Flow Communications was appointed by the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) to provide comprehensive project management and coordination for South Africa’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) consultations. 

With a mandate to develop recommendations for the country’s president to present on the global stage, the PCC required a partner to manage a complex series of events for six diverse social sectors (faith, local government, youth, civil society, business and labour). 

Flow delivered a seamless, professional experience across eight major in-person events and multiple hybrid platforms, ensuring that voices from youth to faith groups could meaningfully shape the country’s just transition strategy.

The PCC required an end-to-end event management partner to handle the logistical work for its multi-phase consultation process. 

Flow’s brief included coordinating six hybrid stakeholder consultations, two specialised gender working group sessions and a high-profile national colloquium. 

Beyond event planning, Flow served as the central liaison between the PCC and third-party suppliers – such as venue technical teams, AV specialists and photographers – and took responsibility for any technical troubleshooting and administrative hurdles.

Flow’s objectives were built around reliability, inclusivity and administrative precision:

• Hassle-free management: ensure all details, from audiovisual streaming from the venue to professionally designed name tags, were taken care of, freeing up the PCC team to focus on gathering robust input from delegates 
• Equitable participation: ensure high attendance from traditionally under-resourced groups through active logistical support. This included managing travel claims for the faith group and transport/data claims for the youth group to remove barriers to entry
• Rigorous RSVP conversion: overcome the challenge of RSVP fatigue and drop-off rates to ensure a strong physical and virtual presence at every session
• Administrative compliance: maintain detailed and accurate attendance records, as project funding and provider payment were strictly contingent on the presentation of verified attendance lists
• Glitch-free technical delivery: facilitate high-standard hybrid environments for simultaneous in-person and virtual engagement across multiple provinces

Flow’s strategy was two-pronged: data-driven outreach and equitable logistical support. We used the mailer tool Campaign Monitor to run an aggressive invitation campaign, sending additional pushes to secure as many RSVPs as possible, given the typical drop-off rates between registration and attendance for events.

Recognising that a just transition must be inclusive, our strategy included a dedicated support system for travel and data claims. We managed the disbursement of travel funds for the faith group and data/transport claims for the youth group – communities that often face barriers to participation. This was built directly into our contract, ensuring that participation wasn’t limited to those with corporate backing.

Logistically, we focused on being the liaison layer, auditing venues like the Protea Hotel Balalaika to ensure their technical AV and streaming capabilities aligned with the PCC’s high-stakes requirements.

Flow executed a masterclass in event management across eight core in-person events:

• Third-party liaison: we managed the technical specifications for sound, AV and streaming provided by the venues, ensuring the PCC could focus entirely on policy content 
• Bespoke design: Flow designed and produced all collateral, including custom invitations, attendee name tags and professional backdrops for the national colloquium
• On-site support: we managed all on-site registration and logistics, ensuring a streamlined flow from the first greeting to the final session
• Claim management: our team processed complex travel and data claims for stakeholders, removing a massive administrative burden from the PCC
• Gender-inclusive focus: we specifically organised two gender working group sessions to ensure women’s perspectives were prioritised in the recommendation process 

The project provided the PCC with a professional platform to collaborate on South Africa’s climate recommendations. These were our key achievements:

• We managed outreach to over 2 000 unique stakeholders
• We facilitated participation for hundreds of representatives across the events 
• We delivered accurate attendance lists for all events, ensuring seamless compliance and contract fulfilment
• The project yielded a library of high-quality photography and recorded sessions, with thank-you emails reaching over 1 000 recipients at an exceptional 72% open rate
• By taking over the technical and logistical hassle, Flow allowed the PCC technical team to remain focused on the critical work of climate policy