Social challenge and reasons for project’s initiation

Immediacy of the social problem

It is necessary to improve the overall level of social services in Russia’s provinces to match improvements in business culture and labor relations. People working in social services and NGOs often lack certain key skills, are not aware of the best practices and latest developments in their areas.

External reasons for project’s initiation

The Company takes into consideration the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global Compact, ISO 26000, the Social Charter of Russian Business, as well as the best Russian and international practices.

Interregional projects under the Formula for Good Deeds program pursue specific SDGs:

• SDG 3: Good health and well-being
• SDG 4: Quality education
• SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

Internal reasons for project’s initiation

Sibur production facilities are often located in remote parts of Russia, so in order to be able to hire skilled specialists, the Company needs a recruitment strategy which addresses various social problems in those places.

As part of this effort, Sibur’s social investment program, Formula for Good Deeds, has a special section for interregional (special) projects intended to improve the social and economic appeal of the regions by organizing major memorable events in partnership with grant recipients from various parts of the country.

The reason we decided to create a separate interregional section in addition to the regular grant contest is because the Company has high standards for the projects: for the Company’s sustainability program to be effective, major events of the national magnitude with Russia’s leading artists and scientists are necessary. In some cases, local resources may not be enough for that. In 2018, projects were selected based on these criteria.

The key reasons for starting an interregional section are as follows:

• The need for the Company to coordinate its efforts in various regions not only in its commercial activities but also in social and cultural matters.
• The need to get top artists, scientists, athletes, environmentalists and social activists involved in regional development.

When selecting interregional projects, we looked for long-term and well-planned transformations seeking to improve cities for their residents. Unlike the grant contest, with interregional projects Sibur is very much involved in their implementation and closely monitors projects in all the stages: how partners are selected, how events are organized, how they are promoted, etc.

Coverage

• Dzerzhinsk
• Kstovo
• Voronezh
• Nizhnevartovsk
• Muravlenko
• Noyabrsk
• Nyagan

• Gubkinsky
• Tobolsk
• Blagoveshchensk (Bashkortostan)
• Tomsk
• Perm
• Pyt-Yakh

Project description

Projects are implemented within a year since the date when the application is filed.

Formula for Good Deeds interregional projects are implemented annually since 2016. Here are implementation stages in the course of a year:

The Company regularly updates all the stakeholders on the program’s progress and achieved results. In addition to a hotline and email, the following channels are used:

• Personal meetings – initiated by the Company or happening as part of business operation. For example, the Tobolsk division of Sibur has a public council, which includes representatives of local government bodies, NGOs, associations, media, etc.^[1] The council meets several times a year.
• Circulating information through media with announcements, press releases, reports, photographs and interviews. In 2018, over 4,000 stories, 142 videos and 119 radio reports were published about the program.
• Spreading information through the organizers and partners of the projects supported by the Company.
• Annual sustainability report according to GRI standards, which includes, among other things, the results of the Formula for Good Deeds program..

NGOs provide reports as specified by the regulations and, if requested by the administrator, provide additional information. Interregional project results and plans for next year are discussed with partner NGOs in personal meetings.

In 2018, 25 projects in four key areas were implemented, utilizing the following techniques:

• Master classes
• Lectures
• Participation by Company employees
• Interaction with the local community: using volunteers, participating in public talks, helping them develop their own initiatives and projects overseen by some of the Company’s partners.
• Interaction with the government: inviting public officials as speakers or co-organizers for key events, etc.

^[1] See the full list of council members at http://tobolsk.formula-hd.ru/council/  

Support projects

The volunteer development program at Sibur includes participation in the Company’s interregional projects. Volunteers improve their skills, get to know professionals in a specific industry and get engaged in important municipal events.

Team and partners 

Team

The Formula for Good Deeds program is implemented by the Company’s regional business support unit. The employee assigned to oversee the program provides overall coordination and appoints coordinators for each of the key areas: sports, culture, education and volunteers.

Each of the 13 cities participating in the project also has a unit employee providing support locally.

Partners

• Government bodies

The Company works closely with various government bodies in the cities where it operates and consults them when making annual plans for charitable activities. A number of special interregional projects are implemented jointly with respective departments of local government. For example, master classes and science fairs are endorsed by education departments, and Theater of Nations tours are organized jointly with departments of culture. Also, government bodies provide assistance with finding sites for implementing the projects.

Here are a few examples of projects implemented in close cooperation with government bodies:

• “A Pull-Up Bar in Every Yard” – Installation and opening ceremony for a modern 80 sq.m. pull-up complex in Nizhnevartovsk.
  • “Art Formula” – artistic decoration of eight facilities in Gubkinsky and Tobolsk
  • NGOs

Interregional project partners work together with the FGD administrator on the locations, dates and plans for next year’s events. Once an event has taken place, the beneficiaries and partners submit a report based on a form provided by the Company, reviewing the results of the project, providing feedback from beneficiaries, government bodies, partners and media.

Here are some examples of the Company working together with NGOs on interregional projects:

• International Territory festival/school – joint efforts over the past five years to develop the cultural environment in the regions (Art Lab, an educational program, and the Poetry Territory project).
  • “Not Moscow” – A tour on contemporary culture in six Russian cities where the Company operates.

• Other partners

The Company also invites other partners with necessary expertise for its interregional projects.

Here are a few examples:

• Tobolsk Yershov Theater tour at the Theater of Nations in Moscow (two performances, 270 spectators). Also, the Theater of Nations tour in the cities where the Company operates (six performances, 1,315 spectators) in November and December.

• “From One Generation to Another” – basketball clinics by Vladimir Gomelsky and Nikita Morgunov.

Resources

Financial resources

A total of 72 interregional project applications have been received in 2018. Grants have been issued for 25 bids in the following areas:

• Urban development – 2 winners, 10,600,000 rubles
• Sports and healthy lifestyle – 5 winners, 77,236,160 rubles
• Education and science – 5 winners, 2,860,000 rubles
• Culture – 13 winners, 98,300,000 rubles

The total budget for interregional projects was 208,995,160 rubles.

Human resources

The Formula for Good Deeds program includes a corporate volunteer program where Sibur employees participate in interregional projects.

In 2018, over 320 volunteers participated in interregional projects.

Technological and material resources

Technological and material resources for interregional projects are provided by the Company’s partners. If necessary, the Company may provide rooms for events, souvenirs for participants and the media, cameramen for photos and videos, and assistance with media coverage.

Achieved results

Immediate results

For each of the projects under the program, a substantive report on the results of the project has been prepared.

Urban Development:

• “Urban Renovation” (Dzerzhinsk, Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod, October–December 2018):
  • Two competitions among art projects have been held. Based on their results, five small architectural compositions will be built. Also, six workshops have been organized, as well as three forums for Nizhny Novgorod, Dzerzhinsk and Kstovo.
  • As a result, over 100 community activists have improved their urban development skills
• “Art Formula” (Gubkinsky, Tobolsk, April–September 2018 г):
  • Artistic decoration of eight facilities: two facades, two bus stops, a substation and three parking area walls.
  • Designs for decoration were picked after a contest which received over 100 submissions.
  • In addition, three lectures by urban development specialists and three master classes by professional street artists were organized

Education and Science

• “Sibur and Chemistry in School” (all the cities where the Company operates, 2018)
  • Teachers in the cities where the Company operates received a subscription for the Chemistry in School magazine
  • In 2018, each teacher got 10 issues of the magazine.
• “Sibur’s next generation of scientists” (Blagoveshchensk (Bashkortostan), Blagoveshchensk (Amur Oblast), Voronezh, Dzerzhinsk, Kstovo, Nizhnevartovsk, Svobodny, Togliatti, Tomsk, March–November 2018)
  • Educational program in a science camp format
  • 10 cities covered, with a total of 1,250 participants
• “Sibur Generation” (Ufa, Blagoveshchensk (Bashkortostan), Voronezh, Dzerzhinsk, Krasnodar, Kstovo, Perm, Tobolsk, Togliatti, Tomsk, Khanti-Mansi AD, Yamal-Nenets AD, January–April 2018)
  • Educational project with advanced placement elements. Master classes, business games, project development and defense.
  • Over 260 participants from 67 schools in various parts of Russia
• “Science film festival” (Blagoveshchensk (Amur Oblast), Voronezh, Noyabrsk, Nyagan, Perm, Tobolsk, Tyumen, September–October 2018)
  • Film festivals in Tyumen and Tobolsk, film screening in other cities
  • A total of about 9,000 visitors
  • Science Slam, a scientific stand-up show with 25 researchers
• “I Choose: Advanced Placement Holiday School” (Nizhnevartovsk, Tobolsk, Tyumen, April–October 2018)
  • Three advanced placement shifts for 140 highschool students
  • Over 50 science projects designed
• “Case-in” (All the cities where the Company operates, February–May 2018):
  • International championship in engineering case-solving
  • Participants included 5,000 future engineers from 60 universities in Russia and CIS countries
  • Over 1,000 representatives of Russian companies participated in implementing the project

Sport and Healthy Lifestyle

• “A Pull-Up Bar in Every Yard” (Nizhnevartovsk, May–June 2018)
  • Installation and opening ceremony for a modern 80 sq.m. pull-up complex
• “Steel Character” (Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Tobolsk, Togliatti, Tomsk. Май – сентябрь 2018):
  • Six extreme runs on special tracks with obstacle courses
  • Over 7,000 participants in 2018
• “Open Practice Sessions” (Blagoveshchensk (Bashkortostan), Voronezh, Dzerzhinsk, Кстово, Perm, Tobolsk, Togliatti, Tomsk, May–September 2018):
  • 1,472 open practice sessions in 16 sports.
  • Practice sessions take place at new venues and are open to everybody
• “SIBUR Dance Fest” (Nizhnevartovsk, Pyt-Yakh, Tobolsk, September–October 2018):
  • Dance festivals in three cities
  • 1,628 participants in 2018
  • Also, 34 master classes, 3 public talk discussions, dance battles in every city and the final concert
• “Good football” (Blagoveshchensk (Bashkortostan), Dzerzhinsk, Nizhnevartovsk, Tobolsk, March–August 2018):
  • Football competitions and sports events for 288 children, 27 coaches and over 600 spectators
  • As part of this project, eight coaches took a training course in Sochi with Moscow Sports Committee instructors
• “Under the flag of kindness” (Moscow, Blagoveshchensk, Tobolsk, June–December 2018):
  • A fundraising event: three football games and concerts, collecting money for sick children.
  • In 2018, over 400 children in 19 parts of Russia received help
• “From One Generation to Another” (Voronezh, Nizhnevartovsk, December 2018):
  • Basketball clinics by Vladimir Gomelsky and Nikita Morgunov
  • Attended by 110 young athletes, 44 coaches and 29 sports reporters
• “Educational module for coaches” (Anapa, Blagoveshchensk (Amur Oblast), Voronezh, Dzerzhinsk, Nizhnevartovsk, Perm, Tobolsk, Togliatti, Tomsk, throughout 2018):
  • Practical seminars in eight cities offering advanced training for coaches and PE teachers
  • 522 participants
• “Siburcamp” (Anapa, Blagoveshchensk (Amur Oblast), Voronezh, Dzerzhinsk, Nizhnevartovsk, Perm, Tobolsk, Togliatti, Tomsk, throughout 2018):
  • A preliminary stage to select 48 best basketball players
  • The final stage in a summer camp with three weeks of intense practice sessions, six master classes and final All-Star games

Culture:

• “State Theater of Nations” (Moscow, Togliatti, Tomsk, Pyt-Yakh, November–December 2018):
  • Tobolsk Yershov Theater tours at the Theater of Nations in Moscow (two performances, 270 spectators)
  • The Theater of Nations tours the cities where the Company operates (six performances, 1,315 spectators)
• “Siberian Hippocrene Literary Festival” (Tobolsk, Tyumen, July 2018):
  • New literary festival, with eight lecture platforms in two cities
  • Over 1,300 people attended lectures, master classes and meetings with authors
• “Territory Festival Art Lab” (Voronezh, Perm, Tobolsk, October–December 2018)
  • A series of 34 educational events for young specialists in culture and arts
  • 50 students and 30 speakers took part in the program
  • “Poetry Territory” theater performances (three performances in Tobolsk)
• “The History of Russian Design Exhibition” (Moscow, Tobolsk, August–December 2018):
  • Over 11,000 people visited the exhibition on the history of Russian design
  • The educational program consisted of 33 events
  • A contest to pick the most interesting product of Soviet industrial design and three exhibitions based on the outcome of the contest
• “Discovering Siberia Open Air Project” (Tobolsk, August 2018):
  • Residency for 20 artists working with urban environment; educational events: nine lectures, five master classes, four tours; two concluding exhibitions “Jogging around Tobolsk”
• “New Steps Humor Festival” (Tobolsk, October-December 2018):
  • KVN City Festival taken to a whole new level
  • 8 teams, 91 participants, over 350 spectators, with the winner going to the 2019 KiViN festival in Sochi
• “Not Moscow” (Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk, August 2018):
  • A press tour on contemporary culture in Russian regions
  • 24 events, with 394 artists presenting their works

Internal project assessment

General guidelines for monitoring and evaluation are provided in the FGD key documents: the Corporate Social Responsibility and Charity Memorandum and the Social Project Sponsorship Regulations.

Specific evaluation mechanisms may vary from project to project and are negotiated with the counterparts before signing the agreement.

• The general evaluation is performed early next year after the counterparts provide their annual reports.
• Local opinion polls and the annual reputation audit are another important evaluation tool. They offer a deeper understanding of the impact that the Company’s charitable activities have on stakeholders.
• Feedback is collected annually from the Company’s divisions affected by the Formula for Good Deeds program: HR, the corporate university, corporate communications, the labor union and corporate culture. The goal is to identify how social projects can help specific divisions achieve their goals and to update current issues and priorities in working with counterparts.
• Based on communications with various divisions, a decision was made to perform a large-scale study of social problems in the regions where the Company operates in order to collate these needs against the list of applications for the interregional project contest. The study uses data from open sources and feedback from counterparts in various regions. The study is done annually.
• In 2018, changes were made to the way interregional projects are planned. The educational dimension of Sports and Culture was expanded; some changes were made to the subjects of educational events; priorities were identified for Urban Development and Environmental Protection.

External project assessment

We have not performed external evaluation. We regard the awards that our program has received, as well as its position in the Leaders of Corporate Charity rankings, as external evaluation.

Project’s distinctive features and know – how

• Projects are selected based on the Company’s needs and the local situation in the region
• Each project includes an educational element for local specialists in respective areas (urban development, education, sports, culture, etc.)
• All major events use local and corporate volunteers who view their participation as a development opportunity and a bonus
• The ultimate goal of interregional projects is to stimulate the creation of local high-quality projects and products in the respective area in line with the best practices

Challenges and solutions

• Challenge: The sites where the Company operates are very scattered geographically.

• Solution: Smart scheduling and distribution of projects across cities so no city feels underprivileged.

• Challenge: The audience is sometimes critical of innovative projects.

• Solution: Educational events not only for professionals but also for the general public.

• Challenge: Limited infrastructure.
  • Solution 1: Create new infrastructure or modernize existing one.
  • Solution 2: Adapt the projects to what is available in the city without significant losses in quality and results.

Plans of further development   

The primary goal for 2019 is to create a pilot strategy for interregional projects in culture as one of the key areas for the FGD. Currently, planning procedures are being upgraded for 2020 projects. We are meeting with potential partners and designing a new system for evaluating projects’ impact. Based on the strategy, a clear road map will be prepared for cultural events in all the regions.

Recommendations

1. Get the local people involved in your projects not just as spectators or participants but as co-initiators and co-organizers.
2. Stimulate the generation of new local ideas after large-scale nationwide projects.
3. Plan for two or three years ahead if you want to achieve significant results.

Project’s documents

Archive: https://www.formula-hd.ru/