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SCIs Sustainable Compliance Indicators

Measuring development

What are SCIs?

SCIs are key performance indicators displaying the impact of capacity building measures.
For every compliance issue a small number of SCIs is defined. SCIs are measured monthly over a defined period of time. For example in the first year of 3.0 the focus is on ‘grievance procedure’. After having decided on a capacity building plan (the design of this plan is based on the SCAT results) the factory measures the SCIs on dispute handling. This allows all involved parties to see the impact of these measures and to initiate corrective changes if necessary. The SCIs are measured for 10-12 months after which a more extensive impact assessment is conducted. SCIs are also an important source of information for the independent external assessor, who will verify the accuracy of the SCI data.

How are SCIs defined?

SCIs are constructed so that they can be easily integrated in a company’s balance score card system, if such a system already exists or if a factory is planning on developing one to manage their capacity building program.
In order to generate objective data it is preferable to have indicators reflecting different perspectives and qualities. Wherever possible the following perspectives will be considered when defining the SCIs:

Qualitative and Quantitative

A qualitative performance measure summarizes attributes of performance that are intangible (like factory climate) or tend to escape easy quantification (like worker satisfaction). Quantitative indicators, in turn, are constructed on the base of ‘hard’ facts collected from data sources that are objectively verifiable.
Lead and lag
A lag measure summarizes the outcome of activities initiated or carried out in the past. A lead measure by comparison, summarizes the activities performed today in order to achieve a desirable outcome in the future.

How are SCIs collected?

Participating factories can download excel forms where they can type in their data each month and which will automatically produce charts visualizing the development or progress of that activity. The factories communicate the data to the brands.