Global Philanthropy Forum

Empowered with new technology and connectivity, more citizens of the MENA region are taking ownership of their individual lives and demanding accountability from governments. But political instability and violent conflict continue to disrupt societies and progress is difficult to achieve. The desire for political freedom, economic opportunity and gender equity is part of a strong yearning for dignity. This lack of dignity is a crucial challenge in MENA and elsewhere; it is also a moment of great opportunity to drive change.  What role do respect and dignity play in inclusive development, particularly in this region? Myrna Atalla, Executive Director, Alfanar Usama Fayyad, Executive Chairman, Oasis500 Zahra’ Langhi, Co-founder, Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace [Moderator] Barbara Ibrahim, Founding Director, John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement - See more at: http://philanthropyforum.org/conference/

The world’s population is projected to rise to more than 9 billion by 2050. While the combination of low fertility and improved long-term health is shifting the burden for financial social services to a dwindling percentage of the workforce in the rich world, the young population is moving to cities at an ever growing rate throughout much of the world. This pattern of migration and settlement is stretching the capacity of governing institutions and nature’s resources. At the same time, this youthful population is tech-savvy, connected, and eager to contribute to a wave of innovation in web-based enterprise, as well as benefit from improved delivery of public sector services. Will demography be destiny? Or can the energies, talents and leadership skills of this youthful population be leveraged for the common good? And will the potential contributions of women and previously marginalized groups be maximized? Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Executive Chairperson, Higher Life Foundation   Kennedy Odede, F

Development is a data-rich field, and the experience of striving toward the Millennium Development Goals has added greatly to our knowledge, as have experiments with new hybrid models. Related fields, like behavioral economics, also yield important insights. And, if behavior is communication, data are words. More and more intergovernmental agencies, foundations and nonprofits are sharing their findings to contribute to field-wide knowledge. At the same time, national governments and local communities have experimented with and learned from cross-sectoral partnerships aimed at spurring innovation to meet development challenges. Novel methods such as these allow public and private development actors to join forces, set targets, and pursue strategies to achieve them. The most effective development strategies take the beneficiaries and their actions into account, allow for continuous feedback and capture the ingenuity of citizens from all walks of life. Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director, Abdul Latif Jameel

Digital tools, social media and new wealth in Africa, Latin America and Asia provide new resources for tackling modern-day slavery, hunger, and lack of education and employment opportunities. Strategic philanthropists are seeking ways to deploy them more creatively, collaboratively and effectively across geographies and sectors. But, we know that the challenges we face, as well as their solutions, are the result of millions of individual choices. We will reflect on what some of our choices are – and how they might be informed.

Over the past 15 years, smart policies have brought positive change to fast-growing Latin American economies, significantly increasing the middle class of Brazil, Chile and Mexico. However, persistent inequality can undermine the success of these societies. In this plenary, two social investors and a business executive will explore their sector’s role in advancing inclusive development in the region

We know that the global health challenges we are facing are complex. They are both a cause and consequence of poverty and insecurity. Examining how they are intertwined with deficits in education, livelihood and gender equity allows us to identify comprehensive solutions. This plenary will feature individuals who made a personal choice to tackle health issues and are leveraging community resources, health systems and technology from multiple sectors to enhance and increase their impact.

Traditional classrooms and instructional methods may not optimize learning outcomes. Path-breaking innovators have employed digital tools to break out of traditional teaching and move beyond rote learning. By doing so, the educational experience can be transformed, including in societies like China, where the sheer size of the student population has stood in the way of individualized student-first approaches.

Vodafone Americas Foundation designed the Wireless Innovation Project as a competition to foster creativity and fund the most promising wireless innovations with the potential to solve pressing issues around the globe. Winning projects demonstrate a multi-disciplinary approach with potential for replication and large scale impact.

In Africa dynamic entrepreneurs often lack the resources necessary to start and grow their businesses. While traditional banks fund established companies and microfinance serves individuals, a dearth of venture capital and financial services leaves entrepreneurs and small and growing businesses with few options. This disparity has been called the “missing middle” and represents an opportunity to support sustainable development through enterprises creating economic, environmental and social benefits. This panel will examine the current impact investing landscape in Africa, identify gaps in infrastructure and explore the platforms from which we can expand investment

In the knowledge era, independent sources of information, research and analysis are essential to good policy and practice. Yet, despite an increase in the number and diversity of news sources, neither their professionalism nor their freedom is assured. In addition, most societies lack think tanks, and those knowledge centers that do exist are often government financed and managed. Drawing on case studies, panelists will discuss the strategic role that independent sources of knowledge play in development.

Over the past decade, impact investing has come a long way as a concept and as an asset class. However, the field is at a critical juncture as it moves to scale this market. There are various theories of change about how to get more early-stage capital off the sidelines and differences in how organizations define impact. This panel will have a frank, provocative discussion exploring the true realities on the ground as well as whether and when there are real trade-offs between social and financial returns.

Building a successful social enterprise is a challenge anywhere, but in the Middle East and North Africa, it is complicated further by ongoing conflict and a lack of basic infrastructure and capacity. Panelists will discuss what is needed to develop an ecosystem that allows entrepreneurs to realize their vision and deliver impact.

No matter how innovative, public health interventions cannot achieve their intended impact withoutpublic awareness of the problem, wide access to solutions and the choice of millions of individuals to embrace new behavior. Wide access to evidence-based data is important in informing and shaping individual choices. This panel will showcase creative and effective behavior change communications strategies which use mobile messages, mass media campaigns, radio and television serial dramas, and storytelling across media platforms to provide people with the information they need to make smart decisions about their health.

Unprecedented wealth creation in Asia has prompted the emergence of new philanthropists and investors eager to make a difference. However, many lack faith that civil society organizations have the capacity to carry through on promises made. In some societies distrust is pervasive. And so a number of philanthropists have made strategic investments in infrastructure organizations that build the capacity, transparency and accountability of civil society organizations. These philanthropists’ goal is to build a robust civil society and unlock grantmaking and investment dollars, which are now on the sidelines.

Access to primary education has improved, but questions of quality and relevance persist. There is an opportunity to reorient our thinking and our strategies to focus primarily on learning (the outcome) rather than education (the method). And new data enable us to see clearly the ways in which learning connects to livelihoods — for young women as well as young men. Linkages to health, environment and human security will also be explored.

Meklit Hadero, Singer/CoFounder at Nile Project

A century ago the first grantmaking foundations were founded, each with the goal of bettering the world in which we live. This dinner program will be a celebration of 100 years of strategic philanthropy, hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation, offering a retrospective, key learnings and a window into the future.

The state plays an essential role in advancing broad-based economic growth and inclusive development. It sets policies and provides basic services on which its citizens rely. It builds and sustains the legal and regulatory framework within which commerce, social and political interactions take place. And it provides the physical infrastructure needed for modern life. Yet many states lack the core capacity to provide. And some lack the transparency and accountability to earn the public trust — on which any social contract relies. What role can philanthropy play in strengthening institutions, advancing effective checks and balances and leveraging data to ensure transparency and accountability?

Economists argue that ready access to timely information is essential to efficient commercial markets. The same is true for “markets for good,” social-sector activities undertaken by philanthropies and those they support in pursuit of the public good. Yet the sector — despite its hunger for impact — lacks a coherent information infrastructure that provides real-time information on what works, what doesn’t and where precise interventions could make a decisive difference. Panelists will discuss what it takes to build a knowledge commons — from setting standards and reporting protocols, to building platforms, to the widespread embrace of a norm of openness — and a commitment to field-wide learning.

What role does evidence play in informing the practice of philanthropy? How accessible and how relevant are the data we gather and share in the pursuit and evaluation of various strategies? In our hunger for evidence of impact — and the creation of a cycle of continuous learning — are we over-burdening grantees and program officers? And is “evidence-based decision-making” the only, or even the best way that smart choices are made? What role remains for intuition, hunch and heart? Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer will share the fresh perspective of a scholar who has entered the world of philanthropy, while Foundation Center President Brad Smith assesses the digital tools that are newly available to philanthropic decision-makers