasonably well in the weeks leading up to the lockdown, businesses started to reduce operations in anticipation of weaker demand.

A 75-year-old man died in ICU in Adelaide overnight, reports ABC News, bringing Australias confirmed death toll from Covid-19 to 45. To date, Australia has 5,895 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Both University of Otago epidemiologist Sir David Skegg and director general of health Ashley Bloomfield have said that there would need to be more security at the borders to prevent people bringing in more cases of Covid-19 into New Zealand once the country leaves level four. We need to be really confident that as we come out of alert level four we turn off the tap to additional cases coming into the country this is what elimination means, Bloomfield told the parliamentary select committee on Zoom today. Skegg raised four main measures needed to eliminate Covid-19 from New Zealand. How do we achieve elimination? Initial comprehensive lockdown, prevention of spread from returning New Zealanders, increased testing and rapid tracing of contacts, he said.

He also suggested the need for digital or app-based contact tracing, like those being used overseas, in order to track community transmission. He said this could potentially be applied on a small sample of people such as front line healthcare workers, with privacy taken into account. Speaking later in the meeting, health minister David Clark agreed electronic tracing can be beneficial, but emphasised that any use would augment existing efforts of contact tracing rather than replace them. He said the Singaporean government had offered to share the source code of their contact tracing app in the next couple of weeks, and that if that technology could be adapted to New Zealand (and New Zealanders were on board with it), that could be one option to augment existing contact tracing.

Skegg concluded the meeting by returning to the issue of border control and whether all returnees should be quarantined. Its not going to be satisfactory to tighten up the border in the last few days of lockdown. If youre trying to empty a bath with a cup, you dont leave the tap running at the other end, or even trickling In Australia and China people are quarantined in a hotel for two weeks when they arrive Im not sure why we cant do that.

He added that there were two kinds of health criteria that need to be met as we start to think about ending the lockdown. Firstly: Where have we got in controlling the epidemic? At the moment we need better analysis of data about new cases being detected, and epidemiological surveillance. Secondly: Do we have the tools in place to ensure we can continue to eliminate this virus once lockdown has stopped? Skegg pointed out that once we move down to phase three, people will likely be much more active as a reaction to having been cooped up for so long. Its nice to know that at the moment there are only two or three contacts on average, but that will suddenly change, so we have to ensure we have tremendously improved capability for contract tracing.

National MP Paul Goldsmith asked health minister David Clark if police had been sent a clear message about their priorities, that a critical part of their work should be focusing on following up on recent returnees in self-isolation. Goldsmith said there was an impression among the public that police have a huge amount of resources in some areas, for example in policing lockdown breaches on Tamaki Drive, but in critical areas about people coming through the border, they dont seem to be focused on that particular job. Clark said a very clear message had been sent to police around those expectations, and they were aware that extra resources were available if needed.

In response to a question from Act leader David Seymour about whether laboratories had been rejecting certain cases sent to them for testing, Clark said he wasnt aware of that happening, and that test capacity had been increased by 1,000 a day. Seymour also asked if supplies such as swabs were being rationed, which he said was a suspicion among medical professionals hed spoken to. Clark replied that there is a national collection of swabs, about 100,000, and the challenge really has been a logistical one to make sure theyre getting to the right places. Bloomfield reiterated this in answer to a question about whether a shortage of nose swabs meant tests were having to be done with second-choice throat swabs. He said there was no shortage of nose swabs in the country, and that it was a matter of distribution.

National MP Shane Reti asked about reports of people being turned away from testing facilities, even though they had been referred by their GP and had symptoms. Bloomfield responded that the testing stations are explicitly set up to test everyone with symptoms. It may well be that not everybody is tested, but that doesnt mean that either the GP or the testing person has got it wrong. Simon Bridges then pushed him on this point, saying that Bloomfield and the prime minister had both made clear last week that the GP would have the final say on this. New Zealanders have been led to believe that GPs now could say no ifs, no buts, you, Johnny, will be tested are you now going back on that? asked Bridges. Bloomfield said that yes, the case definition had been widened considerably and pushed out actively to primary care, which had led to a big increase in testing. Its very hard for me to second-guess a clinical interaction by clinicians, he said. There may well be isolated incidents of this, and Im very happy to pursue this.

When asked by Simon Bridges if the rate of testing had been satisfactory, Ashley Bloomfield said that the New Zealand testing rate was ahead of many other countries per capita.If you look at our mortality rate and compare that with the number of people were testing, weve got a very low mortality rate at this point if you look at France and Italy it is around 12% and were around 0.1%. Although he expected the number of deaths to increase, he said the low mortality so far was an encouraging sign that earlier testing was not missing cases.

Reti then addressed the issue of flu vaccine shortages. We continue to hear that flu vaccines are running out in the community and I dont accept the Ministry of Healths excuse that its a distribution issue, he said. Are there vaccine shortages and what are we doing about it? Clark responded that there was a distribution challenge and that vulnerable people and the elderly were being prioritised. Bloomfield claimed it was neither a supply or a stock issue. Pharmac buys supply in for both the public and private sectors, he explained, the private sector orders the vaccine ahead and pays for it, and it is sent out by a distributor Weve taken over some control of how that supply is distributed, but a lot of vaccine had already gone out. Each DHB is working hard, success is happening on a day-by-day basis to redistribute it. On the decision to start the vaccine campaign early, Reti asked whether there was any concern that the vaccine would run out while flu season was still in full swing. Bloomfield replied that it was an issue that was considered but the pros of starting early outweighed the cons.

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said that Mori were three times more likely and Pasifika twice as likely to die from the flu as other populations, and asked how inequity issues around flu vaccine availability were being addressed. Clark responded that ensuring those populations could access the vaccine through iwi providers and Whnau Ora was front of mind. Its not an easy problem to solve, but were trying to address the issue of equity to make sure were looking after our Mori and Pacific populations, he said.

Simon Bridges asked Bloomfield why there was a shortage of PPE for front line health workers, many of whom had reported being bullied for wearing the wrong type and were concerned about dwindling supplies. Bloomfield replied there had been a range of PPE secured from abroad, which had been distributed out beyond DHBs to community-based organisations. However he said there needed to be guidance on what types of PPE was appropriate in certain clinical situations.

Bridges also pressed Bloomfield on the order issued on Friday evening under section 70(1) of the Health Act that provided a legal basis for the lockdown to be enforced, asking for the full legal advice received from Crown Law to be made public. New Zealanders need to know youre acting in accordance with the laws set by parliament, he said. Bloomfield replied that he also wanted to be 100% assured that were acting within the law in issuing the notice Considerable work went in from Crown Law and a range of other legal advisers to develop the notice, balancing out Bill of Rights Act considerations and other considerations.

In an appearance before the parliamentary epidemic response committee this morning, health minister David Clark admitted that he stuffed up by driving 20km to go to the beach after the lockdown period began. It can only be seen as a clear breach of the lockdown principles of staying local. As health minster I acknowledge that I not only have to follow the rules, but I have to set an example to all New Zealanders. Ive let the team down, Ive been a bit of an idiot, he said. None of the opposition MPs in the meeting have asked any questions about or made any reference to Clarks demotion.

University of Otago epidemiologist Sir David Skegg will speak to the parliamentary epidemic response committee this morning, followed by health minister David Clark and director general of health Ashley Bloomfield. Updates to follow, or you can watch it all happen live here:

Todays number of new Covid-19 cases could signal a turning point in the fight against the virus and show lockdown efforts are working, economic research institute Motus executive director John McDermott has told Kathryn Ryan on RNZ Nine to Noon. He explained that the virus has three phases exponential growth, linear growth (the phase we are currently in) and decline. If we were to see a number in the fifties today, that would be a good sign the country has turned a corner and is entering the decline phase. McDermott told Ryan he is cautiously optimistic efforts to stop the spread of the virus are working based on the numbers so far.

Epidemiologists, admits the University of Otagos Dr Michael Baker, can be a pessimistic bunch. He has been among the doomiest in recent weeks, yet speaking to Morning Report this morning he said that the findings at the moment are very positive. This was because, despite a large increase in test volume, our positive tests are flat to falling. He said it was time to start preparing for the next phase of testing and monitoring. Weve had great increase in test volume, but we just dont really have a breakdown of where the tests are being done, he said, while advocating for greater data on who was being tested, and where. Following that, New Zealand should expand case definition and priority groups, he told RNZs Susie Ferguson.

Basically, we cant test everyone in the country. But we can gradually expand that testing base. He said New Zealands next move should be to begin testing groups with a greater chance of exposure. Once you move from testing symptomatic people you move to testing asymptomatic people in higher-risk groups.

He went to on make the case for sewage testing, as detailed in Mirjam Guesgens feature for The Spinoff yesterday. Its pooled testing of large groups of people, from a whole town or city, he told Ferguson. Finally, he continued to press the case for more stringent monitoring of overseas arrivals and better contact tracing. Whether its an ankle bracelet, or an app on your phone, he said that tracking this group is the most critical infrastructure to put in place.

Read more: The Spinoffs feature on the power of sewage testing

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care because of his current Covid-19 infection. He was admitted to St Thomas Hospital, in London yesterday, and has remained there ever since. The BBC reports that foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been asked to deputise where necessary. A statement from the prime ministers office says that over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. It continued: The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.

Last week, a story came out about health minister David Clark driving to a mountain bike park to have a ride on a trail, contradicting advice from his own ministry. Now, as One News reports, he has admitted driving 20km to go to the beach after the lockdown period began a clear breach. As a result, Clark has been dropped to the bottom of the cabinet rankings, and will be stripped of his associate finance role. Ive been an idiot, and I understand why people will be angry with me, he said in a statement.

As part of his penance Clark been forced to do a full round of broadcasting interviews this morning, repeating ad infinitum that hes been an idiot. He next has a stint before the Covid-19 committee to look forward to. Hell appear alongside the director general, Ashley Bloomfield, for two hours from 10.10am. Well have all the important bits in the live updates here.

Clark will keep his health portfolio for now, on the grounds that switching a new minister in could waste valuable days in the wider fight against Covid-19. Yesterday evening the health minister advised me of his trip to a beach during the lockdown and offered his resignation, Jacinda Ardern said in a statement. Under normal conditions I would sack the minister of health. What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses.

She added: While he maintains his health portfolio, I am stripping him of his role as associate finance minister and demoting him to the bottom of our cabinet rankings. I expect better, and so does New Zealand.

Clark issued a contrite statement of his own in response, saying he had provided Ardern with what he described as a complete picture of my activity outside my home during alert level four, including having driven his family approximately 20 kilometres from our house in Dunedin to Doctors Point Beach for a walk.

He admitted that the trip was in breach of the principles of the lockdown, saying as the health minister its my responsibly to not only follow the rules but set an example to other New Zealanders.

From a political perspective it basically had to happen in these circumstances. With the government aggressively pushing the stay at home message to the public, it could not afford for one of its most prominent figures to do anything that contradicts that message. In Scotland, a similar story has just played out, with their chief medical officer resigning over trips to her second home. Initially, she too had planned to ride out the controversy, but the position very quickly became untenable. It will be interesting to see how long Clark will continue in the health role one can only assume that a succession plan will now be underway. RNZ political editor Jane Patterson has suggested Clark is unlikely to remain in cabinet after the lockdown is completed. I would say his days are numbered, she said on Morning Report today.

Meanwhile, leader of the opposition Simon Bridges has generated headlines for his commute by car from Tauranga to Wellington a journey of about seven hours each way. Bridges is currently chairing the Epidemic Response Committee from Wellington, but continues to live in Tauranga the rest of the time, despite the committee meeting over Zoom. Bridges argued that it was an essential job, and he was best able to do it from Wellington, even though it goes against advice on long car trips. He also cited an unreliable internet connection at home. PM Ardern quite pointedly refused to criticise Bridges.

Taken from our essential daily 7am news roundup sign up for The Spinoffs newsletters here

One of the major problems of the lockdown period is that it can have a damaging effect on mentalhealth.Isolation and a lack of physical contact can be really hard for some, for others there will be added stresses with loss of jobs or round the clock childcare. This has long been known about as a potential trade-off within the wider lockdown decision for example last month theMental Health Foundation launched a series of its own tools aimed at keeping people going. Its key messages were that its OK to feel anxious and scared during this time, and they spoke about the importance of keeping active and keeping in touch with loved ones. Clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire wrote a useful piece for The Pressaround the start of the lockdown period about how to cope.

Now the government has launched its own campaign,reports theNZ Herald. It contains a range of tools and tips at this stage, with further, more direct support like phone or online resources to be finalised and announced this week. It bears a lot of similarity to those tools deployed after the Canterbury earthquake, and has been developed in part by the same people. Health minister David Clark said the messages in the campaign launched today tell us that its OK not to feel all right, all of the time. He added that it is important to remember that a lot of the usual places people might go to for support, like your doctor, are still available. It might just be a phone call or an online video link instead.

A greater outline has been given by the PM on how decisions will be made on regional lifting of lockdowns. TheODTreports Jacinda Ardern says testing at a regionalised level will be crucial, particularly those regions which have so far seen fewer cases and therefore fewer tests. Otago University expert Dr Ayesha Verrall had an important point to make in thisarticle by me about contact tracing, which is the another hugely important tool for leaving lockdown. Unless you know how many cases you can trace, you dont know what your epidemiological trigger is for going into lockdown, said Verrall.

One of the biggest points of contention in the current response to Covid-19 is around the wearing of masks.Should we all be wearing them all the time?Dr Siouxsie Wileshas outlined the complicated issues around that question, and rather than summarise it crudely, I highly encourage you to read her unpacking of it.

A survey conducted by South Island Whnau Ora commissioning agency Te Ptahitangi te Waipounamu has found hundreds of Mori families are concerned about running out of food.StuffsCate Broughton has reported on the survey, which covers how some of the $15 million allocated to Whnau Ora agencies will be spent over the lockdown. Some families have reported that because a member has underlying health conditions, it is dangerous to send someone to the supermarket. Others simply cant afford it, after losing jobs. It has left many gaps in the safety net that need to be filled.

We havent really covered this off yet in The Bulletin, but details are coming out on a hibernation option for businesses hit by Covid-19. Business Desk(not paywalled for once) has done a wrap of what details are known so far, including the conditions by which it might be taken up. The key point for businesses who want it appears to be the agreement of their creditors they wont simply be able to choose to do so without running it by others who might be affected by the decision.

Some more international comparisons to share: Newsroomhas tested the claim of the government that weve gone early and gone hard against Covid-19 with border and lockdown measures, compared to similar countries. The conclusion is that while weve definitely gone early relative to the outbreaks of other countries, there are a few different pieces of data that matter. And for anupdate on the case numbersto date, there were 67 new ones yesterday, bringing the total up to 1106. So its not great, but its also not the exponential curve that other countries are experiencing, as far as we can tell for now.

The New York Times reports that US cases of Covid-19 have surpassed that of Italy and Spain, the two worst-hit nations, combined. It now has 347,003 cases, per Johns Hopkins, well beyond the 267,579 cumulatively reported by the stricken European nations. At the same time, there are still signs the US epicentre of New York might be cresting, with the 599 deaths reported overnight only a slight increase from the day before, and down from Fridays peak of 630. The overall national death toll neared 10,000, as California attempted to organise a national distribution of medical supplies according to need, rather than the current system of states competing for them.

Iran has announced its intention to decide the economy-versus-health dilemma by leaning toward the economy, saying that business restrictions will end on Saturday. Al Jazeera reports its president Hassan Rouhani as saying that two thirds of government employees will be back to work by April 11, saying under the supervision of the health ministry, all those low-risk economic activities will resume from Saturday, adding, those activities will resume in the capital, Tehran, from April 18.

The global death toll stands at 72,638 , with over 5,300 of those officially occurring in UK hospitals. yet as the Guardian reports, there is a lag in cause-of-death attribution which means this total will continue to rise, and is distorting our understanding of which nations have most successfully combatted Covid-19. Elsewhere Germany is considering making face masks mandatory in public, Italy saw a rise in deaths, breaking a steady decline, while Spain recorded a fourth day of declining deaths, registering 637, for a total of 13,055.

In a move that neatly shows its not just beneficiaries who need welfare payments, the government has set up a website to show which businesses and other entities have applied for and received the governments wage subsidy, how many employees they list and the size of the payment received. It shows retail giants like Kmart ($12m), along with tech firms like TradeMe ($4.1m) have received funds, along with smaller organisations like the Taxpayers Union ($60k). Full disclosure while not yet in the database, The Spinoff has also received around $120,000 in wage subsidies.

Check out the database here

Read more in yesterdays live updates

Join The Spinoff Members for as little as $1 to help us continue our work and cover the stories that matter. Get a free Toby Morris-designed tea towel when you contribute $80 or more over a year.

The Spinoff Weekly compiles the best stories of the week an essential guide to modern life in New Zealand, emailed out on Monday evenings.

Read the original:

Covid-19 live updates, April 7: Mental health resource Getting Through Together now available - The Spinoff

While impact investors are typically focused on a longer-term outlook, its impossible amid a global coronavirus pandemic not to look at the very immediate, short-term needs around the world, and how the drastic changes caused by the fallout will reshape the global economy.

Disruptions to daily operations have impacted companies and people across every sector, many of whom will struggle to come out of the other side, even with trillions of dollars in stimulus in the pipeline. So what is the most effective thing an impact investor can do in a time of crisis?

A number of researchers have set out to answer this question, including Cathy Clark, the faculty director at Duke Universitys Center for Advancing Social Entrepreneurship. We saw that a lot of businesses were being asked to shut down in the U.S. and around the world, so we started looking around to say, What are the resources available to these enterprises? she explained in an interview with Impact Entrepreneurs Laurie Lane-Zucker.

Clark, along with other field researchers, created a resource database for impact investors and foundations for social entrepreneurs. That list now includes over $300 billion in capital relief. SOCAP, the host organization of the annual flagship social enterprise conference, has also compiled a resource list.

Globally, the value of assets under management tied to social, economic, and environmental impact has reached $500 billion. This is according to a 2019 estimate by the Global Impact Investing Network, a membership organization of individuals and firms engaged in impact investing.

The volume of the resources mobilized is impressive, and a nice reminder that a terrible crisis can bring out the best in humanity. But beyond the corporate grant-based funds and the government relief programs, there is such a kaleidoscope of ways to offer support to just about every type of social enterprise that I think there is something here for every type of investor.

Below, Ive listed five of my favorite resources from the lists to inspire you to continue finding ways to make a difference at this volatile moment.

Continued here:

5 Unexpected Impact Investments in COVID-19 Recovery | Karma - Karma

Share

Share

Share

Email

Share

Listen to this Article

Covid-19 crisis is a bolt from the blue. There is no precedent of this particular strain of the Corona virus and hence, any projections of its impact can at best be treated as intelligent guesses. Predictive numbers need to be relied upon with great caution. One can only hope to keep a very close watch on how the crisis unfolds and keep tinkering with different actions as facts regarding the virus trajectory, the effectiveness or otherwise of containment efforts, and reactions of various economic actors become clearer. The situation can be categorized as a natural calamity induced crisis which would, as any crisis does, effect both the supply and demand sides of the economy and threaten not only the financial markets but the socio-economic fabric of society.

What the current scenario shows about likely impacts on India?

The pandemic has made a frontal attack on the supply side of the economy. With a nationwide lockdown having been imposed in the country, production barring few essential services, has come to a grinding halt. This threatens to disrupt supply chains, exaggerate problems in industries which were already exasperating for breath due to an economic slowdown, thus leading to large scale unemployment and layoffs. The decision for lockdown, in crude terms, is essentially being seen as a decision between GDP and lives, though in the longer term the fallouts could be more nuanced. The initial supply shock in consumer goods will grow into multiple dimensions through cascading effects as gradually even supporting industries would cease to be functional.

Once, the supply shock has deepened, the stress on the supply side would spill into the demand side as money would cease to enter peoples wallets due to work-stoppages, layoffs, loss of jobs or even long-term unemployment. An indirect transmission of supply shocks to the economic system may happen through financial markets. As markets fall and households see wealth vanishing rapidly, they will tend to hold on to whatever they have and cut their consumption drastically.Covid-19would by keeping consumers at home and making them feel gloomy about future prospects, severely dent consumer demand. The Rupee could collapse throwing the economy into a tailspin.

There would be other simultaneous shocks to the economy. Trade would take a brutal hit. Close to $180 billion worth of exports and imports of India are linked to highly affected countries. The most telling impact would be on the casual labor which comprises close to 25 percent of Indias workforce. They would not only face economic hardships but also a severe social calamity in the form of helplessness, malnutrition, alcoholism and criminality. Some sections of the industry like aviation, travel and tourism and large retail would be worse off than others. Most companies would face severe liquidity crunch, which was already hurting pre-Covid19 and they would not find any immediate succor. This is because close to a quarter of the liquidity deployed in the market through banks is in the segments of industry most effected by the pandemic spread and lockdown. Almost all such industries have seen and will continue to see a severe drop in revenues and thus worsen the overall liquidity situation in the country over time.

The country has been put under a nation-wide lockdown from the midnight of 25 March, 2020. While social distancing is necessary to prevent rapid spread of the epidemic, there is a huge economic cost which is entailed by the decision. There is no denying the fact that the choice seemed to be between GDP and lives. However, sooner than later, questions regarding rising unemployment, shutting down of businesses, increasing non-performing assets, supply chain disruptions, reduced investments and contracting demand would become serious challenges to deal with. The sooner we reframe the choice from being between GDP and lives to being between lives and lives, the better we would be able to manage the crisis

Whats best strategy now?

1. While this may seem to be the right time to undertake structural reforms which may help build long-term resilience to such crises in the future, our prime concern has to the revival of the economy in the present. To the extent possible, we should only focus on the short-term for the moment while trying to ensure that these short-term measures are in alignment with the needed long-term structural changes.

2. It would be vital to quickly seal the chasms that have developed in the supply side of the economy. We have to remember that the demand side shock is ultimately a fallout of the supply side shock and not vice-versa. Instead of relying on traditional methods which propagate increased public spending in asset creation, more fiscal resources should be targeted at directly helping individuals and firms that may have collapsed due to this sudden shock.

3. To begin with, expenditure on certain ongoing schemes of Government that are long term and will not produce any impact on economic revival/ job-creation in the near term (current financial year) could be brought down to maintenance mode. A list of such schemes may be drawn by respective Ministries and State Governments as Category M projects. New schemes of similar kind waiting for Government nod may be pursued upto the stage of approval by Government, however, deployment of financial resources on such schemes may be done only from the next financial year.

4. Expenditures on both Central and State schemes for infrastructure creation may be continued on the condition that projects to be undertaken from such funds may follow a revised priority which focuses broadly on two things:

a.Priorities on the health-related responseb.Priorities on the economic response.

5. The responses for every sector would have to be classified into short term (2 3 months) focused clearly on defeating the onslaught of the pandemic; medium term (3 to 8 months) focused on socioeconomic revival; long term (8 months onwards) focusing on pushing ahead on all cylinders based on new emergent realities.

Key focus areas and actions

Short term:

1. First and foremost, cities and States need to set up and augment crisis management efforts and build capacity to monitor key indicators regarding the spread of the epidemic, availability of supplies, preparedness and management protocols.Innovative use of technology and data science tools to not only monitor epidemic data, but also key indicators regarding the health of their local economy should be prioritized. Protection of doctors, paramedics, ramping up hospital facilities and critical equipments, supplies should be done on a war footing.

2. Flattening the curve of the epidemic below levels of available capacity in terms of hospital and ICU beds is a top priority. Mere lockdown wont be enough for this to be achieved. A lockdown is actually not sustainable beyond a point as people will start to decide between a thin chance of dying from the virus and an almost 100% chance of starving to death. Faced with such alternatives, there will be a clamour to restart production. How should the lockdown be released so that the costs on society can be minimized and the benefits maximized? Israel has suggested the poor mans strategy which is to isolate the elderly and let the young restart work in a gradual fashion. This would end up being a sub-optimal strategy because there would be a great risk of increased infections at any point of time going forward leading to uncertain, indefinite and on-and-off clampdown of lockdowns in the future.

Smart ways of leveraging the lockdown time period lie in the world of data. If somehow, a rapid testing methodology (NAT or equivalent) can be deployed at large scale which can allow for quick tests, then a sampling methodology can ensure that the working population can be screened as per need, if needed quarantined and then treated so as to allow them to get back to work as quickly as possible. Tests should not only be free, they should also be freely available. While discontinuing the lockdown, more networked activities should be started later than others. Relaxation measures should be based on careful reading of the data regarding health and economy indicators at all times.

3. Social distancing and lockdown have to be augmented with fiscal action to mitigate the longterm economic impacts of the lockdown. Fiscal action needs to be directly focused on providing relief to individuals and firms most affected by the crisis and not on public spending on creation of economic assets like highways and sewage systems. The actions would include, inter alia, ways of ensuring people remain on payrolls or else are provided unemployment allowance etc. Merely providing cash in the hands of the poor would not suffice as there could be a deeper crisis impending in the form of shortage in availability of food, health services etc. The Government should therefore ensure availability of basic items of life to people directly. This is a time to err on the side of generosity. Instead of spending too much time in targeting specific vulnerable groups, the Government should act faster in a more broadbased manner. There is more than 50 million tons of food grains stored with the FCI. There could be no other opportune time when the country needs to deploy those resources to prevent the poor from falling into the trap of hunger and malnutrition.

For a brief period, the Government could actually look at passing a law against layoffs for certain kind of businesses, or could look at supporting workers in crisis-ridden industries through part payment of salaries. The crisis hit manufacturing sector needs to be supported through special loans, restructuring of loans and rescheduling of loans for firms, GST breaks, tax incentives, altered insurance premiums especially the SMEs. After individuals and firms, banks need to be supported. The role of the RBI in this context will be crucial. We have seen that in an unprecedented move, the Fed bought into municipal bonds in the US to provide for liquidity needs of local governments. Extraordinary times need extraordinary solutions and the bureaucracy should step aside from the playbook to make them possible.

4. Beg, borrow and steal to make as much fiscal space available for timely action. The country will have to be very creative with generation of resources. Fiscal deficit goals could be shelved for at least the next 6 months. Multilateral and bilateral development banks should be tapped into to borrow money for short term revival if so needed. Governments existing schemes should be reoriented to look at channelizing money into the two most important priority areas health and economic revival. There is no time to initiate new schemes nor would it be wise to do so. The existing schemes should be used to channelize money into those priorities. Part of our foreign exchange reserves should be deployed to meet with the crisis. Listing Bonds on international stock exchanges could be explored. One of the quickest ways to garner funds would be to capture the space created by the sudden collapse of the price of crude oil. Government can capture those gains and deploy them for crisis management at this juncture.

Medium Term:

1. The focus has to be on rapid economic revival. The Government has announced a crisis management package of 1.7 lakh crores recently, which may need to be scaled up to close to 5-6 percent of GDP considering the magnitude of the crisis. Within that package, resources would have to be found to support sectors (automobile, aviation, travel and leisure, construction, retail etc.) most severely impacted by the crisis. These sectors would have to be supported through incentives, moratoriums and easy availability of credit. NPAs, debt/earnings ratios may be allowed to be breached for a considered shortterm period in order to support quick revival.

2. Investments into expansion of the healthcare system would need to be continued. A major emphasis may have to be given on the development/ sourcing of a vaccine to deal with the Covid19 outbreak. Collaboration with international agencies and being nestled in global efforts in this direction would be immensely important. States are playing the most important role at the forefront of dealing with the crisis. They face constraints in using resources for the crisis as their hands are tied with laws like the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003. It is time that the restraints applicable by virtue of the Act are relaxed for the current financial year. A free hand would have to be given to the States to ramp up testing infrastructure, health facilities and buying vaccines as per their need.

3. A new paradigm of trust-based collaboration between local government and citizens may be explored. This new paradigm shall be citizencentric and solution-focused rather than government-centric, and problem-focused. In this new paradigm, citizens may be invited to become suppliers of resources, data, solutions and actions at the local community level. In such a paradigm of demand-side-supply creation, the citizens (demand side), become solution providers (supply side) thereby igniting a virtuous cycle of complementary value that is amplified through mutual trust. Such platforms would be of great value in not only creating awareness in society regarding important messages but can stir local action in times of crisis rapidly and in great numbers.

4. Focused attention to informal and unorganized sector should be a top priority as they are mostly lost sight of from such economic interventions in absence of proper documentation and structured institutional arrangements. However, even though gradually moving them towards formalization should be the long-term goal of policy, it should not be a priority in the short term. NREGA could act as a great source of relief for the labor force who cannot join back work immediately. PDS systems should be expanded and extra amount of grains may be provided to large sections of the population, without bothering too much about targeting any particular economic classes. Special focus on checking malnutrition amongst the poor, improved outreach to the poor through ASHA workers, Anganwadis and other similar infrastructure could be looked at.

Long Term:1. One of the telling criticisms of globalization has been that incomes of owners of capital have risen much faster than providers of labor. In fact, median real incomes have either flattened or sloped down in many parts of the world, thus giving rise to increasing levels of income inequality on the globe. Capital begets more capital. Initial endowments play a critical role in defining future incomes. A society with unequal levels of ownership of capital and unequal access to basic services like health and education would see exacerbation of such differences as it attempts to push frontiers of economic growth. The pain having befallen on migrant workers, casual labor during the current crisis is a symptom of this larger problem of a capitalist society. Today the State essentially looks at supporting their livelihoods through entitlement driven programs (social pensions, public distribution system, subsidies, housing etc.); employment related programs (NREGA, BOCW Act for construction workers, Contract Labor Act etc.); free services (free healthcare OPDs, Aayushman Bharat, free education in Government schools etc.). It is important to stress that the countrys expenditure on the health and education sectors needs to go up. Merely increased expenditure wont suffice. Public institutions need to be held accountable to quality benchmarks. It is then that such institutionswhether schools, colleges, hospitals would start to set service level benchmarks even for the private sector. No matter what else public sector institutions achieve, if they are able to achieve this much, they would have played their part in improving social sector services in the country by miles.

While these are laudable efforts, they still will not bestow foundational equality. A case in point is that while some academic institutes could embrace online education during the lockdown most couldnt, highlighting societys digital divide. Such welfare schemes cannot act as the scaffolding to catapult the poor from poverty to prosperity because they do not make them owners of capital. The reasons are many- poor quality of services, no direct incidence on growth of income etc. Government has to prioritize redistributive justice to the poorest through effective implementation of land reforms. In a country where more than 70 percent farmers have less than 2 hectares of land and almost 40 percent of the workforce in agriculture is landless, no amount of support services can provide the foundation for sustainable upliftment from a state of perennial crisis. When I talk of land reforms I do not mean it in the cosmetic sense that it has been carried out so far, but in actual redistribution of land between the haves and the have-nots. The political economy has to bite this bullet before it is too late.

2. Revving up the economic engine in the long run would need more than liquidity, doles and incentives. I propose the new paradigm can be represented by the acronym FITFreedom, Incentives, Transparency. Indias industry needs more freedom to experiment, to fail, to try new horizons. We live in times of rapidly shifting landscapes in the world of products, business models, technologies, scale and speed. An army with powerful capabilities in maritime situations, when faced with an onslaught from the enemy may see its strength on paper collapsing rather rapidly. Dealing with crises is a different ballgame than business-as-usual operations. Crises like Covid19 provide us an opportunity to reflect on how well prepared we are to deal with unimagined onslaughts on various kinds. The Indian industry has to evolve to be like an army which builds resilience through trying, failing, reflecting and building its strategy and armory through a process of continuous learning. Such industries or firms which demonstrate resilience and keep performing better over time should find support through positive incentives while others who fail to perform should be allowed to perish without pride or prejudice. For example, while SMEs or MUDRA loan receiving entities should continue to be encouraged by providing seed capital to allow for experimentation learning to begin with, support should be continued only if they show performance on pre-decided metrics. All this should happen in a fully transparent system, where all data about the working of the ecosystem, who gets what etc. is made available in the public domain.

3. Governments aspirations towards becoming a 5 trillion-dollar economy are laudable However, actions belie the aspirations. There are many priorities, programs, and policies currently. In the absence of harmonization amongst them, different actors in the economic system end up working towards different goalposts in a fragmented and inefficient manner, sub-optimally addressing the national imperative leading to its under achievement and wastage of resources in the process. While the need for different policies in different sectors cannot be denied, their tendency to work at cross purposes to each other needs acknowledgement and minimization. The classic case is of labour laws. Even taxation laws that may seem prudent from the viewpoint of revenue collection may sometimes be detrimental to long-term economic growth. Similar is the case with urban and rural development policies, which instead of working in a symbiotic fashion, work at cross purposes to each other. Direct efforts to increase entrepreneurship have been less useful than long term investments in the acquisition of productive knowledge and building appropriate infrastructure. Even today, nearly half of Indias labour force is in agriculture, contributing merely onesixth of its GDP. Macroeconomic policies like monetary policy, fiscal policy, industrial policy, regulatory and judicial environment, etc. have an important role to play in supporting this upward mobility in the economy but they cannot be looked at in isolation. The need of the hour is to harmonize these policies and create an escalator that supports the movement of people away from agriculture into manufacturing and services.

4. There is a need to focus urban investments through the lens of Economic Complexity. Cities contribute close to two-thirds of the countrys GDP. Government programs in the urban sector largely consist of sector (water, solid waste, etc.) programs, focused on the creation of general infrastructure through implementation of top-down designs. They have, no doubt, been laudable initiatives with tremendous achievements across the country in the provision of basic infrastructure and services like roads, water supply, waste management, streetlighting, etc. However, actions to support economic growth have never been a direct priority in their design. Any such correlation is indirect and not measurable. While on the one hand, the need to substantially increase such investments cannot be exaggerated; on the other, there is an urgent need to focus existing investments on the achievement of tangible economic outcomes. Perverse incentives have got embedded in the urban ecosystem through over-reliance on grant-based funding. One, the focus of city governments on enhancing their own tax revenues has declined, and they show no appetite for raising commercial finance due to the availability of easy grants.

Central and State Governments need to recognize the principle of subsidiarity and implement the 74th CA in true spirit. Some examples of specific inputs needed by a city whose economy depends on agro-based industries are cold storage units, packaging units, marketing centres, transportation infrastructure for fast transport of fresh produce etc. A good sewerage network, water supply system are examples of general inputs, which by no means are unimportant. However, by themselves, they would not lead to improved economic growth unless specific inputs are provided for. Investment in creation of a market for better seeds could cause an agricultural revolution; improved freight infrastructure could open up new possibilities for light manufactures; clarifying property rights and land-use regulations may lead to growth in the real estate sector. Going forward, provision of specific inputs like these as per the need of a city/ regions context should be the most important goals of urban investments at all levels.

5. The importance of decentralization in solving problems in an agile manner cannot be exaggerated. Economic growth has to be a key objective of local governments. While it applies to both urban and rural local bodies, I stress on urban local bodies to begin with because they carry two-thirds of the countrys economic burden. They should be able to anchor the citys economic imperatives. Each citys context, history and aspirations are different and ULBs being the closest to the context are best placed to decide on relevant actions to fulfill them. For example, before the crisis if a city was entirely dependent on tourism rather than multiple other economic activities it shall need to review its strategy as tourism is a sector which wont recover in the short to medium term post the crisis. Value-driven organizations are empowered and autonomous entities. However, lack of authority, autonomy, accountability (3As) has incapacitated our cities. The 74th amendment, though enacted to solve lack of the 3As, has in practice, burdened our urban local bodies with huge responsibilities of service delivery without granting them the requisite autonomy to manage their own affairs. Over-dependence on State and national governments threatens to sever their links with citizens and creates a complex principal-agent problem, wherein the principal, i.e., the citizens, have poor control over the way their agents govern them.

The underperformance and lack of capacity of our ULBs are mere symptoms of the underlying disease, which is a lack of control over their destinies. They are governed by risk-averse bureaucrats, who are transferred frequently at the whims of State Governments. This creates a very difficult problem of lack of ownership, continuity, and fearlessness. They do not have powers to formulate human resource policies suitable to their context or enact laws and regulations on subjects devolved to them as part of the 12th schedule. They lack full fiscal powers to levy and modify different taxes and financial powers to raise commercial finance from the market based on their capital needs. All these decisions need to be ratified/ approved by State Governments, which defeats the spirit of the 74th CA. ULBs as City Governments should be able to take these decisions independently. There needs to be statutory sharing of GST between all the three tiers of Government- Centre, States and ULBs. This may necessitate an amendment to the Constitution to allow for trifurcation of GST receipts between the three tiers of Government. The FIT paradigm as proposed for industries can be suitably applied to this context for building the capacities of our urban local bodies to become resilient to these crises going forward.

6. An integrated Ministry for Economic Growth, both at the Centre and State levels could be examined. I propose the setting up of an integrated Ministry, both at the national and state levels to bring convergence between the functions of industrial policy, urbanization, regional development, and economic growth through the whole of Government approach. Reduction of income and spatial inequality, promotion of symbiotic urban and regional development policies to foster the growth of systems of cities in the regional context should be its key objective. Mechanisms to achieve these objectives could be manifold, and, more importantly, different for different regions.

Rather than having its own top-down, onesize- fits-all approach, it will support specific actions needed to catalyze inclusive economic growth in those regions. The Ministry, both at the national and state levels, would foster right synergies between various actors and address evolving situations in an agile and effective manner. The core argument in proposing the integrated Ministry is not to centrally direct the course that cities and regions should take, but rather to support them in their local endeavors through creation of appropriate institutional, policy alignment and coordination between different actors in the federal system- funding agencies, government departments, other public and private entities and so on. Economic prerogatives are path-dependent and hence, different for different regions and cities. Cities and regions should continue to be the primary drivers of economic growth.

7. The crisis has brought the use of technology into limelight. States and cities have set up war rooms, command and control centres equipped with the latest gadgets and applications for effective communication with citizens and stakeholders; gathering information from various sources; management of activities, essential supplies and lockdown; and predictive modelling for keeping up with needs of the future. Technology has been used beyond crisis management in many innovative ways. Work-from-home, a hitherto talked about but a concept which was not taken seriously, has ensured that productivity does not dip in times of crisis. Online education has also been an eye-opener. Many academic institutions could switch over to online medium of teaching to ensure disruption less pursuit of their academic goals. Many world leaders embraced video-conferencing technologies to collaborate and share messages amongst each other to effectively fight the crisis. Innovations have been observed in the use of drones to gather information, enforce the lockdown and ensure supply of essential items. Sensors and cameras deployed across the cities have helped administrations keep eyes and ears on the happenings on ground. Mobile Apps provided quick solutions to coordination, information and management problems.

The success of these efforts in the field of technology demonstrate its power and should not end as the crisis subsides. Government has to become nimbler in the use of technology. Traditional ways of evaluating projects for funding tend to get applied to new-age technology and innovative projects which either kills them before they materialize or end up making a mockery through achievement of sub-optimal and mediocre outcomes. If anything, the Government needs to take home as a long-term lesson from the crisis is to become nimbler, more open in experimentation with cutting edge technology and innovation going forward. To say the least, technology can play a tremendous role in increasing access to quality health and education services to the masses. Even though such gains would be tremendous, they would still account for only the tip of the iceberg, as the potential of modern technology to transform governance and citizen outcomes goes much beyond these two important sectors.

Read the original here:

Corona: What have you done to our economy and society? - Elets

Share

Share

Share

Email

Share

Listen to this Article

Great Place to Work Institute has certified ESDS Software Solutions as Asias 15th Best Workplace of 2020 under its Best Workplaces in Asia category. This is an ideal recognition for ESDS because of their consistency and dedication towards creating a better working environment for their employees. Across 8 Asian countries, more than 2 Million employees participated in the institutes survey.

Great Place to Work (GPTW) is considered the Gold Standard in workplace culture assessment and recognition. The institute is a global authority which ranks organization in various categories based on their workplace culture, behavioral integrity of leaders and healthy relationship networks. In Asia, the Best Workplaces stand out by creating sustainability when it comes to work and life. Employees in Asias Best Workplaces experience balance and deeply human relationships on the job.

We congratulate the 2020 Best Workplaces in Asia for their leadership building Great Places to Work For All. These companies are global leaders in creating highly inclusive workplaces that are better for business, better for people, and better for the world, said Michael C Bush, CEO Great Place to Work.

ESDS is known for its best HR and people practices as we have bagged many national and international awards from globally acclaimed organizations. At ESDS, our employees are our valued customer and right from our Founder to the management team, everybody is always proactive towards providing support for employee growth and empowered work culture, said Chandra Mauli Dwivedi, Chief Human Resource Officer, ESDS Software Solution.

The word Family resonates with ESDS when ESDSians are asked about their perception towards the company. Achieving such recognition every year is no small feat but it was only possible because best work-life balance has been a value of great extent for ESDS as their core focus lies on being a people-driven organization.

From Indias top GPTW last year, we are now Asias 15th Great Place To Work in 2020. This monumental achievement has only been made possible by the strong belief & trust of every ESDSians in the cultural values of ESDS and their unwavering ability to support and promote these values. The times are tough for businesses worldwide due to the Coronavirus outbreak, yet this deadly virus has not been able to shake the united strength of ESDSians and we have found ways to help out each other. We will stand firmly by each and every customer of ESDS and the family member of our ESDSians, said Piyush Somani, Founder, CEO & Group MD, ESDS Software Solution

About ESDS Software Solution

Born with a global mindset, ESDS began its operations from the Tier 2 city of Nashik (India) in 2005 and presently has its footprint in 19 nations across APAC, Europe, Middle East, the Americas and Africa. ESDS acts as a catalyst for digital transformation in the modern outcome-based economy by enabling organizations to embrace advanced technologies.

At ESDS, we believe in creating lifetime relationships and fostering a culture of co-existence by uniting minds that are passionate about delivering innovative solutions and exuberant customer experience. More than 750 organizations, backed by a committed workforce at ESDS, have successfully achieved their business objectives.

See the article here:

ESDS Software Solutions recognized as Asias 15th Best Workplace by Great Place To Work Institute - Elets