CDC Development Solutions' 3rd Annual ICV Conference

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) February 27, 2012 - On April 11 and 12, 2012, CDC Development Solutions will host the Third Annual International Corporate Volunteerism Conference, which will focus on this increasing area of corporate citizenship among businesses of varying sizes, including several from the Fortune 500. Recently cited by the Wall Street Journal for its fast growth, International Corporate Volunteerism (ICV) has companies as diverse as Dow Corning, Accenture, Telefonica, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Ernst & Young, and PepsiCo sending employee teams into emerging markets to volunteer their professional skills on short term assignments for local nonprofits, government departments, social enterprises and NGOs. Over the past several years, companies from Fortune 500s to small businesses increased the number of employees sent abroad by seven times. Reasons cited for this increase include business benefits derived from the program – leadership and talent development, partnerships in emerging markets, product innovation, and positive media exposure. In the international development arena, ICV programs build the capacity of local organizations, while providing professional skills they would not otherwise have access to.

As part of the Third Annual ICV Conference, CSR and human resource leaders from 150 companies,  from Fortune 500s to small businesses, will join the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Department (USAID) and other public sector leaders to look at how ICV is now used to address some of the world’s most pressing problems, including education, water supply, the environment, and jobs creation. The conference will look at what lies ahead in this growing area of CSR, including measurement and ROI, impact for host organizations, and creating shared value for broad business strategies from CSR, to human resource to R&D and innovation and more.

One of the interactive conference sessions will include GlaxoSmithKline’s PULSE Volunteer Partnership, which focuses on addressing a few ambitious global health challenges through their strategic initiative, ‘PULSE Pillars’, and is also furthering the discussion around cross-corporate teams.  Emerging World, a leadership development consultancy, will facilitate a session on what companies can do to strengthen their programs’ learning and development proposition. Speakers from PepsiCo, IBM, Dow Corning, Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) and others will also share how their recent 2011 ICV programs contribute to business strategies in the areas of business development, product innovation, leadership and talent development, and employee engagement.

In addition, CDC Development Solutions will release its 2012 International Corporate Volunteering Benchmarking Survey, which will reveal statistics on the growth and increase in ICV investment levels, as well as the reasons that drive these investments. Other conference topics will include linking ICV to core business strategies, new and emerging ICV models and a panel of returned volunteers highlighting the impact that participation had on their professional and personal lives.

Focusing on the theme of shared value and development impact, the event will also feature a session on the Center of Excellence for International Corporate Volunteerism (CEICV) and the Global Health Fellows II Program.  Launched in 2011, the CEICV is a first of its kind Global Development Alliance between IBM, USAID and CDC Development Solutions.  This virtual center provides best practices and expertise from each of these organizations to companies looking to embark on ICV programs and link them to US development strategy. The Global Health Fellows II Program is implemented by Public Health International (PHI) and places health professionals in developing countries to provide health organizations with policy and technical expertise to more effectively combat pressing health challenges. The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 120 countries worldwide.

Last year’s International Corporate Volunteerism Conference drew a rare cross-section of leaders from Fortune 500s, government agencies, and some of the world’s largest NGOs and nonprofits. This year expects to draw an even larger and more diverse set of participants. Addressing the intersection of corporate citizenship and development through volunteering, the Third Annual International Corporate Volunteerism Conference is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, Emirates, Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), Emerging World, USAID, Dow Corning, IBM, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc., CSRWire, 3BL Media, Devex, and the International Business Leaders Forum.

About CDC Development Solutions
www.cdcdevelopmentsolutions.org

Providing market-driven solutions, CDC Development Solutions empowers individuals, businesses and governments in emerging markets to lead economies towards self-sustainable growth.  CDC Development Solutions implements International Corporate Volunteer programs for more than a dozen companies including IBM, Dow Corning, PepsiCo, Deloitte, John Deere, and Pfizer through designing and managing all aspects of these programs from on-the-ground implementation and support to strategic planning.

Contact
More information about the Conference can be found here at the Third Annual International Corporate Volunteer Conference.

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