The nonprofit sector and its philanthropic supporters still too often overlook the most effective pathway to exponential impact.

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By Rakesh Rajani & Tim Hanstad

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On a whim, an NGO leader walks into a fortune teller's booth. "My NGO has developed a proven intervention that is improving the lives of 10,000 people. We expect increased philanthropic funding over the next year. Please tell me how our impact will grow over time."

Gazing intently into her crystal ball, the fortune teller replies, "You appear to be at a crossroad. The first path has your NGO expanding your direct services. By growing your staff, opening new offices, and strengthening your fundraising, your organization could reach 50,000 people in five years and double that in 10 years. That is 0.1 percent of the 50 million people who could benefit from your work."

"The second path is messier," continues the fortune teller. "It involves what Co-Impact calls system change and Kevin Starr has dubbed the 'Big Shift' in a recent SSIR article on so-called 'big bet philanthropy.' This path involves engaging the government on their priorities and working with them to adapt your intervention. In this path, you must take a low-ego, low-logo approach and let the government both lead and shine. Because your efforts involve influencing and supporting the government, my crystal ball cannot guarantee your efforts will be successful. But, if they are, you have the potential to help the government reach 3 million people in five years and 18 million people in 10 years."

The NGO leader's face lights up. "That's an easy decision," she says, "I want to maximize impact. Of course, I will take the second path."

"I am not so sure," replies the fortune teller. "Nearly all of your peers have chosen the first path. And philanthropists appear more comfortable supporting that path."

You don't need a crystal ball to see the inconvenient truth behind our homespun fable: the NGO sector and its philanthropic supporters often overlook the most effective pathway to scale solutions to our planet's biggest challenges—partnering with government.

As Starr highlights, too many recipients of increased philanthropy are missing the opportunity to make the “big shift” toward exponential impact through partnering with government. Truth be told, as our fortune teller observed, this shortcoming is not unique to recipients of big bet grants. It afflicts NGOs of all sizes and budgets, and will require changes from both NGO leaders as well as funders.

That so many NGO leaders stick with a direct services model (including after receiving a big bet—future funding cliffs be damned), points to the challenges of making the big shift to government engagement and support. It is easier said than done. However, our collective learning as both NGO leaders and funders convinces us it is both possible and the best path to exponential impact. And, while receiving big bet funding can make it easier, it is not necessary to make the big shift.

Successful big shifts will require: 1) a clear-eyed recognition of why NGO-government collaboration is hard; 2) changes in NGO mindsets and muscles; and 3) shifts in the typical funding paradigm. Building on ongoing discourse, this article addresses all three.

Why NGO-Government Collaboration Is Hard

Why do savvy, strategic NGO leaders struggle to work with governments? Recent research by JustSystems highlights several critical gaps to effective collaboration, including:

• Negative conceptions of government run deep in the public psyche across the political spectrum. Poorly functioning bureaucracies, rising authoritarianism, and corruption are real problems, but government is no monolith and includes many leaders and departments striving to work better for people.
• Many civil society organizations and philanthropists do not understand the constraints, incentives and motivations within government systems. They approach public sector leaders with ready-made conclusions and solutions, and exercise little of the curiosity or empathy that would lead to better collaboration. As the leaders of EdelGive Foundation and Dasra noted in another recent SSIR article, "attracting and maintaining productive relationships with government agencies is rarely simple or straightforward."
• Political considerations are the biggest driver of systems change, but many within the NGO sector are trained to steer clear of politics. This makes it harder to see how windows of opportunity, such as a crisis or elections or leaders' desire for legacy, can be powerful moments for building new momentum for change.
• The mixed track records of government on gender equality, human rights, civil liberties, and/or the environment are often troubling, and some activists prefer to exert pressure from the outside rather than associate themselves with an imperfect partner. The risk of an outside-only approach is that it can be ignored or can limit the opportunity to build high-trust, constructive relationships with public leaders willing to make reforms.
• Most NGO funders and many NGO leaders are more comfortable supporting direct services, alleviating symptoms of suboptimal public systems, than the long-term work of addressing root causes of dysfunction or strengthening government capability. Moreover, NGO leaders and philanthropists often think shorter term than what is required to collaborate with government and to achieve durable impact at scale, as noted by leaders from Educate Girls and Last Mile Health.

How NGOs Can Develop the Mindset and Muscles for the Big Shift

To successfully navigate the Big Shift, NGOs need to go beyond minor adjustments. “Add government systems and carry on” will not work. Instead, it will take a different set of mindsets and muscles. We suggest the following five as among the most important:

Place Public Systems and Government at the Center:

Centering the government starts by realizing that a better question than "What can my NGO deliver more or better?" or "How can we scale up our work?" is "How does the public system need to change to work better for people, and what and who will it take to make that happen?" This mindset shifts from centering your organization to the system that needs to change. Doing so reorients how you engage with government.

Start with their agenda rather than yours. Seek more to understand than to be understood. Focus on learning what makes government work, what motivates government officials, what are the challenges from the government's perspective, and how government institutions change.

Compelling examples of this approach include Harambee's big shift from directly training young people for employment to facilitating a national platform that brings in government units and hundreds of NGO partners. Another is the SaveLife Foundation's partnership with government to reduce fatalities on India’s 100 most dangerous highways.

Co-create With Government:

Nobody likes to be told to line up behind someone else's idea. The big shift will not work if it becomes primarily about persuading a government to adopt, fund, and/or implement an intervention created by the NGO.

Evidence pulled together by Alix Bonargent from the International Growth Centre shows that co-designing a program with government from the beginning makes it more likely to succeed. Co-designing brings diverse perspectives to bear, allows for a keener appreciation of the problem and its roots, and builds trust.

That is why governments need to be approached not only as doers at scale but also thinkers at scale. Mariana Mazzucato, Yuen Yuen Ang, and others have demonstrated that government is capable of thinking and innovation. Nonprofit leaders need to be open to hearing their ideas and solutions.

Examples of co-creation include Samagra's work with political and public leaders in India to diagnose and address problems that undermine quality of life. Likewise, IREX works in partnership with Jordan's government and other stakeholders to improve public teacher education programs and to improve learning outcomes for early grade students.

Build Support and Trust, Including Frontline Workers:

Government is made up of people, many of whom are capable and seek to do well. The core question, as Gautam John put it, is not "how we scale solutions," but "how we scale the trust and conditions that make solutions possible." This is true even in big systems, research by JustSystems finds; trusted relationships and how people show up often make the key difference in whether a program will work at scale.

Indeed, Dan Honig's deep research demonstrates that empowering public servants through autonomy and trust, rather than imposing strict controls and oversight, is what leads to enhanced government performance and improved public welfare.

This includes enabling those at the frontlines, particularly women and other historically excluded groups, to exercise greater influence of change within the public system.

Last Mile Health's work supporting community health workers as they advocate for salaries and the support they need to improve health outcomes across Africa illustrates this approach, as does the Center for Effective Governance of Indian States' (CEGIS) partnership with state governments to design and implement effective governance reforms.

Build a Broad Coalition:

Deep systemic changes cannot be made by any one actor alone, however powerful. It takes a winning coalition of affected and influential actors to build sufficient support and sustain change.

Building an effective coalition requires a keen appreciation of how power is distributed in government, but also across society and key institutions. Elites matter – a lot – because things move when elites recognize that their long-term interests will be better met by coming together to advance social progress through a shared “development bargain.”

Successful examples of this approach include Ilifa Labantwana and the coalition for early childhood development in South Africa as well as Open Government Partnership’s broad multi-stakeholder coalitions across 77 countries.

Be Sensitive to Political Considerations:

As we said before, political considerations are the biggest driver of systems change, and there are particular windows of opportunity, such as a crisis, an election, or a leaders' desire for legacy, when the possibilities for change are most open.

Landesa, for example, has made much progress leveraging such political windows of opportunity, including reform windows in China in the 1980s and '90s, in several former Soviet republics in the 1990s and 2000s, and in Myanmar in the 2010s. The Chandler Institute of Governance, which works to strengthen civil service and improve government effectiveness, has done the same, forging partnerships with newly elected leaders in Malawi and Zambia to support good governance reforms.

To be clear, we are not saying that all NGOs need to or will be ready to make the big shift—to take on a systems change approach and work directly with government. In some situations, direct service delivery is necessary and timely. A healthy society also needs independent groups whose job is to research, amplify voices, or serve as a government watchdog. However, for organizations that seek to have durable impact at the scale of the need, the most effective way to do so is to work with government to make systems work better for people, and these five mindsets and muscles are among the most critical to success.

How Philanthropic Partners Can Better Support Impact at Scale

The primary responsibility for NGOs seeking to make the big shift rests on their own leadership and boards. But funders have an outsized influence, and most could do a much better job to create the conditions that are vital for organizations interested in partnering with governments to achieve durable systems change. Here are five actions that funders can take:

Understand the Why and How of the Big Shift:

We encourage funders to start with this core insight: that the well-being of people and planet is largely determined by how government systems are organized and operate.

After all, governments make the rules that determine what is possible in every sphere and sector; governments alone have the mandate to work for all people; and government delivery systems are typically larger than anything any NGO has built. What's more, government resources dwarf philanthropy's by an order of magnitude. (For example, annual government spending in India is more than 50x annual private giving; in South Africa it is more than 100x.) Understand that supporting an NGO to establish a health clinic in an underserved area is good, but supporting an NGO to help government extend its health services to an underserved area is even better.

We are not blind to the fact that governments can be and often are ineffective. Their activities can fail to translate into meaningful outcomes; resources can be spent in ways that are inefficient and wasteful; and people’s experience of government services and democratic processes can be frustrating, unpredictable, and downright disrespectful. This is precisely why NGOs and philanthropy should get involved to co-create innovations and improvements that work at scale.

Listen to and Learn From Government:

It will be challenging to support efforts to achieve population scale impact unless you understand the government's agenda, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in delivering on that agenda.

Engage with public sector leaders to understand their priorities and how you might support those you share. Invite public sector leaders to join funder-supported convenings, strategy design sessions, and board meetings.

Seek out and learn from facilitators experienced in building values-based partnerships between government and civil society leaders, such as Taaka Awori, Aidan Eyakuze, Adam Kahane, Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, and Sanjay Purohit.

Reimagine Accountability as Relational Rather Than Adversarial:

Accountability matters. But how does one build accountability in practice?

Adversarial accountability—naming and shaming—can often inspire defensiveness. Instead, we posit that a relational capability approach may be better at getting things done. This involves saying to government, "we know the constraints are real, and the work is hard and long-term, but we are in this together and will support you and be co-responsible for achieving results." In this conception, as Varja Lipovsek has argued, trust is not antithetical to results, but rather enabling of the honesty and adaptation that is crucial to achieving results.

Do Not Privilege Attribution Over Impact:

It usually takes the alignment of technical, political, and resourcing factors to achieve large-scale change. Demanding NGOs account for the effect of a specific contribution or isolate their direct impact is unrealistic. Such expectations can preclude the very collaboration with governments and other actors that is crucial to achieving lasting change at scale.

Be Flexible and Use a Realistic Timeframe:

A project to deliver a service to 10,000 people can be done in a few years. An effort to transform a public system to benefit 18 million people is considerably more complex and thus will take longer and require more flexibility.

Short-term and inflexible grants incentivize partners to lower their ambition and prioritize deliverable outputs over more meaningful outcomes.

As an organization undertakes the big shift to both transform its own organization (acquiring new skills, developing new positions and tactics) and engage government, the single most important action a funder can take is to provide a long-term commitment of 5-10 or more years of flexible funding, with regular check-ins and honest conversations on progress and adaptations.

Funders may not be able to change all their funding in this direction towards supporting systems change, but they can consider taking a portfolio approach to shift 25-33% of their funding in this manner and continue learning.

Conclusion

We have no crystal ball. But our experience makes us certain of this: when NGO leaders and their funders stick with a direct services model and follow a growth strategy of scaling up their own work and organization—requiring ever greater increases in funding—they condemn themselves to a future on the perpetual fundraising hamster wheel, and of reaching only a small fraction of the need.

The upshot is clear: though significant and needed, NGO direct-service delivery and the funding that supports it can never alone address the scale of the challenges we face. The challenge is even more acute with drastic reductions in overseas aid. By overlooking the power of Global South governments, NGO leaders and their philanthropic funders are leaving on the table billions in funding and more sustainable delivery mechanisms. Instead, if at least some of their resources and capability were turned to help government put its far greater resources, infrastructure, and rule-making power to achieve more effective and inclusive outcomes, the impact could be much greater.

‍This article was originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR).

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By Tim Hanstad

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To build an equitable and sustainable society, the social sector cannot take the place of the government, as Mark Kramer and Steve Phillips recently observed; “Only government has the capacity to address social and environmental problems on a national scale. Philanthropy simply cannot compensate for the ongoing failure of our government to meet the needs of its entire population.” Where we have seen major, population-level, and systemic advances in social and economic well-being, governments have been the primary driving force. Whether it’s the billion people who rose out of extreme poverty in recent decades thanks to the Chinese government’s embrace and effective implementation of pragmatic economic reforms or the swell of entrepreneurship and economic growth lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in India (where the Indian government ended excessive central control of the economy, derisively called the “License Raj”), philanthropy has not played the lead role.

Yet while I wholeheartedly agree, with Kramer and Phillips, that strategic philanthropy must empower people to elect the kind of representative government that can pass policies that will benefit everyone, the global philanthropic community would benefit from broadening this focus.

For one thing, such an important conversation shouldn’t remain US-centric: The same myth that Kramer and Phillips identify as undermining US philanthropy plagues international philanthropy, which typically focuses on alleviating symptoms of failing government systems through private, small-scale direct service delivery parallel to government systems (instead of fixing or strengthening government systems).

For another, Kramer and Phillips only identify the demand-side pillars of voter engagement and awareness as effective levers for addressing the challenges they identify. But while demand-side, citizen-based efforts are important in the US and many other countries, they are only a small part of what is needed from philanthropy to help governments around the world better perform. The problem in many settings isn’t merely that elected leaders are enacting self-serving or misguided policies (though there is that too); many or even most countries also suffer from a supply-side problem: they lack the capability, systems, institutional culture and practice to deliver for their citizens. Strategic philanthropy therefore needs to grow those governments’ ability. That requires addressing high levels of corruption, a lack of rule of law, weak civil service capacity, poor public service delivery, and a lack of both transparency and accountability. All are problems that philanthropy can and should help address.

Consider, for example, that most government health systems leave billions behind: half of health facilities in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, for example, lack reliable electricity, while 12-15 percent have no electricity at all. At the same time, 10 to 25 percent of the $7 trillion spent on healthcare globally every year is lost because of corruption, an amount that exceeds the investments needed to achieve universal healthcare by 2030. School systems are similarly underperforming due to poor governance and weak state capacity. According to the World Bank, teachers’ absenteeism is rampant in many LMICs, with 18 percent of teachers in Senegal and 27 percent in Uganda absent on any given day. A recent report found that in seven African countries, deficient governance systems are the key obstacle limiting national educational goals. Meanwhile, across many LMICs there is often no functional governmental administration of land records, undermining families’ claim to the land or business they rely on; a mere 30 percent of the global population has legally registered rights to their land. Justice systems are often inaccessible or ineffectual; in India, for example, the criminal and civil courts are so backed up that it would take an estimated 300 years to clear the backlog. All of this depresses economic activity and increases poverty.

The population-scale solution is not to fund NGO-run health, education, and justice systems. But internationally minded philanthropy can and should invest in advancing good governance: low levels of corruption, the rule of law, responsiveness and accountability to citizens, a capable civil service, effective public service delivery, and a long-term strategic vision. Good governance allows governments to manage public resources and affairs to benefit society as a whole and matters enormously for the social and economic outcomes of citizens.

Indeed, around the world, good governance is the greatest predictor of a society’s well-being. As Bo Rothstein puts it in The Quality of Government, “the higher the level of quality of governance in a given country, the fewer babies die, the longer people live, the greater people’s life satisfaction, the better the environment, and the fewer people unemployed or defined as living in poverty.” The recent history of Botswana, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay, among others, demonstrate that effective governance can be established, nurtured, and strengthened. Philanthropy has a multitude of pathways and levers for supporting governments on this journey and achieving population-scale impact.

Though by no means exhaustive, the list below gestures towards the broad range of strategies beyond the ballot box for strengthening and securing governance capable of building more equitable and sustainable societies, giving philanthropy our best chance of building a foundation for durable, sustainable, and inclusive development.

Without investing in good governance, all of our other investments are built on sand.

1. Tackling corruption:

Funds lost to corruption are 10 times the amount of official development assistance. What would our world look like if countries like Malawi, Haiti, or South Sudan, among the poorest on the planet, had ten times more public funding for education, healthcare, and economic development? But the price of corruption is not evenly distributed. Borne overwhelmingly by the poorest and most vulnerable, it exacerbates their poverty and threatens their health.

In Madagascar, for example, women report having to pay bribes at public hospitals to give birth, and when such corruption becomes endemic, it can destabilize nations, as we see today in South Africa (where corruption at the parastatal power company has brought regular blackouts and undermined the economy). Such corruption also reduces private investor confidence and levels of direct investment that play critical roles in driving economic growth.

The work performed by Transparency International chapters and similar organizations that holistically address corruption is critical, but addressing corruption involves much more than prosecution. Prevention is key, nowhere more than with public contracts, where money, power, and discretion collide. Public contracts are the number one corruption risk for most governments. NGOs such as Open Contracting Partnership and Open Ownership work to institutionalize transparency, accountability, and fairness within government procurement systems.

2. Strengthening civil service capabilities:

There are few more powerful levers for improving governance than investing in civil service capabilities; as a recent McKinsey report noted, civil servants’ “work touches almost every aspect of people’s lives and can measurably improve the quality and length of people’s lives, expand livelihoods, and create resilient communities.”

For example, the Center for Effective Governance of Indian States works closely with Indian state-level officials and implementing partners to set performance goals for government agencies and departments and help them monitor progress. The Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG) supports governments across Africa and Asia to build civil service capabilities and improve government performance through training, hands-on projects to build institutional capacity, and knowledge creation, and has developed an annual good government index. Another example of building civil service capabilities is Apolitical, a certified B corporation backed by impact investors, which aims to build the capabilities for civil servants across the globe through online courses, events, and knowledge products, and has reached over 200,000 civil servants in 160 countries.

3. Increasing transparency and accountability with multi-stakeholder frameworks:

Moving the needle on improving governance is more likely when stakeholders from civil society and the business sector join. A growing number of multi-stakeholder frameworks engage non-state actors in collaboration with the government, and philanthropy can support their development, launch, and growth. For example, the Open Government Partnership is a global membership of 75 countries and 150 local governments where government and non-government actors co-create National Action Plans of specific, closely monitored reforms that tackle corruption, advance good governance, and improve transparency and accountability.

Since the extractive industries (mining, oil, and gas) have proven to be a sector with among the highest risks for corruption and poor governance, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was founded in 2003 to provide a framework for governments, civil society, and extractive industry companies to improve governance, fair markets, and better outcomes for citizens. EITI, for example, now offers a public database that includes every transaction involving oil, gas, and mining by state-owned enterprises across more than 50 countries. This helps ensure that proceeds from a country’s natural resources benefit the citizens of that country.

Another example of a multi-stakeholder framework is the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative, which works with government officials, civil society, and businesses to improve transparency, participation, and accountability in public infrastructure projects. The initiative helps governments collaborate with civil society and the private sector to ensure public schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and the like are built to standard and at a reasonable price.

4. Strengthening rule of law:

The rule of law—the ideal that all citizens and institutions be accountable to the same laws and have access to impartial justice is closely linked to higher economic growth, greater peace, more education, and improved health outcomes. World Justice Project (WJP) works around the world to advance the rule of law. The organization is best known for its Rule of Law Index, but WJP also engages with governments to build their capacity to better assess and promote the rule of law. International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is a global intergovernmental organization devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. IDLO has worked in more than 90 countries around the world, supporting government and other stakeholders on projects that advance the rule of law.

5. Building data-policy feedback loops:

Philanthropy can also support the NGOs working with governments to develop, implement, and monitor evidence-based policies and programs, and build a data-based culture. The founders of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), for example, were awarded a Nobel Prize in economics for their work adapting randomized control trial protocols traditionally used in medical trials to strengthen governance and improve the delivery of critical services. Their 900 researchers around the world conduct evaluations to implement, measure, and iterate evidence-based policies. More importantly, they help build governments’ capacity to collect data, rigorously analyze and absorb that data, and then incorporate that data into their daily policy- and decision-making.

Similarly, IDInsight works closely with government leaders to help them design effective programs and rigorously test policies and programs to improve both policymaking and the delivery of public services.

6. Supporting ethical leadership and decision-making:

“Political systems and institutions are often designed to fail because they have been molded by people who use power and politics for empty vanity and personal gain,” as former South African parliamentarian, Lindiwe Mazibuko, put it. Mazibuko and her colleagues at the global Apolitical Foundation and South Africa-based Futurelect recognize that it doesn’t have to be this way. These organizations work to make political systems less opaque, and have established “political on-ramps” to encourage and support civic-minded young people, steeped in ethics, regardless of party affiliation, to pursue elected office. Similarly, Cambridge Governance Labs has developed ethics-based training for senior public officials to help re-align decision-making processes to serve the public interest, incorporating ethics, fiduciary obligation, and administrative justice with the goal of establishing cultures of integrity among civil service workers. Meanwhile, Emerging Public Leaders supports promising future public leaders in Liberia, Ghana, and Kenya, grooming them for public service and placing them into meaningful civil service positions, creating a network of hundreds of highly trained and committed leaders.

7. Strengthening digital public infrastructure:

India illustrates another powerful lever for strengthening governance. More than 1.3 billion Indian residents possess an Aadhaar, a unique government-issued biometric digital identity number. This digital identification system has revolutionized the government’s ability to provide services such as healthcare, welfare, and land and vehicle registration; and allows individuals to send and receive secure digital payments. India’s digital transformation journey has demonstrated the potential of using digital public infrastructure to improve government’s capacity and outcomes.

The NGOs Co-Develop and E-Government Foundation are helping governments around the world build and use public digital infrastructure like this to better deliver for their citizens. Co-Develop is a global non-profit fund helping governments accelerate their digital transformation journeys. E-Government Foundation is an India-based non-profit that works with governments (in India and beyond) and other stakeholders to transform urban governance systems.

8. Strengthening land and property rights systems:

Today, an estimated 90 percent of the rural land in sub-Saharan Africa is undocumented. That leaves governments unable to tax landholdings, as well as unable to safeguard the rights of the property and landowners. This is a recipe for insecurity, conflict, and exploitation.

The land rights organization Landesa and its partners work with governments to strengthen land rights, particularly for women and other traditionally marginalized and vulnerable populations. NGOs such as Cadasta Foundation and Place engage with governments and communities to document land rights. Clearly documented land rights and functional land registration systems create clarity and security about who owns what—providing the foundation for investment, wealth generation, security, and increased tax revenue.

The Case of Malawi

One of the best examples of how philanthropic funders can support mutually reinforcing governance interventions and propel a country into a virtuous cycle of development is Malawi.

The drivers of Malawi’s poverty are apparent to even the most casual observer: a lack of capable public systems, inability to attract sufficient private investment, and, of course, corruption. The weak public systems that allow corruption and the loss of public funding that results from it have profound consequences for all Malawians, but particularly the most marginalized.

President Chakwera has repeatedly pledged to do better, including by making Malawi a center of excellence for good governance. Early in his tenure, Chakwera signaled his seriousness by firing his entire cabinet when one member was accused of corruption and later firing his agriculture minister and deputy minister for incompetence. Despite misgivings from the failed promises of previous administrations, several funders supported the Government of Malawi’s efforts to develop and launch a national anti-corruption strategy and campaign. My organization, the Chandler Foundation, supported a process by which numerous Malawian and global NGOs collaborated with government departments to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive 2-year National Action Plan with policy reform commitments in five key areas: government procurement, political party financing, digital governance, sovereign debt transparency, and natural resource governance.

The government has made meaningful progress on all five key areas, including: the establishment of a Registrar Office of Political Parties to enforce restrictions and improve transparency related to political party financing, the adoption of a Mines and Minerals Act that will improve natural resource governance, the adoption and enforcement of beneficial ownership regulations to address the problem of anonymous companies, increased access to public Parliamentary hearings via Parliament TV, and the provision of free public WiFi to public institutions as well as digital skills training for public officers.

Advancing good governance and building government capacity in Malawi through these and similar efforts are the surest path for inclusive prosperity in the country, and it illustrates important roles that funders and civil society can play in the process. While there is a long and uncertain road ahead for Malawi, improving governance and state capacity will be necessary to address the social, economic, and environmental problems on a national scale. And Malawi is not alone: despite a rule of law and democratic recession globally, there are numerous bright spots, countries and leaders demonstrating the will and potential to increase government transparency, accountability, and capacity to effectively deliver public services.

Those countries, including Zambia, Moldova, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Nepal, and others—and, of course, the NGOs well-placed to support good governance in those countries—deserve philanthropic attention. As Mark Kramer and Steve Phillips argue, philanthropy cannot and should not limit itself with merely filling in the gaps left by government failure. It can and should support NGOs that are constructively engaged with governments in system-changing efforts to improve governance and build sustainable and equitable societies. Why is so little philanthropy doing so?

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‍This article was originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR).

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Foundations and the World Bank: an overlooked sweet spot for philanthropy? Our latest article dives into the challenges and benefits of this unique partnership. Discover how flexible funding and deep civil society connections can complement the World Bank's resources and influence.

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"When we are at our best we are investing catalytically and cooperatively to ensure that the whole of everyone’s time and treasure is greater than the sum of its parts."

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Read the full article on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) website.

Through a World Bank trust fund, the Chandler Foundation helped Malawi get $6.5m of IDA support to implement its Open Government Partnership commitment on beneficial ownership transparency.

Thank you to Open Ownership, Open Contracting Partnership, OGP, and the World Bank for working with us on this important governance reform.

Read the full article on the Word Bank Blog.

No pathway to a more sustainable economy is possible in Sri Lanka until a robust anti-corruption ecosystem is established – one that is capable of guarding against future corrupt mismanagement.

Chandler Foundation's Director of Integrity Programmes, Leslie Tsai, and Transparency International Sri Lanka's Nadishani Perera share thoughts on the important next steps the IMF can take to ensure Sri Lanka’s long-term stability.

Read the full letter in the Financial Times here.

In November 2022, Amazon partnered with USAID, the BHP Foundation, and the Chandler Foundation to deliver the Powering a Just Energy Transition Green Minerals Challenge (JET Minerals Challenge). The challenge seeks to catalyze the development, application, and scaling of innovations to strengthen transparency and counter corruption in critical mineral supply chains.

You can view the full report here.

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LILONGWE, Malawi, June 6, 2023 – Malawi’s President, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, officially launched implementation of the country’s National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership at a celebratory summit in the nation’s capital, Lilongwe, on June 6, 2023. The high-profile launch represents a significant milestone for Malawi in its ongoing effort to implement critical reforms to advance integrity, transparency, and accountability, as it moves toward better governance and a high-trust society. The assembly was attended by over 1000 people, including the Vice President, cabinet members, Supreme and High-Court Justices, parliamentary leadership, traditional leaders, international dignitaries, and key members of civil society, including Tim Hanstad, CEO of the Chandler Foundation.

In his official address, President Chakwera singled out the Chandler Foundation by stating, "let me…. [express] my appreciation to our international partners who have made available financial and technical assistance to make the implementation of the National Action Plan during the next two years possible. I want to especially thank the Chandler Foundation in this regard, which also supported my office with the wherewithal to host the Anti-Corruption Conference last year." Chandler Foundation CEO, Tim Hanstad, was one of the few speakers asked to address the nationally livestreamed gathering. Hanstad stressed the importance of implementation, stating that "a plan is only as good as its implementation."

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A Yearlong Journey Toward a Culture of Integrity

The launch of the National Action Plan is the culmination of a 12-month process, and the Chandler Foundation has been supporting President Chakwera and his cabinet every step of the way. In July 2022, the Foundation supported Malawi’s National Anti-Corruption Conference where Tim Hanstad was a featured participant and a key influencer as Malawi embraced the principles of the Open Government Partnership and its pledge to co-create a multi-sectoral action plan to stamp out corruption at all levels of government, business, and civil society.

Immediately after the National Anti-Corruption Conference, Chakwera set in motion a 20-week anti-corruption campaign that targeted all parts of the country to outreach to Malawi’s 20 million citizens. The Chandler Foundation supported this nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the merits of integrity and the perils of corruption. After the campaign’s completion, the Foundation worked closely with the Office of the President and Cabinet to develop the two-year National Action Plan (2023 - 2025) in partnership with community leaders and the private sector. The plan was finalized and formally adopted by the President on December 29, 2022, and it was officially launched on June 6, 2023.

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Malawi is a Beacon for the Region

The National Action Plan (2023- 2025) plan outlines crucial policy reforms that are time-bound and detail the steps necessary for building cultures of integrity, transparency, and accountability. The specific commitments include provisions that will: overhaul the government’s procurement system to make it more transparent and effective; increase the transparency of sovereign debt levels and sources; improve transparency within the corruption-plagued extractive industry sector; boost citizens’ right to information from and about the government; and advance e-government reforms.

In his address, Chakwera also hailed the National Action Plan on Open Government as a fundamental steppingstone on the path to a more open, participatory, and accountable government. He declared that "when it comes to commitment to good governance, Malawi is a leader in the region, not a follower. In fact, my end goal is to see Malawi eventually become a Global Center of Excellence in Good Governance, and this OGP membership means we are on the right track."

‍The National Action Plan (2023- 2025) serves as a foundational precondition to the ultimate achievement of the country’s Blueprint, Malawi 2063: An Inclusively Wealthy and Self Reliant Nation, which was adopted in January 2021. The Blueprint sets out a long-term vision to transform Malawi – one of the poorest in the world – into a wealthy, self-reliant, and industrialized 'upper middle-income country' by 2063 - a future that can only be achieved by consistent good governance over the long term.

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A few concurrent powerful trends are profoundly transforming the nature and impact of philanthropy globally. 

These trends include the racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, which has pushed donors to take a more trust-based approach and earmark more of their funding to support communities of color; the decolonization of the philanthropy sector movement, which is shifting decision making and leadership to communities proximate to the challenges being addressed; and an increasing interest in working at scale to achieve durable systemic change.

The 2023 Skoll World Forum featured a panel discussing these and other emerging trends and their impact on philanthropy, with the Chandler Foundation’s Tim Hanstad moderating. The panel, Leading Philanthropy: Emerging Trends and the Future of Giving, included Zimbabwean philanthropist and executive chair and co-founder of Higherlife Foundation Tsitsi Masiyiwa, David and Lucile Packard Foundation president and CEO Nancy Lindborg, and Surdna Foundation CEO Don Chen. 

The world has just witnessed what Chen called, “the largest mobilization across the globe, with Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement.” The philanthropy sector helped support this mobilization and, Chen said, the data indicates it is sticking with its commitment to racial equity.

That commitment to racial equity is amplified by growing interest in decolonizing philanthropy. At the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, development leaders pledged to direct 25 percent of humanitarian aid to local humanitarian organizations by 2020. Progress on localization, as this has been called, has been painfully slow. Today, an estimated 2.1 percent of international government aid goes directly to front-line local organizations.

Today, we see continued interest in executing on this pledge, said Masiyiwa. “We see a lot of listening, at least on websites and brochures,” said Masiyiwa with a laugh. “People are using the right language and terms. But it takes time to change the mindset.” 

Masiyiwa shared an overview of her philanthropic journey, which started as an emotional response to the HIV crisis and over the next 25 years evolved into a more strategic and data-driven approach to partner with governments to achieve change at scale. There is a need, the panel agreed, to help newly emerging philanthropists in Asia and Africa leapfrog this learning process to more quickly recognize the potential of strategic, systems change philanthropy.

This does not, added Lindborg, mean that philanthropists must drop responsive, direct assistance philanthropy. While much has been written about strategic versus responsive philanthropy, it is a false dichotomy. Instead, said Lindborg, strategic social investors need to listen to communities and help local people influence their responsive strategic giving and look for partnerships and collaborations to achieve impact at scale.

Chen related that he was hopeful when he first entered philanthropy in the early 2000s and noticed that many people were starting to question the old traditions of philanthropy. Those old traditions of donor-driven, one-issue funding were not working anymore, and he is hopeful that self-reflection in philanthropy continues.

Creating a better culture within philanthropy must start with admitting one thing: that northern donors do not have it all figured out. 

The panelists also highlighted two emerging trends that will change the culture and impact of philanthropy in fundamental ways. First, is the risk of philanthropists in the global south. Those philanthropists, who are often working in environments that offer them no tax incentives and no structures, and taking ownership of problems in very challenging environments need to be connected and supported so that they can work on systems change approaches.

Second is the trend of increased giving from the diaspora. Masiyiwa shared that in 2021, overseas direct assistance to Africa totalled $35 billion. That same year, foreign direct investment to the continent totalled $85 billion. Giving from the diaspora, to support school fees, new homes, and the like, dwarfed both at $95 billion. 

“If anyone is asking, ‘Are Africans giving?’ Of course they are.” said Masiyiwa. But no country climbs out of poverty based on funding from its diaspora.

Lastly, the panel reiterated the need for philanthropists to focus on generous, flexible, long-term funding. Just like any other established organization, nonprofits need steady and secure cash flow. Funders should trust the ability and integrity of the organization they support, and fund their initiatives to accommodate the long-term needs of the organization, and of the people it serves. 

Watch Leading Philanthropy: Emerging Trends and the Future of Giving at the 2023 Skoll World Forum below.

Imagine waking up one day to learn that someone has taken out a huge loan in your name and in the name of your children without consulting you. In fact, you still don’t have all the details about the loan. The person who made off with the money won’t tell you what they’ve done with it. All you know is that the loan is so big that you and your children will spend the rest of your lives working to pay it back.

This dystopian plot is a reality for hundreds of millions of people in countries from Sri Lanka to Zambia where presidents and prime ministers have, without the knowledge or approval of their parliaments or voters, taken out massive loans.

For example, the former prime minister and president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, moved forward with borrowing $1.1 billion to build a port in Hambantota, his hometown, despite the fact that the plan was rejected by the government’s expert panel. The former president of Mozambique borrowed at least $2 billion in secret – much of the funds were misappropriated.

Globally, debt is at record levels – the highest in 50 years and triple 2008 levels.  Many of these loans are contracted without public or parliamentary scrutiny. And in the worst cases the existence of the loans has not been disclosed at all or disclosed only through murky leaks – depriving parliaments and the public of any voice or oversight in the process. According to the World Bank, 40 percent of low-income countries have not published any data about their sovereign debt for more than two years.   

The consequences of these unsustainable debts are hard to overstate.

In 2021, according to the United Nations, 25 of the world’s poorest countries spent more on debt service payments than on health, education, and social protection combined. According to the UN, nearly half of low income countries, 44%, are at "high risk of external debt distress or already in debt distress." Defaulting countries often lose access to financial markets and are faced with higher borrowing costs in the future.

Research shows that, while often a result of corruption,  accumulated and non-transparent debt only fuels further corruption. The funds often allow executives to expand their power and authoritarian influence at the expense of democratic checks and balances.

What’s more, many of the ill-advised projects financed by loans are unproductive white elephants – such as massive stadiums or ill-equipped fishing fleets – that will continue to require funding for maintenance for years to come.

A growing percentage of these loans – about 10 percent of loans from 2004 to 2018 – are resourced backed loans. This extremely troubling trend means that governments are securing the loans by putting up future revenue streams as collateral. They are the national equivalent of payday loans – offered at, when the final math is done, shockingly high interest rates.

These backroom deals also erode the social contract between citizens and governments.

The global public debt system is badly broken and in urgent need of a democratic reset. This challenge cannot be solved by low- and middle-income countries alone. International financial institutions, debtor nations, creditors, and other stakeholders all have a role to play in solving this urgent problem.

Unfortunately, today, routine disclosure by lenders is not standard. And the single largest bilateral creditor, China, typically requires strict nondisclosure clauses that impede the publication of the contracts or even their terms – creating an opaque system primed for corruption and mismanagement at the public’s expense.

Last month, the Open Government Partnership, the National Democratic Institute, and the Chandler Foundation brought together a high-level panel of experts and practitioners to discuss how the global public debt system could be reformed to address these concerns.

The webinar featured Hon. Gladys Ganda, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee for the Parliament of Malawi; Arturo Herrera Gutierrez, global director for governance global practice at the World Bank; Tim Hanstad, chief executive officer of the Chandler Foundation;  Nadishani Perera, executive director of Transparency International Sri Lanka; Sanjay Pradhan, chief executive officer for the Open Government Partnership, and Rosarie Tucci, acting deputy assistant administrator for the Democracy, Rights, and Governance Center at USAID.

Sanjay Pradhan of OGP explained that leaders have an opportunity to invert the current dynamic with China and other donors who require non-disclosure. Rather than allowing China to dictate the terms of the loans and undermine rule of law, countries should pass legislation that requires transparency and accountability with approval from the legislature.

Transparency has a number of benefits, he added. Not only does it support democratic systems and reduce the opportunity for corruption. Research shows that debt transparency reduces the amount of debt assumed by government leaders. It also tends to lower the cost of borrowing.

Bulgaria and Malawi have used OGP action plans to create a roadmap for commitments to support broader access to information, open data, civic participation, integrity, and to accelerate the fight against corruption.

Rosarie Tucci of USAID observed that all countries needed to make standard practice the routine auditing of public debt and parliamentary approval of all borrowing plans and agreements. Gladys Ganda, of Malawi, added that transparency and accountability need to be maintained throughout the debt negotiation process.

Nadishani Perera, of Transparency International, shared the devastating impact when those best practices are not followed, such as when her country, Sri Lanka, found itself burdened with unsustainable and unreported debt. 

“The bankruptcy of our nation is intrinsically connected to a governance crisis,” she said. “This is a preventable disaster… [that has] bonded our children and grandchildren to debt.” 

She urged lending institutions such as the World Bank and IMF to stop propping up corrupt governments with loans until the governments commit to governance and anti-corruption reforms. “You have the ability to ensure that certain conditions come along with your support, conditions that make it mandatory for essential anti-corruption reforms” Perera told participants.

“People have lost trust in their public representatives,” Perera told participants. “If there was any transparency in the debt system, this would not have happened.”

Watch the panel discussion on YouTube.

Social Investor magazine, launched in 2019 by New Zealand-born entrepreneur and philanthropist, Richard Chandler, who recognized that there was no peer-to-peer publication exclusively dedicated to guiding ultra-high-net-worth individuals on their philanthropic journey, has won a Gold "Stevie Award" in the category of nonprofit publication from the 2023 American Business Awards.

The American Business Awards are the U.S.’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration.

The judges recognized Social Investor magazine as an "Excellent publication, filling a necessary niche," And remarked that, "This publication should serve as an inspiration for all investors."

Social Investor, an annual glossy print magazine and digital site, features a diverse range of contributors from heads of state to entrepreneurs and philanthropists to pop culture celebrities. These leaders, hailing from the Americas to Zimbabwe and Somalia to Singapore, share the insights they’ve gained while working to achieve durable impact at scale.  

The magazine and its contributors have helped spark the important conversations needed to build a collaborative, committed, and effective community for social investors and changemakers dedicated to solving our world's biggest challenges. Featured articles include:

• Shifting Sands: Shifting Power, by executive director of Adeso, Degan Ali
• Born an Optimist, by comedian Trevor Noah
• The Eye of the Storm, featuring Rihanna
• The Cowboy Cocktail, by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists writer Will Fitzgibbon
• Democracy's Flywheel, by Swedish social investor Daniel Sachs
• African Philanthropy Rising, featuring philanthropists Tsitsi and Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa
• Finding Happily Ever After, featuring activist and filmmaker Abigail Disney
• Ted Turner: A Social Investor in Full, featuring CNN founder Ted Turner

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Political institutions and their representatives have faced a major legitimacy crisis in recent years. What would change if this was not the case? What would change if being a politician was perceived as a trustworthy and service-minded leadership position?

The Chandler Foundation, Transparency and Accountability Initiative, and Apolitical Foundation explored these questions during Ethical Leaders, Better Democracies: Good Governance for People and Planet, a Catalysing Change Week event on May 1st. During the event, participants:

• Discussed building more effective, trusted and ethical political leadership
• Learned what ‘type’ of politician they would be;
• Heard from political leadership entrepreneurs from around the globe; and
• Learned how to be part of a growing global movement building good governance.

We were joined by three political leadership entrepreneurs who shared lessons learned, success stories, and challenges in working to build more effective politics and good governance. Thank you to:

• Augusto Townsend, CEO of Recambio
• Kanksshi Agarwal, Founder of NETRI Foundation
• Sonja Röchtl, Founder of Love Politics

Watch the event recording below.

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The Chandler Foundation and IREX called on social investors to “be brave with society’s risk capital” and boldly invest in building trust during a salon-style discussion entitled Building Trust Equity: Understanding the Trust Building Process at the Community Level.

The conversation, featuring leaders from Weave: The Social Fabric Project, Search for Common Ground, and Mercy Corps, focused on what social investors and non-profit organizations can do to integrate trust-building into their work to achieve progress.

“We know that progress happens at the speed of trust,” said host Maura Donlan, Director of Advocacy and Effective Social Investing for the Chandler Foundation.  

The discussion, hosted by the Chandler Foundation and IREX, included detailed examples of how organizations are successfully embedding trust in their work.

For example, Shamil Idriss of Search for Common Ground shared the innovative work his organization has done in northern Kenya. “When Al-Shabab began its attacks in Northern Kenya, the first casualty was trust,” recalled Idriss. Communities became distrustful of outsiders and the authorities became distrustful of communities in the area.  

Because the jihadist militant group was entering Northern Kenya at night posing as night fisherman, the authorities initially banned night fishing. That destroyed the local economy immediately, said Idriss, made the Kenyan fishing community more economically desperate, and the call of extremism more attractive. His organization encouraged avoiding such adversarial approaches.  

A starting point, said Idriss, was recognizing that the growing influence of militant groups trapped not only communities but also the police. So, the first step, said Idriss, was supporting both groups to work together to find solutions. In this case, they created an identity card for night fishing. Only verified community members with such cards could fish at night, allowing the police to easily check identities and preventing Al-Shabab from infiltrating the area.

Idriss, along with Swathi Massar of Mercy Corps, and Frederick J. Riley of Weave: The Social Fabric Project, also shared tips for social investors interested in investing in trust. They include:

• Work with communities most proximate to the problem you are trying to solve and ensure they have ownership.
• Look for community leaders who are widely trusted. They are assets who can be supported to build trust and support change.
• Dialogue alone is insufficient to build trust. Trust is built through honest collaboration.

For more insights and lessons from these global leaders, moderator IREX CEO Kristin M. Lord, and other participants watch the full, hour-long discussion below. And, explore additional resources on building trust:

• How Philanthropists Can Build Social Trust: Practical Lessons from Partners and Communities- A recent article by IREX's Kristin Lord and Elayne Deelen in Social Investor magazine.
• Weaving Trust into Progress and Weaving Magic - Two Social Investor 2022 articles that feature the work of Weave: The Social Fabric Project and how the organization is helping build trust in local communities to heal social fragmentation.
• 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer - Edelman's 23rd annual trust and credibility survey.
• Ispos Global Trustworthiness Monitor - A report from Ispos assessing trustworthiness by sector in 2022 and over time.
• Restoring Trust in a Fractured World - A curated series of essays from writer and editor Matthew Bishop.
• Trust in Civil Society - A 2022 report from Independent Sector on how the social sector can strengthen trust, which it calls our most valuable asset in advancing social progress.
• Why Trust Matters: An Economists Guide to the Ties that Bind Us - Economist Benjamin Ho's 2021 book on the importance of trust in our day-to-day economic lives.
• Building Trust to Advance Social Impact: How Philanthropists and Civil Society can Help - A 2022 webinar from the Chandler Foundation and IREX on why trust is crucial to advancing any social impact agenda.

The Chandler Foundation is proud to announce the publication of the fourth annual issue of Social Investor magazine, the only peer-to-peer publication serving social innovators and leaders in global philanthropy.

The theme of this year’s magazine is systems change. This edition delivers insights and lessons from more than 35 contributors hailing from the Americas to Zimbabwe and Somalia to Singapore. Read comedian Trevor Noah’s inspiration, Dr. Melanie Lundquist’s strategy for achieving durable and transformative impact in the Los Angeles School District, and Abigail Disney’s philanthropic journey to take on her namesake.

Social change experts John Kania and Cynthia Rayner lay out concrete ways that social investors can incorporate the principles of systems change to accelerate and magnify their impact. Degan Ali shares her vision for decolonizing philanthropy. And New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Zimbabwean mother-daughter philanthropic duo Tsitsi and Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa share their visions.

We invite you to browse this edition, share your feedback with us (socialinvestor@chandlerfoundation.org), and join the conversation about Social Investor on social media using #SocialInvestorMag.

OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – Members of the Chandler Sessions on Integrity and Corruption met at Oxford University for a week in late July to discuss new strategies for strengthening government integrity. These members are innovative senior officials at anti-corruption institutions – leaders of anti-corruption bureaus, heads of public prosecution, and auditor generals. This was the first in person convening since the Chandler Sessions launched virtually in July 2021.  

At the convening, the members discussed critical issues in anti-corruption such as corruption measurement, independence from political interference, and Russian sanctions in the context of corruption. They also deliberated draft papers that members co-authored in preparation for the meeting. In addition to the permanent members of the Chandler Sessions, the group was joined by special guests Lisa Osofsky (Director, Serious Fraud Office, UK), Sir Rob Wainwright (former Executive Director of Europol), and Ricardo Saadi (former Superintendent of the Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro).

The members will meet again in January and July 2023, and January 2024. Between convenings, the officials will continue to design and pilot the anti-corruption innovations that arise from the Chandler Sessions

BLANTYRE, Malawi, July 24 2022 – Chandler Foundation staff travelled to Malawi to meet with His Excellency Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera and participate in and support the National Anti-Corruption Conference. This visit was an outcome of Chandler Foundation CEO Tim Hanstad’s initial meeting with President Chakwera in May at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. There, the President invited the Chandler Foundation to visit Malawi in July.

During the latest meeting, which took place at the Presidential State House in Blantyre, President Chakwera asked the Chandler Foundation and the Chandler Institute of Governance to assist his administration with anti-corruption and civil service reform agendas. The Chandler Foundation put forward a recommendation to advance anti-corruption reform by creating a National Action Plan on Open Government by the end of 2022.

President Chakwera responded favorably to the recommendation. The next day, during a televised speech at the National Anti-Corruption Conference, President Chakwera claimed that his administration “won’t accept corruption or illicit theft of our resources in any form.” He also publicly committed to reactivating Malawi’s participation in the Open Government Partnership, which aims to increase accountability and transparency throughout the government.

“We need the support of the international community in our quest for good governance, because so much of the plunder under our nation involves international transactions and the externalization of our resources,” said the President.

In the same televised speech, President Chakwera referenced his work with the Chandler Foundation, saying that he and CEO Tim Hanstad have “agreed to work together in matters of public sector reform and anti-corruption.”

The Chandler Foundation and Chandler Institute of Governance will continue to support President Chakwera’s administration and the government of Malawi in the future, including through assistance in establishing a school of governance.

DAVOS, Switzerland – Tim Hanstad, CEO of the Chandler Foundation, met with President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi last week during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting to discuss how the Chandler Institute of Governance and the Chandler Foundation would continue to support President Chakwera’s anti-corruption and civil service reform agendas for the African nation.

Immediately upon election in June 2020, President Chakwera declared fighting corruption as a primary pillar of his administration. As part of these reform efforts, Malawi’s most senior anti-corruption official, Martha Chizuma, Director General of the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau, serves as one of 15 active members of the Chandler Sessions on Integrity and Corruption at Oxford University. The Chandler Sessions are a three-year programme sponsored by the Chandler Foundation to convene senior leaders, academics, and other anti-corruption experts from around the world in Oxford, England to share and debate effective policy measures, and co-develop and test strategies to reform entrenched corruption across participating countries. The next convening of the sessions will be in July 2022. Each member of the Chandler Sessions will co-author a paper detailing ideas and practices to transform and advance the field.

Chizuma has gained international attention for being one of the world’s fiercest and youngest anti-corruption champions. In December 2021, as part of the Summit for Democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken recognised Chizuma as an international “Anti-Corruption Champion,” celebrating her courageous commitment to justice despite “threats, harassment, and smear campaigns.”

In January 2022, President Chakwera dissolved and reconstituted his cabinet largely due to anti-corruption investigations instigated by Chizuma. As Chizuma observed, “corruption fights are complex and risky and … corruption fights back ruthlessly. But the conviction that the fate of this country largely depends on what we decide and actually do about corruption as a country keeps us pushing forward and I don’t think we have any other option, but to fight it.”

The Chandler Foundation also supports a number of programme partners promoting governance reforms in Malawi. The Government of Malawi is a member of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and engages with one of Open Contracting Partnership’s collaborators, CoST Malawi, to improve governance in the mining and construction sectors.

The media in Malawi provided positive coverage of the meeting between President Chakwera and Hanstad, with the Malawiana Times publishing a summarising piece. Both parties agreed to continue discussions later in the year in Malawi.

As part of Catalyst 2030's Catalysing Change Week, Chandler Foundation co-hosted "Systems Change in Action: Decolonizing Aid & Philanthropy" with Adeso, an organization that is changing the way people think about and deliver aid.

The discussion featured Degan Ali, Executive Director of Adeso, Solome Lemma, Executive Director of Thousand Currents, Don Steinberg, Expert Advisor to the Administrator at USAID, and Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America. Tim Hanstad, CEO of the Chandler Foundation, moderated the session.

During the discussion, the expert panelists discussed the current landscape of the movement for decolonization and locally-led development and outlined ways that stakeholders from across the public, private, and humanitarian sectors can work in collaboration to shift power and agency to those most proximate to the complex issues the development industry seeks to address.  

Watch the session recording below.

Opaque financial systems allow Russian oligarchs to hide assets and evade sanctions. These same systems hurt ordinary people by obscuring corruption, facilitating crime, and causing financial losses that could be otherwise used to advance social good.

Chandler Foundation's Director of Social Investment, Leslie Tsai, and the Transparency and Accountability Initiative's Michael Jarvis share four strategies social investors can adopt to expose corruption and advocate for sustainable, transparent financial systems.

Read the full story in the Chronicle of Philanthropy here.

The UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 focuses on "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions." Chandler Foundation Director of Social Investment, Leslie Tsai writes about her recent conversation with the former President of Costa Rica, the President and CEO of the Packard Foundation, and the Executive Director of the World Justice Project on what "strong institutions" really means, and how civil society and philanthropy can work to build them.

Building on a session she moderated at the Global Washington Annual Conference in December, Leslie shares the following take-aways from the panelists:

• The meaning of “strong institutions” can be misused or misunderstood. What we really want are effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.
• Goal 16 is the backbone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• If you want to make progress on Goal 16, you have to measure it.
• Goal 16 gives us a systems approach to achieving the development goals.
• The international and multilateral system has a powerful role in shaping institutions for peace and justice.

Click here to read the entire article on the Global Washington Blog.

On February 3, 2022, Chandler Foundation and IREX co-hosted Building Trust to Advance Social Impact: How Philanthropists and Civil Society Can Help. The discussion centered around why and how philanthropists and leaders of social purpose organizations should rebuild social and public trust.

The panel featured Kristin Lord, President and CEO of IREX, Margaret Mliwa, Program Officer at the Ford Foundation, Eastern Africa, and Paul Maassen, Chief of Country Support at Open Government Partnership. Tim Hanstad, CEO of the Chandler Foundation, moderated the discussion. Panelists offered practical strategies and resources for incorporating a lens of trust- building into the existing priorities of foundations and social purpose organizations.

Watch a recording of the webinar below.

On December 8, 2021, Chandler Foundation Director of Social Investment Leslie Tsai moderated a session entitled "SDG 16: Catalyzing and Building Strong Institutions" at the Global Washington 2021 Goalmakers Annual Conference. The Goalmakers Annual Conference convenes leaders from across global development, philanthropy, and private and public institutions who are working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

"SDG 16: Catalyzing and Building Strong Institutions" featured Former President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation, Nancy Lindborg, and Executive Director of World Justice Project, Betsy Andersen.

Panelists unpacked the meaning of "strong institutions" within the broader goals of SDG 16. They discussed the qualities and policies that set some governments above others, considered how to measure the quality of governments and institutions, and examined how civil society and philanthropy can work together with governments to achieve SDG 16.

Watcha recording of the session below.

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Chandler Foundation CEO Tim Hanstad moderated a session on Strengthening Funder Partnerships and Collaborations at the Innovations in International Philanthropy Symposium last month. Other panelists included Co-Impact CEO Olivia Leland, Dasra Co-Founder and Partner Neera Nundy, and Gates Foundation Philanthropic Partnerships Program Officer, Anu Singh.

Panelists discussed the reasons for funder partnerships and collaborations and the potential advantages and disadvantages of joining funder collaborations. Olivia, Anu, and Neera also shared what they have found to be key success factors in funder partnerships.

Watch the event below.

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Chandler Foundation CEO Tim Hanstad makes the case for supporting good governance, using Zambia as a case study.

• Helping governments improve their performance is the surest path to large-scale, lasting impact.
• The best opportunities for philanthropists to help improve government delivery occur when governments are open to new partners and ideas.
• This generally occurs after a political transition when the seeds of potential and growing conditions are most ideal.

Click here to read the full article on the WEF blog.

Catalyst 2030 launched a report consisting of findings from and responses to the largest global survey of life before and during the pandemic.

In partnership with PlayVerto and the Social Progress Index, Catalyst 2030, a global movement of social entrepreneurs, developed and hosted a unique, 11-question survey, gathering data in 43 languages from 17,438 people across six continents. With this survey, they captured the diverse experiences of people all over the world in order to determine progress, and lack thereof, towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The People's Report is a collaborative effort that will serve as an impetus for discussion and change-making at the United Nations General Assembly.

Read the People's Report, and watch the launch video below.

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The Chandler Foundation is proud to announce the publication of Social Investor 2021.

The theme of this issue is Mobilizing for Equity. As we face an era of growing health, economic, racial, and gender inequity, all set amidst the common threat of climate change we share the voices of people working on solutions to the world’s biggest problems. This magazine’s contributors recognize and confront the enormity of these challenges; yet remain optimistic that systemic change is indeed possible.

Social Investor 2021 is a compilation of stories from over 30 social change leaders who share a courageous goal: telling stories that inspire others to view the challenges we face as opportunities to build a more just and equitable world.

Read articles from contributors like Harvard professor Raj Chetty, Lever for Change CEO Cecilia Conrad, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, actor and activist George Clooney, former prime minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, and more on the Social Investor website.

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the tragic passing of our dear friend and colleague, Rose Berg. Rose was the Director of Advocacy and Communications at the Chandler Foundation from November 2019 to May 2021.

During Rose’s year and a half with the foundation, her impact was enormous. She spearheaded the foundations communications and advocacy strategies, dramatically increasing our advocacy influence and thought leadership within the philanthropy and global development sectors.Her significant professional contributions to advancing the ChandlerFoundation’s impact are too numerous to list, but included developing a ThoughtLeadership Plan and Communications Manual, revamping the Chandler Foundation website, organizing and/or producing more than one dozen events that together reached tens of thousands, leading the development of Social Investor magazine 2021, and launching a growing social media and digital presence for the Chandler Foundation.

Prior to the Chandler Foundation, Rose held leadership positions as Executive Vice President at Edelman and Weber Shandwick. At Weber, Rose was the inaugural recipient of the Ranny Cooper Award for Exceptional Leadership.

Rose was an advocate for social justice, systems change, and challenging the status quo. She helped create a culture of encouragement, mentorship, learning, empathy, and humility at the ChandlerFoundation and in the broader philanthropic sector. She was a true optimist fora more just world.

Those who knew Rose felt her warmth, intelligence and wisdom instantly. Rose had remarkable gifts for human connection, which she used in every interaction. She was quick to find commonalities and to offer uplifting words of encouragement and assurance. Her laughter was contagious, her drive and grit admirable.

Her legacy lives on through her husband, two adult children, and granddaughter, and through her many friends, colleagues, and others whose lives she touched.

Rose, you are deeply missed.

Oxford University launches the Chandler Sessions on Integrity and Corruption, a three-year program that will convene senior anti-corruption officials from countries worldwide to develop and test a new generation of strategies to entrench public integrity.

‍Click here to learn more.

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Tim Hanstad, CEO of the Chandler Foundation, writes on land-related corruption, and the benefits of open digital land records.

‍Click here to read the full article on the Project Syndicate website.

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Heather Grady, Vice President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors writes about scaling solutions for shifting systems.

‍Click here to read on Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Chandler Foundation is honored to be recognized by Catalyst 2030, an incredible movement of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs who are accelerating progress on the SDGs through collaboration and a systems mindset.

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By Tim Hanstad

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Moving Up the Social Mobility Ladder

People everywhere, but particularly Americans, love a good rags-to-riches story. Take Oprah Winfrey, who rose from a poor childhood to become a multibillionaire media powerhouse. Or Howard Schultz, the son of a blue-collar worker in a government housing project, who catapulted to success as the CEO of Starbucks. People frequently cite cases like these to argue that, with hard work, anyone can become prosperous in the United States and defy humble roots. 

I, too, love these stories. Indeed, I have lived one. Not one that has taken me to immense wealth or power, but upward nonetheless. I grew up in a poor, blue-collar home. My parents were short on financial resources and higher education, but their love, support, and encouragement propelled me to follow my dreams of law school and then follow my passions and values in pursuing a legal career in the social impact sector. Along the way, I have emerged from the bottom fifth of U.S. income levels to the top fifth. For that, I am grateful. 

But despite the common “American Dream” narrative, stories like Winfrey and Schultz’s – or even mine – are increasingly unlikely in the United States and remain too rare across a wide swath of our planet. And that has far reaching implications. Because the ease with which the poor can rise to riches is directly related to a lot of other important economic indicators, including inequality.

This decline of social mobility in the United States and elsewhere has corresponded with that troubling increase in inequality. As it turns out, there is a close and powerful relationship between the two. They feed each other.

The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Social Mobility Index explored social mobility and inequality in 82 countries and confirmed a direct relationship between a country’s social mobility and its income inequality.

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Countries at the top right corner of this graphic have high social mobility and low inequality. That means someone born at the bottom of the economic ladder in Denmark or Finland doesn’t have as far to climb to get to the top and has a good chance of successfully achieving that goal. The countries toward the bottom left corner, like Brazil, have high inequality and low social mobility. That means a person born poor in Brazil, faces a longer and more unlikely climb to the top of that economic ladder – no matter their talents or hard work. 

That’s how low social mobility reduces overall national wealth, and, more importantly, negatively impacts the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. It even impacts a country’s GDP. The 2020 Social Mobility Index Report finds that countries could achieve an additional GDP growth of 4.4% by 2030 by increasing their social mobility index score by 10 points (the scores range from Denmark’s 85.2 to Côte d’Ivoire’s 34.5). 

But many countries are moving in the opposite direction. What we’ve seen, over the past few decades, is that countries on the bottom left have mostly stayed there and that several countries that had been at the top right corner of the chart, with vibrant economies that allowed people to innovate, work hard, and get ahead, are sliding down. Inequality is growing and equal opportunity is becoming a scarce commodity.

The Chandler Foundation is working to counter this. We are focused on reducing inequality and increasing social mobility by fixing broken systems – broken government systems and broken market systems – and we encourage other funders and philanthropists to do the same. Our goal is to help government and the market create opportunities more efficiently and effectively so that every person can go as far as their dreams and abilities can take them. 

For example, Chandler Foundation partner, Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) is working with governments and the business community to transform public contracting systems – making them more transparent, fair, and efficient. It may sound boring, technical, and unimportant. But governments contract with private companies for US$ 13 trillion each year for goods and services, making it the world’s largest marketplace. Much of that money is lost to corruption and inefficiencies. This constricts opportunity in two key ways. First, corruption means governments have less money available for important social services, education, and healthcare. Second, corruption tilts the playing field and blocks honest businesses from growing. 

In Ukraine, Open Contracting Partnership worked with the government to help create a new e-procurement system called Prozorro. The online system allows everyone to monitor government spending and provides opportunities for businesses to bid on contracts they otherwise might not have heard about. The system has already saved the country over US$ 2 billion and counting and significantly increased competition – which, for example, has cut the price of generic medicine by 35% on average. In Uganda, its work has helped communities track spending on projects like new school construction. And in Columbia, its work uncovered a price-fixing scheme that defrauded the school system. 

Another Chandler Foundation partner, J-PAL South Asia, similarly helps governments develop smarter, more impactful, education, health, and social protection policies that are informed by data and evidence rather than conjecture. For example, J-PAL partnered with India’s government to evaluate the performance of and make improvements to India’s largest public works programme that provides infrastructure-building employment to more than 70 million people at a cost of about US$ 8 billion per year. Reforms to the programme informed by J-PAL’s work helped the government cut spending on the programme by 24 percent without a detectable decline in programme benefits or impact. 

Other Chandler Foundation grantees are similarly helping to improve governance or create a better business-enabling environment – work that addresses inequality by expanding opportunity for all. 

And, of course, the Chandler Foundation is proud to be a part of a larger story – the Clermont Group – which recognises the “goodness of business”, pursues purpose and principles above profits, and is seizing the opportunity to lead innovations for cleaner air, stronger health systems, and more accessible and inclusive financial systems. 

Each of us has a role to play in addressing inequality and expanding economic opportunity. By helping governments become more effective and impactful, making markets more fair and vibrant, and working with businesses committed to purpose and principles above profits, we can expand access to opportunity. In turn, many more people will have a solid chance to work their way up the social mobility ladder – and make those rags-to-riches stories we all love a bit more likely.

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Forbes | By Tim Hanstad and Anna Korzeniewska

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CEE Philanthropy Series 2021: Only a Systems Change Approach Can Repair the Broken Systems Revealed by the Pandemic

Over the last year, the pandemic has exposed weaknesses in our health, economic, and governance systems. We’ve witnessed overwhelmed hospitals, small businesses shutter,  and governments incapable of mounting effective responses. Systems change, little known in CEE but increasingly embraced in Western Europe and North America are the most impactful and durable way to address these systemic challenges.

In response to COVID-19, residents and businesses located in Central and Eastern Europe  have sewn masks, donated laptops, and stocked food banks – just like their colleagues in the United States and many other countries. In fact, a recent survey found that 15 percent of CEE residents reported that the pandemic prompted them to volunteer or give to social purpose organizations for the first time in their lives. But more donations and volunteers will not necessarily translate into more impact. The success of our ongoing efforts will be determined, in large part, by our strategy.

To ensure that our time and resources are having maximum impact, leaders across government, corporate, civil society, and philanthropy should shift resources away from Band-Aid salves towards addressing the roots of the challenges we face by adopting a systems change approach.

Systems change involves working with others to tackle the root causes of a problem by changing laws, policies, or institutions; how markets function; the flow of resources; and social norms.

Consider the problem of homelessness. To address this heart-wrenching challenge, people have traditionally given directly to homeless people begging on the street or volunteered in a soup kitchen or donated funds to a homeless shelter. And certainly, each of these are good and needed. But they are not the most impactful way of addressing homelessness.

The most impactful and durable way to address homelessness is to identify and address its causes even while tending to its symptoms. Depending on the setting, those causes might include problematic land-use policies, affordable housing policies, tenancy laws, real-estate financing mechanisms, market pressures on the construction industry, or low wages.

These have the potential of not only reducing homelessness, but also preventing it – in a sustainable and durable way at scale. This is systems change – an approach that CEE’s social purpose organizations and donors can and should adopt and support.

To adopt a strategic, systems change approach, social purpose organizations and donors will need to modify their practices in three key ways:

First, given its ambitions, systems change approaches requires much more engagement with governments and with businesses.  In the case of the homelessness example, philanthropists and social purpose organizations might need to collaborate with government and advocacy organizations to change policies, and with the building industry to identify and fix market pressures that prevent the construction of low-income housing. By harnessing the power and scale of government and/or business we can do more good at scale. Currently, most social purpose organizations don’t partner with the business community or government and will need to develop the staff and skills to do so.

Second, systems change approaches require persistence and a long-term perspective. A study examining 15 successful systemic change breakthroughs around the world found that these efforts took at least 20 years, yet the average foundation grant is only 18 months long. Short-term funding or thinking is not system-change friendly.

Third, systems change is risky and doesn’t happen in a straight line. It requires continual adjustment and engagement. Whipping up dinner for the homeless in your community in an afternoon is a relatively straightforward endeavour and will accomplish its modest goal. You follow a recipe, create a shopping list, and execute. But fixing the systems that create homelessness is a less certain exercise, without a recipe to follow. It requires iteration, learning along the way, and changing course as needed based on new evidence and the changing external environment. Today, most donors and social purpose organizations are more comfortable adopting and executing on a short-term, straightforward, low-risk and low-reward plan. This approach condemns our children to fight the same battles we are waging today.

All of this requires a change in behavior for social investors. They need to think bigger, more long-term, and be less focused on the attribution of credit. They need to forge uncommon partnerships which harness the speed and power of business, the scale of government, and the deep local knowledge of social purpose organizations to catalyze durable, systemic change.

Strategic philanthropists interested in adopting a systems change approach can start by becoming familiar with the approaches of donor collaborations like Co-Impact, or learning from resources available at Scaling Solutions to Shifting Systems Initiative, Investors in Change, Bridgespan Group, Ashoka or New Profit Fund.

The pandemic has parted the curtains to reveal unmistakable and extensive structural challenges across our health, economic, and governance systems. Let’s not turn away. Philanthropy and social purpose organizations can seize this moment to adopt an ambitious systems change approach to build back better.

The article was co-authored by Tim Hanstad (CEO of the Chandler Foundation, co-founder of Landesa) and Anna Korzeniewska (Founder of Social Impact Alliance for Central & Eastern Europe) as part of “CEE Philanthropy Series 2021”.

It was originally published on www.forbes.pl on March 12, 2021.‍

Listen to the conversation with HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia; Yawa Hansen-Quo, Executive Director, Emerging Public Leaders, and Wu Wei Neng, Executive Director, Chandler Institute of Governance. The discussion highlighted the importance of civil service training for government and its future leaders. #PositiveOutliers21

This Medium blog follows the February salon on Systems Change Philanthropy.

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Click here to read on Medium.

Chandler Foundation, Ashoka and Geneva Global push the systems change discussion forward.

World Bank Blogs | By Warren Krafchik and Leslie Tsai

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In addition to sparking a global health, economic, and education crisis, the coronavirus pandemic may be fueling a fourth crisis that has, thus far, not gotten the attention it deserves.

Just as the global pandemic has illuminated the vulnerabilities in our health, economic, and education systems, it is shining a spotlight on the gaps, gaffes, and weaknesses in the management of public finances.

Headlines around the world are increasingly making clear that governments are struggling to balance dueling needs: for speed and integrity.  Reports cite secret contracts for COVID-19 vaccines, inflated prices for supplies, and corruption in the spending of relief funds.

Certainly, weak governance, poor public financial management, and misuse of public funding and public goods is not a new problem. But the pandemic has given it new urgency. That’s because, governance failures, including the misuse and mismanagement of COVID-19 funding, has the potential to undermine pandemic response efforts in three key ways – none of which we can afford right now: (1) inflated prices and misuse of funding, or funds that simply disappear, reduce scarce resources available for pressing and legitimate expenses like relief packages; (2) sub-standard equipment or failures in service delivery are a threat to public safety; and (3) most importantly, mismanagement of public funds undermines public trust at a moment when governments can ill-afford the erosion of trust. Distrust in government, for example, makes it more likely that large numbers of people could refuse the vaccine, threatening its effectiveness. We already see signs that this is the case.

We can and must take steps to improve governance and counteract growing distrust in government not only because it is critical to our successful response to the pandemic  but also because public trust is the firewall between social cohesion and fragmentation.

Fortunately, there are evidence-based tools that international institutions, governments, civil society, and philanthropy can use to help governments increase trust, strengthen their management of public funds and with that, improve their response to the current crisis.

1. Improve Transparency

Many governments have not yet implemented common sense transparency reforms, such as posting all budgets and contracts publicly online. This is easy and long overdue. Governments already produce significant data that they use for internal purposes or donor reporting, but do not make it public.  This is a political problem, not a technical one.  

The Open Contracting Partnership has worked with dozens of countries, including Paraguay and Ukraine, on reforms that require governments to publish contracts and procurements. Others should follow their lead.

2. Accountability Through Civil Society

As recent research from Transparency International has shown, transparency is only an effective tool if accompanied by strong accountability measures. We must support civil society and the media’s efforts to monitor government spending and the delivery of government services. Civil society organizations have the models and tools to reach citizens and hold governments accountable. For example, in 200 informal settlements across South Africa today, the International Budget Partnership and its partners are helping residents report on the delivery of critical public services during the pandemic through a regular questionnaire delivered via cellphone.

3. Harness Technology

Technology can help reduce opportunities for corruption. In addition to e-procurement and digitized budgets, the use of technology to administer conditional cash transfers can safely and efficiently get vital funds into the hands of their most vulnerable during the current crisis. In India, a biometrically authenticated payment system reduced corruption and substantially improved the delivery of government social assistance programs.

4. Engage the Right Levers in Government

Supreme audit institutions are agencies that lead on accountability for public finances and have a constitutional role to do so. However, supreme audit institutions often struggle with independence, mandates, and resources. We should look for opportunities to strengthen these key institutions.

5. International Institutions

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other international institutions can help.

The World Bank’s Global Director for Governance Ed Olowo-Okere emphasized that “The response to the pandemic is likely to increase corruption risks…” To help countries guard against these risks, the Bank developed a policy brief, Ensuring Integrity in Government’s Response to COVID-19.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva advised governments, “In this time of crisis, please spend whatever is needed. But spend wisely and keep your receipts.”

But we know that keeping the receipts isn’t enough. It matters that the public and oversight actors have access to those receipts. That’s what creates the necessary accountability.

We can all help governments live up to their potential and spend public funds effectively and equitably by helping them earn and keep the public’s trust.  

Warren Krafchik is Executive Director of the International Budget Partnership. Follow them @OpenBudgets

Leslie Lang Tsai is Director of Social Impact at the Chandler Foundation. Follow them @ChandlerFdn.

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This article was originally published by World Bank Blogs.

Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation, together with Land Portal host top experts on the importance of elevating land rights and corruption to the global development agenda.  

Listen as they tell us the well-being of every person on the planet – and indeed the well-being of the planet itself – depends on secure land rights.  Secure land rights and capable land institutions are the cornerstone of any modern economy.  Yet, corruption is a cancer that substantially limits the ability of land institutions to provide good governance to build and broaden prosperity.

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Richard Chandler, Founder and chairman, Clermont Group, Chandler Foundation, and Chandler Institute of Governance writes in this South China Morning Post opinion editorial that leadership matters. And, that amid the political turmoil and shortcomings of global governments in many cases the 'goodness of business' has risen to the occasion.​

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Click here to read the full article.

Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation opinion editorial is featured on the World Economic Forum blog on rebuilding trust, to build back better.  

Hanstad writes that when governments and the market have earned the trust of citizens, that trust tends to spill over to create greater trust in society as a whole, among individuals and groups.

Simply put, trust is contagious.

‍Click here to read the full article.

On December 8, Narada Foundation hosted Chandler Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Partners and Ford Foundation for a webinar on new approaches to giving.

Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation was a featured speaker alongside Rockefeller Philanthropic Partners, Heather Grady.  The discussion focused on effective philanthropy models.  

The virtual webinar attracted more than 124,000 people who watched the live streaming via media partner Feng Live.

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World Bank Blogs | By Tim Hanstad

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In recent months, supreme courts from India to Nigeria and Zimbabwe have issued historic opinions recognizing and strengthening women’s rights to land and property.

And while this is important and welcome progress, courts alone aren’t going to get us far enough, fast enough on this critical issue.

In more than 30 countries women and girls do not have the same rights to own or inherit land as men and boys. And in dozens of others, customs undermine women’s rights to land and property. This tenure insecurity constrains opportunity for more than one billion urban and rural women. Nowhere is the problem worse than in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank estimates that 90% of the rural land in Sub-Saharan Africa is undocumented. And women’s land and property rights are least likely to be documented.

We use the term “estimates” and “likely” in the above because much of this is just educated guesswork right now. To expedite progress on women’s land and property rights, the status of women’s land and property rights needs to be less terra incognita. Currently, there are tremendous gaps in our understanding of women’s land and property rights. For starters, we don’t know how much land is legally held or controlled by women nor how many women legally hold or control land.  We don’t know enough about how many women feel at risk of losing their land, nor where this fear is most prevalent. It is challenging, and perhaps impossible, to manage a problem that hasn’t been measured.

Despite the lack of data on this pressing challenge, governments and policymakers in many geographies are trying to bridge the gap for women. A growing body of empirical research finds that strengthening women’s land and property rights can increase returns of women’s labor, increase their control over and ability to benefit from family assets, and increases women’s voice and agency. Together, these shifts in women’s position within the household can create a profound ripple effect on income, food security, land stewardship, and children’s welfare.

On a macro level, strengthening women’s land and property rights serves as a key driver of inclusive, country-led, agricultural transformation. Research shows that women’s land rights increase investments in boosting agricultural productivity—which is a powerful evidence-based pathway to poverty alleviation and inclusive agricultural transformation. In fact, there are few more powerful ways to reduce hunger and poverty than when farmers invest in improving their harvests and their lives.

In this way, securing women’s land rights could stimulate entire economies and help grow a more food secure future.

The current lack of data shouldn’t dissuade us.

Today, we take for granted the broad availability of standardized poverty data or—for financial services—the FINDEX; but these data sets are relatively recent inventions that have served as necessary early building blocks for addressing global poverty and financial inclusion.

Unfortunately, despite calls from advocacy groups, the necessary data to determine progress on SDG land-related targets (Goals 1, 2, 5 and 15) is not being systematically gathered.

Today, action is needed on several fronts and by multiple stakeholders. We need:‍‍

• Data that centers on people and represents all people. Government agencies are typically charged with registering land, promoting agricultural productivity, or protecting natural resources and therefore their focus is naturally on plots, agricultural units, forests, etc. To ensure secure land rights for all we need to have information on people. Who lacks rights? Whose rights are insecure? What are the barriers that affect them? We will not know this if we only look at those who own land  or those who run a business or farm.

• Data on land documents, but also on how people experience the systems that support land tenure. It is important to know who has land documents in their name as well as who does not. But data on legal documents is not enough. Tenure security requires that a range of systems are functional and equitable regardless of your gender, race, ethnicity, or income. They include systems for dispute resolution, enforcement, and land administration that can be formal or customary. Tracking perceptions of tenure security is a simple but useful proxy to signal whether those systems are working and for whom. Prindex, a promising global effort to gather gender-disaggregated perceptions on land tenure security, deserves attention and support. It recently found that half of all women in Sub-Saharan Africa worried that they would lose their land if they were divorced or widowed.

• Data that acknowledges tracking only household heads or their opinions is insufficient and likely to yield biased results. If we want to ensure land rights for all, we have to gather, analyze, and report data understanding that tenure security varies within families and that, in fact, the household head is the most likely to be tenure secure.  We also have to account for discriminatory gender norms that often tie women’s tenure security to the quality of their relationships with their husbands, in-laws, sons or brothers. Which explains why so many women worry that if they are widowed or divorced they’ll be driven from their land. Good practices in this regard include randomizing who within the family is interviewed, relying solely on self-reported information, and always providing gender disaggregated results. I'll add here that—across the board—there is really no excuse for data that is not gender disaggregated.

• Data from a range of sources that can fill current gaps, provide more nuance, and be gathered more frequently. These complementary sources of data include global polls, research studies, and can be conducted by community-based organizations and grassroots groups.

• Data that is actionable and accessible. That addresses the needs of decision-makers in a timely manner, that is easy to find, understand and use. Data that can be used by those in a more vulnerable position to advance their rights.

• Funding: Donors, international bodies, and governments will need to expand support for data collection and data-driven decision making. Good data is among the most cost-effective investments. Good data can help governments prioritize the most cost-effective interventions—a pressing priority now that COVID-19 has decimated budgets.

• Capacity building. NGOs, international bodies, and governments will need to build the capacity at the country level to generate and analyze data. The promising and collaborative Global Land Indicators Initiative could help build capacity at the government level. Global land rights NGOs that are deeply embedded in multiple countries, such as Landesa, require funding to support “data gap advocacy” with data stewards and to build the capacity of their grassroots partners. Such grassroots civil society groups with the potential to effectively collect data because of their community connections—such as Espaco Feminista in Brazil and GROOTS in Kenya—could also benefit from direct funding and other partnerships.

Closing a data gap may seem technocratic and boring. But the social and economic empowerment prospects of more than one billion largely poor women who lack secure, legal land and property rights hinges on the success of these efforts.

This article was originally published by World Bank Blogs.

We are living through one of the most diverse, multi-generational global movements in history and the demand for systemic-level change is ubiquitous. What role is philanthropy playing to advance this kind of structural change, what does it mean to do it well, and where might philanthropy actually be part of the problem?

What do social change agents on the ground say that they need most from their funders? And why are many of those needs still unmet? If you are a systems change guru or supporter, this conversation is for you. This small group of social entrepreneurs, movement builders, philanthropists, and thought leaders gathered for a conversation on October 29, 2020.

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Leslie Tsai, Director, Social Impact, co-hosts discussion on youth advocacy for open government.

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Transparency and Accountability Initiative | By Oluwabusayomi Sotunde (Communications fellow at TAI)

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We continue to shed more light on individual and collective work foundation directors, program officers, and grantees are doing around Transparency, Civic Participation, and Accountability (TPA). Our next guest is Tim Hanstad, the Chief Executive Officer of Chandler Foundation.

Tim joined Chandler Foundation after more than two decades of leading Landesa, the world’s leading land-rights organization, from a two-person team to a leading global NGO with more than 20 offices around the world working to provide transformative opportunities to more than 120 million poor families. In this episode, Tim shares his motivation and learnings from working in the TPA field – from trying the “messy and impactful approach” to “capturing data with a soul” through storytelling.

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Can you remember what first motivated you to work on transparency and accountability issues?

For me, it was a two-step process. I first became motivated to work on issues of social justice and global economic development. The second step was recognizing the role of transparency and accountability within that broader field.

The motivation to work on issues of social justice and international development began very early in my young life – at the age of eight, working in the fields near my home.  For me, it was summer pocket money. For the migrant farmworkers who laboured alongside me, it was life-sustaining.  This injustice sparked my interest in the rule of law and the foundations for a just society, which eventually resulted in co-founding Landesa, a global land rights organization.

It was my early work on land rights in the 1980s that opened my eyes to the importance of transparency and accountability – initially in the context of building equitable land governance systems, and over time as a critical characteristic for a broad range of governance systems.

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‍Drawing from your experience of working on advocacy and transparency initiatives, what are the challenges from working in this field and what have you found most effective in working to build a stronger and equitable society?  

What I have found to be both most effective and most challenging is constructively engaging with governments.

My experience convinces me that engaging with governments – not ignoring or bypassing them – is critical to achieving large-scale and sustained impact. It is easy to criticize governments, and can even be easy to establish parallel systems outside of government. It is much more challenging to constructively engage with governments to make progress on governance reforms. Yet, my experience was that the active, often difficult and messy engagement with government is the most impactful approach.

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‍What trends in the TPA space excites you the most and what opportunities do you see for organizations working in this field?

I am not sure it counts as a trend, but one potential silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is it has further highlighted the importance of good governance, elevated discussions about specific steps for improving governance, and – hopefully – caused more social impact donors and doers to actively engage in supporting good governance.

So much of philanthropy and social sector work is directed to treating the symptoms of bad governance, and not enough toward trying to improve governance, including through efforts to improve transparency, accountability, and participation.

The Chandler Foundation has recently joined this space, and we are in learning mode. We are grateful to be part of the Transparency and Accountability Initiative to learn from others who have much more experience in the TPA space.

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What recommendations will you give your younger self or anyone starting out in this space?  

Align your vocation with your values. Surround yourself with people who are ‘teachers’. Be a humble, life-long learner. Seek to understand before being understood. Do what you know to be right, particularly when it’s most difficult. Invite regular feedback from others on how you can improve – and treat that feedback as the gift that it is.

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In your working and living with different communities around the world, what’s the closest thing to real magic you have experienced?

Many memories come to mind, but let me share one particularly relevant to the TPA space that was a magical lesson for me early in my career.

While gathering data in a remote Indian village on a government land records digitization project, my work was “delayed” while I listened to five courageous, low-resourced women of a self-help group describe their detailed, lengthy, individual stories.

Those stories had unifying themes – of how poor governance had limited their opportunity in life and held them down. And how they – with the newly transparent, digitized land records and the confidence gained through the collective action of a self-help group – had stood up for themselves for the first time and successfully demanded their land rights that had been taken by elites in their village.

Although I had been collecting quantitative data that day, those stories were the most powerful data I captured – data with soul. And it was the first of many magical lessons about the power of story; and about how governance – good or bad – impacts the lives of real people.

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This article was originally published by Transparency and Accountability Initiative. To learn more please visit their website.

The Chandler Foundation is saddened to share the news of Bill Gates Sr. passing late on September 14th.  His legacy in our community runs deep and his impact on the social investment and global development sectors is immeasurable.  Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation remembered Gates Sr. as someone who “Practiced justice, sought kindness and walked humbly.”  This giant of human-being did just that.

Corruption undermines progress towards the SDGs by eroding the rule of law.  It weakens government and diverts trillions of dollars from development.  Listen to this expert panel address the urgent need to build trust and public integrity in the system to ensure social cohesion and that we build back better.

The Chandler Foundation, Landesa and Catalyst 2030 hosted an expert panel on Advancing Gender Equality: Women, Land and the SDGs.  Watch the forum that included Laura Birx, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Anne Veneman, Former UNICEF Executive Director, Faith Alubbe, CEO, Kenya Land Alliance and Diana Fletschner, Landesa.

The Chandler Foundation and The/Nudge Forum hosted a discussion on systems change in India. Listen to Nisha Desai Biswal, President, U.S.-India Business Council; Rakesh Rajani, Vice President of Programs, Co-Impact; Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green; Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director, J-PAL; and Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation.

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The Chandler Foundation was honored to moderate a panel with the World Justice Project and Open Government Partnership to discuss the twin crises of public health and the rule of law in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

World Economic Forum | By Tim Hanstad

The pandemic has created conditions in which corruption can flourish. This can exacerbate and prolong the negative effects of this crisis. Here are three ways to start tackling this issue today.

The global pandemic has public health experts and medical providers around the world working overtime. And so, it seems, are profiteers.

Even before the pandemic, an estimated $455 billion of the $7.35 trillion spent annually on healthcare worldwide was lost to fraud and corruption. Today, as governments are ramping up pandemic response spending to unprecedented levels and shovelling it out of the door with understandable urgency and desperation, the risk of corruption and misappropriation has increased exponentially. A recent survey by a German anti-fraud consulting company found that a majority of the 58 countries surveyed experienced corruption related to purchasing and/or access to personal protective equipment. And a report from the Lawyers Council for Civil and Economic Rights found that government contracts for the coronavirus response have been riddled with irregularities in dozens of countries.

Even in the best of times, government corruption and mismanagement are harmful – they can cost lives and financial resources. In today’s pandemic they fuel a spiraling tragedy. Together, they will prolong the crisis by undermining government efficiency, significantly increasing the loss of life, wasting untold resources, and reducing society’s already fragile trust in government – each of which has significant long-term consequences that will linger far longer than the virus itself.

As this pandemic – perhaps the greatest challenge to governments in our lifetime – mounts, we must build a coalition of civil society, business leaders, dedicated government officials and funders to strengthen government accountability and effectiveness and change the trajectory of this pandemic and our futures. Here’s how.

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Demand greater accountability

Following the maxim “we get the government we deserve", we need to unite citizens to press for greater accountability and effectiveness from government institutions. This has already started as civil society organizations are building coalitions to hold government to account and defend government whistleblowers. Coalitions of NGOs are calling on the US Congress and the International Monetary Fund to include anti-corruption safeguards in all emergency pandemic funding. The Coronavirus Facts Database has fact-checkers in more than 70 countries monitoring pandemic mis/disinformation, while the Accountability Lab’s Coronavirus CivActs Campaign is debunking rumours and helping governments around the world deliver reliable public health information. Organizations like Represent Us are helping pass anti-corruption measures in states and cities across the US. In Europe, citizens in the Czech Republic and Poland joined large anti-corruption demonstrations last year and a newly created European Public Prosecutor's Office, due to launch later this year, will have extensive powers to investigate and prosecute the misuse of EU funds. Meanwhile, organizations like Transparency International, Open Society Foundations, and the Group of States against Corruption, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, continue to press for reforms.

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Commit to transparency

Business leaders must also commit to fair dealing and must exhibit transparency and accountability – and not just because, as the National Law Review warned, failing to do so carries a reputational risk. Businesses should join civil society’s call for greater accountability from governments because they too must live with the consequences should governments fail. Leadership Now, a group of US business leaders, has put together a primer for business on how to help improve government performance and restore trust. The B Team, a group of global business leaders forging a more responsible approach to capitalism, has called for companies to counter government violations of human rights in response to the pandemic.

During this crisis, which presents seemingly endless opportunities for self-dealing, malfeasance and plain-old misjudgments, dedicated public servants around the world should find allies and resources through organizations like the Open Government Partnership, which has developed a guide for open government reformers and a list of more than 200 crowdsourced examples of practical ideas, tools and resources on how civil servants can fulfil their duties more effectively and transparently. In the midst of this pandemic-induced government spending spree, the open contracting community has recommendations on how governments can buy emergency equipment fast and without favour. The Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body, meanwhile, has issued guidelines for public servants in its member states to mitigate humankind’s worst inclinations.

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What's the World Economic Forum doing about corruption?

It hosts the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), the largest global CEO-led anti-corruption initiative.

Realizing that corruption hampers growth and innovation, and increases social inequality, PACI aims to shape the global anti-corruption agenda.

Founded in 2004, it brings together top CEOs, governments and international organizations who develop collective action on corruption, transparency and emerging-marking risks.

PACI uses technology to boost transparency and accountability through its platform, Tech for Integrity.

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Catalytic philanthropy

Finally, funders must recognize this as a moment to pivot from retail philanthropy towards catalytic philanthropy. Do the math; philanthropy’s response to the pandemic will be measured in the billions of dollars, while governments’ responses will be in the trillions. To maximize impact, a good portion of philanthropy’s billions should be directed at ensuring the much larger government response is effective and that government systems are strengthened for the long term. At the Chandler Foundation, which I lead, we responded to the crisis by joining the donor collaborative Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI), which offers tools to help funders support good governance. Another donor collaborative, Co-Impact, invests in organizations working to improve government accountability, efficiency and effectiveness – partnerships that have never been more critical.

The pandemic has already taken more than 500,000 lives around the world – but we can stop it from taking away our remaining trust in government.

This article was originally published by World Economic Forum. To learn more please visit their website.

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Chronicle of Philanthropy | By Leslie Lang Tsai

Philanthropy has committed billions of dollars in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While certainly generous, that’s a fraction of the trillions committed so far by governments worldwide.

And therein lies a largely untapped opportunity.

Grant makers can have an outsized impact by supporting efforts to improve government efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness in responding to the pandemic.

Philanthropies should start by asking themselves some critical questions: How much of this massive tranche of government resources will be lost through corruption? Who is even monitoring what may be governments’ largest non-wartime spending in history? And what can grant makers do to increase the chances that government dollars support evidence-based policies in helping defeat the virus?

It turns out, there is a great deal foundations can do to tackle each of these issues.

To improve the response by governments around the world to the crisis, grant makers should focus their investments on three primary areas: improving transparency and accountability to reduce corruption; supporting data-driven approaches to shaping policy, while also strengthening government capacity to collect and act on such data; and protecting civic engagement.

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Reducing Corruption

A survey released in May by a German antifraud consulting company found that a majority of the 58 countries surveyed said they had suffered from corruption related to purchasing personal protective equipment or getting access to it. In one such example, the U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating a politically connected company that has failed to deliver on millions of dollars in contracts to supply states with urgently needed medical equipment. Meanwhile, the company is suing its bank, saying that the bank’s improper actions are what led to the failed delivery.

Crises needn’t serve as an opportunity for opportunists.

Foundations can and must help governments reduce corruption and self-dealing during this crisis to ensure that government funding is effective. Organizations such as the Open Government Partnership are providing government officials and their partners with practical tools and resources to keep government honest. These include a list of more than 200 crowdsourced examples of policies and procedures to reduce corruption during the pandemic and help promote policies that make governments more open.

Transparency needn’t slow government responses to the pandemic. Another nonprofit that pushes governments to disclose more about their operations, the Open Contracting Partnership, has recommendations on how governments can adopt protocols that allow them to buy emergency equipment quickly and without favoritism. Such efforts help stretch government funding further.

What’s more, moving from paper-based procurement systems, which can help hide corrupt practices, to transparent electronic systems will yield benefits far beyond the current crisis.

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Strengthening Data to Drive Smart Policy

Foundation support can also make a big difference in averting actions that we have seen governments take because they lacked data.

In March, the Indian government gave just four hours’ notice for a national lockdown, resulting in millions of migrant workers crowding train stations and bus depots in a scramble to get home. The rush to rural villages may have unintentionally accelerated the virus’s spread. The abrupt shutdown also prevented truckers from delivering critical medical supplies and factories from producing those supplies. In Italy, systematic government failures led to the death of more than 30,000 people from Covid-19.

Grant makers can and should help improve government performance during this crisis. Funds they provided to organizations like the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and IDinsight are helping nonprofits work with governments to improve efficiency and capacity.

The poverty lab, known as J-PAL, has developed recommendations to help governments design public-health campaigns that get the public’s attention and persuade people to follow recommendations that protect everyone from disease. J-PAL has also conducted research on how digital financial services and e-commerce can curb the impact of Covid-19. And it has provided guidelines for effective approaches to online learning as more than a billion students are locked out of schools.

IDinsight is working with the government of the Philippines to provide policy recommendations on how to protect the economically vulnerable during the crisis. Suggestions include ensuring poor households have sufficient income to meet daily needs; facilitating cash flows for small and medium-sized enterprises; and enabling salaried workers to take paid sick leave and keep their jobs.

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Promoting Civic Engagement

In Hungary, the prime minister has been given the authority to rule by decree with no end date. Venezuelan authorities have sought to arrest critics of the government’s response to the pandemic.

Civil society can support government both as a partner and as a watchdog, increasing the likelihood of government officials behaving responsibly.

Advocacy, grassroots organizations, and journalists can build the will for the policy and systems changes, such as paid sick leave and universal health care, that will help address this pandemic and prevent the next.

The Accountability Lab has launched the Coronavirus CivActs Campaign, a help desk for global citizens. The goal is to reduce misinformation and counter disinformation that can cloud the public’s understanding of government policy and their own safety.

A group of 97 nonprofits has urged the International Monetary Fund to formally recognize and strengthen the role of civil-society groups to monitor government spending of its $15 billion in pandemic emergency funding. Many of the IMF loan agreements include few or no government commitments to mitigate the risk of corruption.

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Investing in Good Governance Pays Dividends

Although many donors are currently focused on tackling the immediate health and economic crises, underlying governance issues will, more often than not, determine the scale and speed of our success battling the pandemic. What’s more, good governance is a good investment. It pays dividends by establishing structures and systems that can boost our response and recovery from Covid-19, and effectively address future challenges.

Then why is governance so unpopular with foundations? Here are some reasons:

It is difficult to measure governance outcomes in a quantifiable and concrete way. You can track the number of children who receive vaccines, but it is much more challenging to measure performance improvements within a ministry of health.

Grant makers want to understand what impact they’ve had. When they strengthen governance, it is hard to tease out their specific role and separate it from the role of others.

Working to strengthen governance systems can take a long time. What’s more, the benefits from that work take even longer to manifest. Few grant makers have the patience to measure their impact in decades.

But for those grant makers and social investors who are strategic and have such patience, there has never been a more important time and a better opportunity to effect significant and lasting change. My organization, the Chandler Foundation, recently joined a grant-maker collaborative called the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, which supports long-term investments in creating more open and responsive governments.

With each passing day, we see more headlines from around the world of yet another unnecessarily bungled government response to the crisis. We can change this narrative and our destiny, saving precious lives and resources by investing in good governance.

This article was originally published by The Chronicle Of Philanthropy. To learn more please visit their website.

The Chandler Foundation was honored to host The World Bank Group, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Open Government Partnership and Ford Foundation to discuss the explicit link between corruption and prosperous societies.

The Chandler Foundation was honored to engage with AVPN members and Dasra, J-PAL, Pratham and Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation for this pivotal discussion on reaching on our collective goals.

Listen to this engaging conversation with leaders from Proximity Designs, Industree Foundation, Ashoka, and Chandler Foundation on why multi-sector collaboration is essential to achieving the SDGs.

Catalyst2030

Join Tim Hanstad, CEO, Chandler Foundation, Julie Mccarthy, Open Society Foundations, Kathrin Frauscher, Open Contracting Partnership and Chris Stone, Professor of Practice of Public Integrity, Oxford University, as they discuss good governance, transparency and accountability in the time of COVID-19.

This video was originally published by Catalyst2030. To learn more please visit their website.

‍Transparency and Accountability Initiative

We are pleased to welcome the Chandler Foundation as the newest member of the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI) funder collaborative.

The Chandler Foundation is a philanthropic organization that partners with social purpose organizations to promote good governance, vibrant and fair marketplaces, and economic opportunity for all people. As a member of TAI, the Chandler Foundation is joining efforts to boost the impact of global transparency, participation and accountability funding in support of inclusive and equitable development.

“The Chandler Foundation’s team brings valuable new perspectives, relationships, and ideas,” said Dana Hovig, TAI Chair and Director, Global Development and Population Program, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “Their investment in good governance programming is an important signal at a time when transparency, participation and accountability are critical to ensuring effective responses to the pandemic and related global challenges.”

For a decade, TAI has been working to strengthen the transparency, participation and accountability field. The Chandler Foundation joins TAI as the collaborative adopts a new strategy focused on providing effective and inclusive grant-making support, and strengthening and broadening the network of international development funders—all who are aligned on supporting good governance.

“We are excited to partner with TAI to address good governance head-on. After many years of working to scale health, education and economic opportunity programs, we learned that we must go upstream and address the root causes, and not only the symptoms of failed governance,” said Leslie Lang Tsai, Director of Social Impact at Chandler Foundation.

About the Chandler Foundation

The Chandler Foundation is a global philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting good governance, vibrant and fair marketplaces, and economic opportunity for all people.  The foundation is a core member of Co-Impact, a global collaborative model of philanthropy addressing global poverty through systems change solutions.

About TAI

The Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI) is a donor collaborative working toward a world where citizens are informed and empowered; governments are open and responsive, and collective action advances the public good. Our members have approximately 600 million USD committed in grants to almost 700 organizations championing transparency, participation and accountability around the globe.

This article was originally published by TAI. To learn more please visit their website.

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Landesa | Gina Alvarado

In half the countries in the world, women face obstacles to land rights, leaving millions unable to unlock their full potential. But this challenge is #Solvable.

In a new video, Landesa Researcher Gina Alvarado explains how improving land laws and confronting gender norms can help strengthen women’s land rights and create a more equitable world for all.

This video was originally published by Landesa. To learn more please visit their website.

‍Alliance Magazine | Olivia Leland

I’m inspired by the number of funders who want to ramp up their support in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the urgency, we must not lose focus on how that support is deployed.

Diverting funding from building a national teacher training curriculum to make space for a portfolio of small emergency grants might feel right, but it will require a new operating model and a lot of people’s time. Why not leverage the network of thousands of teachers you are already supporting to play a meaningful role in the crisis? Donating masks to African countries may appear a sensible way to help, but what if the logistics are more costly than the masks, and the process distracts the attention of key managers throughout the emergency response? Why not instead support the health system to procure the items or equipment they most need?

There is no question that immediate relief efforts are essential during times of crisis. When faced with a global pandemic, many countries around the world have urgent needs. The question for funders is not about whether relief efforts are needed, but about how we support those efforts – and, equally importantly, how to do so in a way that will have a lasting impact.

As international funders, we believe that the most effective way we can deploy our support is through a systems response – investing in the entities which have the legal mandate and capacity to reach large numbers of people through established protocols, budget and personnel– and in the locally rooted people and organisations who have the expertise, relationships and contextual knowledge to lead response efforts. And because the impact of Covid-19 will be gendered, it is particularly important to listen to women leaders.

Investing in systems is both the best way to respond to the crisis now, and help countries be more resilient to future epidemics and shocks. This is especially urgent in places where systems were already under strain prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Well-functioning systems are often best at early detection of infection, and that data can help to mount timely and focused responses where they are needed the most. Creating well-intended but parallel efforts only creates additional burdens and fragments a country’s capacity and response.

A systems response engages and leverages tools that are already in place. Project ECHO – a simple yet powerful model which helps to move specialised medical knowledge from academic centres to frontline healthcare providers through video-conferencing technology – is one example of this. In building the knowledge and capacity of hundreds of thousands of frontline medical staff, while at the same time learning from practical cases on the ground, expertise is strengthened even in hard to reach areas. Already present in approximately 40 countries, Project ECHO is now being called upon by India’s Ministry of Health, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organisation to support a global COVID-19 response.

A systems response recognises that COVID-19 needs to be tackled in a manner that builds country capacity to provide essential services. During the Ebola epidemic, for example, untreated malaria cases are estimated to have risen by 140 per cent in Liberia, while the three most affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, experienced a 75 per cent increase in maternal mortality. The Liberian Ministry of Health, together with a coalition of actors including Last Mile Health and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is working to train and equip a country-wide network of Community Health Workers, who are on the frontlines of providing primary healthcare, and indispensable in responding to COVID-19.

A systems response understands that there will be severe and far-reaching effects of this pandemic on other systems – and the need to shore these up over the long term. As the global economy slows down dramatically all over the world, supporting governments to strengthen social protection systems, for example, becomes more critical than ever. Meanwhile, the fact that more than 1.5 billion children and young people are now out of school highlights a need to strengthen education systems to be able to adapt and ensure that children are able to learn over the long term. Now is not the time to divert resources away from these and other important fields.

I’ve been heartened by the response of so many funders who are committing to standing by the organisations they support, to listening to what their partners need at this difficult time, relaxing restrictions on funding, making reporting less burdensome, and generally treating partners with more empathy, remembering the people behind the organisation. We’ve joined nearly 600 funders in signing a pledge spearheaded by the Council on Foundations and 300 who have joined the London Funders pledge. Others, such as the Center for Effective Philanthropy and co-signatories, have called on funders to increase their support at this critical time.  We hope more funders will do the same, and that these shifts in funding approaches will ultimately become the norm.

In the face of crisis, our instinct is to care and respond. This is a wonderful human impulse. Let’s channel that impulse toward asking what would be most helpful to the organisations and practitioners closest to the communities we seek to serve. Through them, we can ensure a response which is not only more effective in fighting this pandemic, but one which will shore up systems now and for the long term.

Olivia Leland is Founder and CEO of Co-Impact

The Chandler Foundation was honored to host more than 350 people at our Skoll World Forum online event.

We discussed how best to define Systems Change, the importance of adopting a Systems Change mind-set; and opportunities for donors and doers to do better together.

We are humbled and grateful to our audience participants and our panelists for their commitment to improving people’s lives—and bridging the conversation in our sector.

Event Panel:
Tim Hanstad, Chandler Foundation CEO (Moderator)
Olivia Leland, Co-Impact CEO
Cheryl Dorsey, Echoing Green President / Catalyst 2030 President
Sofia Michelakis, Giving Pledge Lead and Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Jeroo Billimoria, One Family Foundation Founder / Catalyst 2030 Co-Founder

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‍Gavin Hayman

As you scour those empty supermarket shelves, spare a thought for those buying for governments. Public procurement professionals across the world are under immense pressure as they shop around to meet the huge demand for medical equipment and supplies — the scrubs, disinfectants, masks, gloves, medicines, and ventilators that are essential to containing the new coronavirus outbreak.

There are clear rules about fairness and non-discrimination on how the government should buy things. There must be rules for exceptions too. Even as priorities change, procurement must remain transparent and accountable, and be grounded in sound, participatory decision-making.

The only way to guarantee this in complex, rapidly changing contexts like now is by being guided by open government principles, with open systems that run on structured data and efficient communication.

Here are our recommendations based on experience working with government contracting teams in more than 25 countries:

Emergency procedures still need to be public and open. During an emergency like the COVID-19 crisis, contracting procedures must be as fast and frictionless as possible, trumping competition and inclusion. Large payments may be made upfront to secure supplies.

The rush by politicians to be seen to be doing something and secure supplies as scarcity rises can lead to poor sourcing, unqualified suppliers, and poorly written contracts. While emergency procedures are needed, they must remain publicly accountable for every contract concluded and spent.

This shift is normally enacted by an emergency decree that sets out when normal rules can be circumvented. The EU, for example, already has relevant directives. The UK has set out relatively clear tests that should be met and publicly documented before their use.

Tracking if the vital materials were provided as promised is another risk when contracts and relevant documentation is not available. US$18 billion was spent worldwide on Tamiflu during the swine flu outbreak. Later, it appeared that it was no better than paracetamol in treating the disease.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms, for example, oblige all emergency contracts to be published in full, including terms of payment and delivery, and value. These are shared as open data. Civil society has developed a business intelligence tool to monitor medical procurement and emergency spending. Now they can track price differences for COVID-19 tests in the country’s regions and capital to check the price of critical medical supplies to ensure that authorities are committed to filling treatment centers, not private pockets. With government staff already stretched thin, civil society should be seen as a valuable ally and analyst in tracking preparedness and ensuring resources are allocated efficiently.

*A print screen from Ukrainian BI – 195 contracts for EUR 855k were signed by 120 contracting authorities during March 18-19, 2020

Open procurement data provides valuable information to predict and manage critical supply chains. One of the reasons that governments need emergency procedures is the clunking inefficiency of most existing procurement. It is often paper-based and focussed on compliance rather than a digital service benefiting buyers and suppliers. We make the case for a radical shift to make all procurement open and user-friendly here.

Countries that are using e-procurement platforms and disclose data in an open format such as the Open Contracting Data Standard, should continue doing so. Colombia is one of the countries that comply with this best practice, even as emergency procedures have been announced. Colombia’s National Health Institute, although it is awarding contracts directly, is asking for quotes and delivery times for its COVID-19 test and lab supplies procurement. The institute discloses not only tender data and information but all the technical comments received from potential suppliers.

Unprecedented demand requires a rapid dialogue with the market about where those supplies can come from. That is much slower if you have to piece together manually rather than conducting an open dialogue with the marketplace online.

Innovative partnerships with business and civil society are needed. We currently have long and congested international supply chains, competing buyers willing to pay any price to get their hands on lifesaving equipment and a lack of local manufacturing capacity. This is already resulting in dire shortages of critical items, putting brave frontline responders and whole populations at risk.

Supply chains will need reengineering. Governments don’t have all the answers so they need to reach out to the private sector and other parts of society to ask for solutions. The UK government asked suppliers to come up with solutions for ventilators, which resulted in a major consortium coming forward to help. These innovative partnerships with the private sector will involve the skills of the government stating the needs clearly, being willing to share the risk, and rapid prototyping and iteration. Again, this can be facilitated and enhanced if bought online. Not all of these partnerships will work and that is fine too.

One promising approach is Chile’s framework agreement for goods and services necessary in case of emergencies. Selected suppliers are pre-screened by ChileCompra, the central purchasing body, to buy products from them in a fast and easy way when disaster hits, avoiding sole sourcing and gouging.

National COVID-19 procurement strategies need to be rapidly updated to form a global, digital and data-driven plan. Without data on prices, suppliers, lead times and specifications, it is going to be very hard to move from being reactive to proactive in getting the right items to the right patient at the right time.

Civil society will play an important role in that effort too. Those countries that will be able to respond better and faster are those that maintain an open dialogue about preparedness. Open government approaches applied to key functions such as public procurement have never been more important. With government staff already stretched thin, civil society should be seen as a valuable ally and analyst in tracking preparedness and ensuring resources are allocated efficiently. And, where necessary, civil society needs to be able to hold its leaders to account on the spending decisions they’ve made and ensure that in an emergency the citizens come first.

How governments manage emergency public procurement will play a major role in how they contain COVID-19 and how many lives can be saved.

It is public procurement’s moment in the spotlight. It needs to be fast, smart and open if it’s going to shine.

Photo Credit: The Office of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf

In the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Chandler Foundation has made several commitments to better support our program partners and the social change sector. We have signed the Council on Foundation’s Pledge of Action as well as the London Funders “We stand with the sector” funder response to COVID-19. We have also reached out to our program partners directly with the message below and have customized support to existing partners on a case-by-case basis.

Dear Program Partner,

Given the advent of COVID-19, we are writing to express our commitment to you in this unprecedented time. Our top priority is the role we must play to protect the collective health and safety of our staff, families, partners, communities, and those we all serve.

We at the Chandler Foundation recognize that the COVID-19 outbreak will have an impact on you, and we want to offer assurance that we stand with the sector and with you at this time. We want be as helpful as possible, and to live our values of servant-heartedness and humility as we seek to work alongside you in appropriate and productive ways.

We are committed to:

• Adapting activities:  We recognize that you may experience difficulties achieving key outputs or outcomes we earlier discussed and outlined. If this is the case, we commit to be reasonable and understanding in adjusting shared expectations. When the time is right, please have a conversation with us if you are affected in this way.
• Discussing timelines:  We do not want to add unnecessary pressure, so if you think you will struggle to meet a deadline, please, again, get in touch with us so we can agree to more realistic timelines wherever possible.
• Financial flexibility: We know you may need to use your funding more flexibly at this time to react to the various implications of COVID-19. Please reach out to us directly if it would be helpful to make our funding more flexible to address other priorities.
• Listening to you:  We are here if you want to talk about the situation you are facing, but we’ll wait for you to call us so that these conversations are at the right time for you.

As a part of our commitment, during this event, we stand in solidarity with you, the champions on the frontlines of impact, because without your resilience, commitment, intellect and partnership, we could not achieve our common goal of improving people’s lives. And, this work has never been more critical.

In solidarity and gratitude,

Tim (on behalf of the Chandler Foundation Team)

Three decades ago, I started my journey in social entrepreneurship–like so many others—hungry for impact.

I told Roy Prosterman, my early mentor and fellow co-founder of the nonprofit land rights organization Landesa, that I wanted to transform our scrappy two-person team into an influential international powerhouse. I envisioned offices around the world and a staff of hundreds.

His response stopped me in my tracks.

Our ultimate goal should not be building and growing an organization, Roy said, but rather building and growing impact that benefits those we serve. That wisdom became my North Star–focus first and foremost on impact for those you serve. A larger organization–more revenue, expenses, and staff–is not the equivalent of larger impact, nor will it necessarily bring you closer to achieving that goal.

I offer this lesson and others listed below with the humility of a leader who has gained incremental wisdom slowly over 30 years of trial and error (first at Landesa and now as CEO of the Chandler Foundation), from the good fortune of having remarkable mentors (particularly Roy, as well as my current boss Richard Chandler) and peers who freely shared their learnings, and in and what I soaked up at events such as the Skoll World Forum. I hope today’s early-stage social entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders hungry for impact can learn from these lessons informed by years of both mistakes and successes.

1. Define success precisely and narrowly.

Success should be defined specifically, simply, and narrowly with a focus on those you intend to serve. If you don’t know where you’re headed, you won’t know whether you’re getting there. You won’t be able to effectively inspire and lead other stakeholders, including staff and funding partners. Too many organizations have an overly broad and flexible definition of success which then contributes to mission drift and the dangerous prioritization of a search for revenue over a strategic search for impact.

2. Develop a coherent theory of change

A theory of change (TOC) is an illustration and description of how and why your desired outcome is expected to happen. If you don’t have one, learn about them and develop one. If you do have a TOC, revisit it frequently. Kick the tires. Ask yourself if the evidence linking each step in the TOC has changed. Again, simple is beautiful. This Bridgespan tool and this NCVO guide can help nonprofits to develop or revise a TOC.

3. Establish strong governance

Strong governance means a board that can act on behalf of those the organization serves to both keep executive leadership accountable and to support executive leadership in driving towards impact. Family and friends are great, but they won’t serve you well in this capacity. Another mistake founders make is to assemble a board primarily for fundraising. That is one of their roles, but not their primary role.

4. Build a strong and cohesive leadership team

Without a strong AND aligned team at the top of an organization, it will never achieve its potential impact. Finding, recruiting, developing, and retaining the right people can take much time. It is time well spent. But there is more–building a cohesive team is more than having the right members. It involves building trust, commitment, and clarity among the individual members. I found this tool by Patrick Lencioni of the Table Group to be a useful resource.

5. Plan for leadership succession

Planning for leadership succession should begin on Day One for any CEO/ED. You will not and should not lead the organization forever. Identifying a plan for what happens after you’re gone is crucial for long-term impact. Identify leaders who can succeed you. Ideally, they will be other leaders from within the organization. Too few nonprofits and social enterprises experience smooth transitions from the founder to the next leader.

6. Build a strong, fit-for-purpose finance function

I find that most non-profit founders focus more on assembling a strong program team than building a strong finance team. I made this mistake early. A capable, fit-for-purpose finance and accounting function is a necessary foundation for an impactful organization. Neglect this at your peril.

7. Develop high-quality program expertise and execution

Once you have identified the central program activities for achieving impact through your theory of change, work towards excellence in delivering those programs. Favor quality over quantity, especially early on. Recognize that programmatic excellence is a long-term and ongoing goal. Build it over time. And seek to improve it by soliciting feedback and learning from those you serve and partner with.

8. Soften the soil with communications

The ability to communicate effectively, to tell stories, to influence, and attract others is often viewed as a “nice-to-have” but should be viewed as a “need to have.” I made the mistake of under-investing in communications in the early years of Landesa. Don’t make the same mistake. Good communications professionals are worth their weight in gold. They serve as the advance team for your program staff and are critical for elevating your issue and influencing others to action.

9. Design a revenue model that aligns with your program model

The conventional wisdom to have an even balance across the types of revenue streams–individuals, foundations, government, business–is usually wrong. You cannot be all things to all people. Your revenue model should reflect your program model. For example, if your program activities are easy to understand and your mission appeals to emotional heartstrings, you will have any easier time raising funds from individuals. Double down on the category that best aligns with your program model and provides the type of revenue that allows you to achieve optimal impact. And remember, your ability to build relationships will be the key to your success, regardless of your focus category.

10. Revenue shouldn’t rule

Don’t let the pursuit of revenue become more important than the pursuit of mission impact. And don’t confuse the two. Too often, non-profits are willing to take money that leads to mission drift and detracts or distracts them for achieving their defined impact. Money is the means, not the goal. And money that comes with restrictions or distractions can make you less, not more effective in creating mission impact.

11. Collaboratively seek partnerships.

If you have chosen a worthy social impact goal, it’s virtually certain that you won’t be able to achieve that goal on your own. It’s also virtually certain that other existing entities (including governments, other NGOs, and business sector actors) share in that goal. View those entities as collaborators rather than competitors. Actively seek and work with partners who share your purpose and values. Prioritizing those your organization serves above your own organization helps to maintain a collaborative mindset. For each collaboration opportunity, ask first whether it advances the interest of those you serve before you ask whether it serves your own organization’s interest. This will help keep you focused on the North Star of impact for those you serve that Roy Prosterman pointed me to so many years ago.

No matter the size of your ambitions, from achieving universal health care in an entire country to improving access to books in your own community, I hope these 11 tips can help keep your worthy efforts on track.

Are today’s global-development philanthropists the equivalent of Wall Street day traders in a world that needs more patient capital?

As foundations like ours seek to expand the reach of our work, we have pushed our grantees to "think big" and add zeros to their number of beneficiaries. But there are many paths to increasing impact, and not all deliver equal benefits.

Consider a program that builds low-cost housing for homeless families. Increasing funding so that the number of families benefiting from the program can increase 10-fold or even a 100-fold sounds good. And it is. But it is not durable change. It is fragile progress, forever dependent on those donors providing increased levels of funding to build more homes.

Instead, consider a more holistic solution that makes changes so institutions, relationships, functions, incentives, and norms can work better.

For affordable housing, that might mean going beyond building one subsidized house at a time. Instead, it would focus more on causes than on symptoms. This might entail changing government policies, enhancing government capacity, mending the broader real-estate marketplace, or some combination of these efforts and others to make housing more affordable and accessible. It requires broad partnerships that involve civil society, government, and corporate America, collaboratively tackling a complex problem. Such an approach provides a scale and durability that are unrivaled.

Fortunately, an increasing number of grant makers are recognizing the power of changing entire systems. And some of us are collaborating, through organizations like Co-Impact and others to provide the larger funding needed to engage in systems change and structurally tackle the world’s most stubborn challenges. That is a big step in the right direction.

Long Timeline

However, foundations and other donors will also need to provide funding in a manner that is aligned with how systems change occurs. And systems change takes time.

After all, working with the government, community groups, and builders to change land-use regulations, overhaul public-housing policies, mend a housing marketplace, and tackle other causes of homelessness takes a lot more time than simply building low-cost houses for poor families (which in itself is no easy feat).

Given the longer timeline for systems-change work, how many grant makers are adjusting the terms of our grants to take this into consideration?

Not many.

A report a few years back by Bridgespan found that the average duration of a grant made by big American foundations is less than 18 months (median amount was less than $50,000). And they wisely asked, "How many social problems can be solved with $50,000 over 18 months?"

Another recent Bridgespan report studied 15 success stories of large-scale social impact that involved changing systems, including efforts as diverse as the anti-apartheid movement and polio eradication. Success took a long time (and in the case of polio, we are not quite there yet). Ninety percent of the efforts took more than 20 years, with a median of 45 years.

How many of today’s foundations that are seeking large-scale social impact have the patience and persistence for such slow going?

In many ways, it is surprising that patient and persistent social investing isn’t discussed more; after all, few successful mainstream investors extol the benefits of short-term investing. John D. Rockefeller once said, "Giving is investing." As even novice financial investors know, patient capital is a core financial investment principle.

In global development, where the most important social problems are complex and require structural change, we need to see fewer day traders and more long-term investors.

Keep at It

This doesn’t mean we grant makers need to give nonprofits blank checks and unlimited flexibility. It does mean, however, that we must adjust our timelines and that our persistence must match the size of our ambitions. If we want to help solve big problems, we can’t focus entirely on short-term goals. We can’t give up after experiencing a short-term setback. And we can’t stop funding organizations that are making progress just because they are no longer novel.

Consider a great example of systems change now underway in Mali. Earlier this year, Mali announced that it was launching a sweeping national health-care overhaul: a plan that would provide primary health care to all children under age 5 and to all pregnant women, as well as family-planning services. To connect communities, no matter how remote, with these services, Mali is investing in thousands of community health workers.

The plan is aimed at halting an epidemic of child and maternal deaths. The country’s under-5 mortality rate, at 115 per 1,000 — 16 times that of the United States — is one of the world’s highest. The lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications is one in 27, nearly 1,000 time higher than the risk in Greece.

The plan was also more than 15 years in the making, has overcome countless setbacks, and will take at least another four years to put in place. Muso, a nonprofit, is playing a catalytic role, piloting and testing the approach and advising the government and other stakeholders.

And yet, in terms of changing systems, this is the equivalent of the blink of an eye.

In my three decades at the land-rights organization Landesa, there was one lesson I learned early and often: that durable systemic change does not happen overnight.

Indeed, the impact of Landesa’s engagement with dedicated government officials around the globe to improve government policies or reshape institutions was best measured in 10-year increments. Our successes to help shape laws or restructure policies that provided benefits to millions often came after many, many years of not being able to point to a single person who had benefited from our work — not for lack of trying and not necessarily because we had the wrong approach. Simply because big changes that get to the root of a problem take time to identify, design, and implement.

A Meaningful Grant

One of the more meaningful grants Landesa received was a 10-year grant from Bill Gates Sr. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A decade-long grant was virtually unheard of at global-development nonprofits at that time, and it gave us the breathing room and the time horizon that resulted in our ability to do work that made a big difference, contributing to several historic land-policy changes in China and India that strengthened land-property rights for tens of millions of poor women and men and helped change their trajectory and that of their entire country.

I recognize that few grant makers are prepared to move to 10-year grant cycles. But thinking in decade-long increments, communicating to nonprofits that we recognize true systems change will take a decade or longer, and sticking with organizations that are making progress on agreed milestones and metrics would be steps in the right direction.

This is a lesson I carry with me and share with fellow grant makers in my new work as Chandler Foundation CEO. As the investor and philanthropist Charlie Munger once said, "Waiting helps you as an investor, and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that."

Tim Hanstad is CEO of the Chandler Foundation and co-founder of Landesa, a group that works with governments to establish and enforce land-title programs for some of the world’s poorest people.

Tim Hanstad recalls his journey from law student to leading Landesa, and shares his focus as the Chandler Foundation’s new CEO.

You were only a few years out of law school when you co-founded Landesa with Roy Prosterman. What made you decide to leave a career in law to pursue one in social change?

Tim Hanstad: The inspiration behind Landesa was to build and broaden prosperity for the world’s poorest citizens and to do so at scale. Roy Prosterman was one of my professors in law school at the University of Washington. He was the world’s foremost expert on land rights and had already worked for almost two decades with governments in developing countries, helping them develop policies and laws that provided poor people with formal ownership rights to their land.

Professor Prosterman’s insight was that 80% of the world’s poorest people were farmers and depended on land to survive, and that most of them lacked legal rights to the land on which they depended. This was largely because their governments had not yet built the legal, policy, and institutional framework to define and protect property rights. The result was a lack of prosperity and an abundance of conflict.

In countries where the government was interested in addressing the problem, Professor Prosterman would conduct field research, then work with the government to craft and advocate for specific law and policy solutions. His first breakthrough testimony was in Vietnam, where a law he helped the government craft, adopt, and implement provided legal ownership rights to 1 million farmers.

As a law student, I worked with Professor Prosterman, travelling to countries such as Egypt, Guatemala, and the Philippines. Much of that time was spent engaging with poor families and communities to understand their challenges, and then using that information in partnership with governments to help them develop policy and legislative solutions.

Shortly after graduating from law school, I faced the choice of continuing to work at a corporate law firm or taking a one-year position on the law faculty to work with Professor Prosterman. It was a choice between higher pay or higher purpose.

A few years later, we founded Landesa and our two-person start-up eventually grew to more than 250 staff and 25 offices around the world. More importantly, it helped provide legal land rights to more than 130 million poor families.

Read more in
A Life in Social Impact
Go to Article

By Tim Hanstad

As we gather in Oxford to discuss how humanity can accelerate a future that is fair, inclusive, and sustainable at this year’s Skoll World Forum, it is helpful to remember the story of the starfish.

I first heard this story from Rich Tafel, founder of Public Squared, while attending my first SWF seven years ago.

As Rich told it: a man walking along a beach covered with thousands of dying starfish sees a boy throwing them one-by-one back into the ocean. The man points out the scale of the problem and how the boy cannot possibly make a difference. As the boy throws another starfish back, he says, “I just made a difference to that one.”

The story exemplifies the mindsets of many social entrepreneurs and NGOs—we are spurred by empathy into action, not paralyzed by the scope of the problem.

At a deeper level, the story also highlights how often the response at hand addresses only symptom and not cause.

This is what makes this year’s theme: “accelerating possibility” so interesting. To accelerate change, we can’t save starfish by starfish—despite the fact that such actions are meaningful and important to those individual starfish. Instead, we need to think bigger.

We need a systems mindset, because most social problems are complex and multi-faceted. We need to get to the root of the problem lest we spend the rest of our days throwing starfish by starfish back into the water.

Let’s go back to our starfish story to explore this notion further. In the case of “Starmageddon” – the thousands of starfish who really did wash up on shore and die on the coast of Kent, England in 2008–Marine Conservation Society found that nearby dredging for mussels likely dislodged the starfish, covered them with silt, and smothered them.

The real solution was not throwing them back in the silty water. Instead, it was new regulations on dredging.

In this case, the Marine Conservation Society was able to achieve impact not only because they approached this with a systems mindset and looked for the root of the problem. But also, because they were open to engaging with, what too many in our sector still consider, an unconventional partner: government.

This is a subject that is particularly close to my heart because the organization I co-founded and led at the time, Landesa, achieved its greatest successes by engaging with governments to support changes in land-related laws and policies to create durable, systemic change. Our theory of change was and is founded on a systems mindset approach that had us collaborating with governments, civil society, and the business sector to change the laws and policies that prevented farmers from sustainably increasing their harvests to grow themselves out of poverty.

In the years since Rich shared this story, the idea of systems change work has thankfully caught on. What is still under appreciated is the potential role for government in our systems change work.

But I see signs that this too is shifting. I am now CEO of the Chandler Foundation, part of Co-Impact, a donor collaborative for systems change work whose core partners include our chairman, Richard Chandler, along with Bill & Melinda Gates, Nandan & Rohini Nilekani, Jeff Skoll, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Co-Impact works to address big, complex problems that require big bet solutions with the participation of civil society, business, and governments. As we see it, without all three of these groups collaborating on solutions, we’re leaving money on the table.

While engaging with government on policy change and governance is not something social entrepreneurs often discuss, it needs to be as we seek ways to accelerate possibility.

As Rich shared with me during that 2012 SWF, “If you want to change the world, you have to change the rules.”

Co-Impact collaborative includes core partners Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, The Rockefeller Foundation, and – most recently – Rohini and Nandan Nilekani

LONDON, January 15, 2019 – Co-Impact announced its first round of grants today to improve education, health, and economic opportunity for an estimated 9 million people over the next five years across Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. The grants total more than US $80 million. This is the first set of grants delivered by Co-Impact, a collaborative partnership founded in late 2017 by Olivia Leland, founding director of The Giving Pledge, and partners including Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Rohini and Nandan Nilekani.

Co-Impact works in collaboration with a diverse group of change makers, creating large-scale social impact by employing a systems-based approach. Co-Impact makes long-term investments to help address obstacles and limitations in systems that hamper human progress in the areas of education, health, and economic opportunity.

The first-round grant recipients include:                        

                           
• Liberia's National Community Health Assistant Program: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and Last Mile Health, alongside other partners, will support the Government of Liberia to scale and strengthen the National Community Health Assistant Program, which is advancing universal health coverage through the deployment of a community health workforce, providing access to primary health services for 1.2 million rural people.
• The graduation approach to economic opportunity: A global multi-stakeholder effort, involving Jeevika, Fundación Capital, and the Partnership for Economic Inclusion (PEI) hosted by the World Bank, that will enable governments to adapt and scale programs proven to help households sustainably boost their incomes and assets, as a pathway to lift millions of people out of extreme poverty.
• Project ECHO: A global movement in 34 countries and growing that leverages technology for remote mentoring and group problem-solving; expanding work underway in India to build the capacity of community healthcare providers to treat patients with chronic and complex diseases.
• Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa: A joint venture between Pratham and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to support African governments and partners develop locally effective approaches to help all children read and do basic arithmetic, and to develop the essential foundation for lifelong learning.
• citiesRISE: An initiative creating a global network of mental health friendly cities and communities (starting with Nairobi, Chennai, Bogota, Sacramento and Seattle) and scaling systemic solutions by leveraging the energy and creativity of youth, the speed and reach of technology, and through cross-sectoral collective action.
                       

Co-Impact is also pleased to announce that Rohini and Nandan Nilekani, having served as technical partners since Co-Impact's launch, recently joined the collaborative as Core Partners and are jointly invested in the strategic direction of the effort.

Olivia Leland, Founder and CEO: "At Co-Impact, our guiding mission is to make the biggest difference possible in the lives of millions, and I believe that our impressive first round of program partners are poised to do just that. I am also extremely pleased that Rohini and Nandan Nilekani have joined our group of Core Partners who see the great need – and opportunity – for pooling resources and knowledge to drive large-scale change. Deep collaboration is still a relatively nascent area for philanthropy. Co-Impact and our partners are committed to proving that it not only works but has the potential to drive much greater impact.

Co-Impact is building a global group of funding partners committed to using results-oriented philanthropy to drive meaningful systems change. This growing group includes more than 25 philanthropists, foundations, and other funders representing more than a dozen countries. In addition to our Core Partners, a host of philanthropists and foundations have joined the Co-Impact Community to learn, collaborate, and collectively support initiatives – while a range of donor institutions are also joining as Co-Investors around specific initiatives.

Once an initiative is well-positioned to scale its work to address underlying systemic limitations, the Co-Impact model delivers financial and nonfinancial supports to further empower local or country-based initiatives that are proven to work. This model allows initiatives to plan for growth, activate a coalition of actors, and unlock large-scale change.

Co-Impact's systems change grants typically range from US $10 to $50 million over five years to deliver results for millions of people in a specific country or region. In limited cases, Co-Impact also provides smaller venture grants to promising, earlier-stage opportunities to support program partners in testing and refining their change model.

Each of the grants announced today was selected as part of a rigorous assessment from an initial pool of more than 250 initiatives. Liberia's National Community Health Assistant Program, the graduation approach to economic opportunity, Project ECHO, and Teaching at the Right Level Africa were selected to receive Co-Impact's systems change grants over five years, while citiesRISE is receiving a two-year venture grant.

QUOTES FROM SOME OF OUR PARTNERS:

"Co-Impact is establishing the world's leading social investment platform for philanthropists who have a passion for translating big visions into enduring legacies of good. At its core is the belief that collaboration creates multiplication. By combining the passion, insights, experience, and relational networks of its members to catalyse and accelerate breakthrough social initiatives, Co-Impact will be a testament to the power of collaborative social investing."                        
Richard F. Chandler                        
Founder and Chairman, Chandler Foundation
Co-Impact Core Partner                        

"This kind of philanthropic collaboration focused on multiplying impact by unleashing the power of the collective allows us all to take risks and aim higher than we would individually. Co-Impact offers a platform for philanthropists and social change leaders to advance more fair, just, and functional social systems – efforts that require sustained and committed support."                        
Richard Fahey                        
Interim President, Skoll Foundation
Co-Impact Core Partner                        

"While we are making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it takes a long time to do this work well – understanding the problem, sourcing innovative solutions, identifying partners, and incorporating feedback. That's what makes the work of Co-Impact so important. Co-Impact connects philanthropists to high-quality opportunities to drive systemic change. This helps solutions get to scale faster, which means they'll have a greater impact on more people's lives. For philanthropists just entering the space, this is a huge head start"                        
Bill and Melinda Gates                        
Co-Chairs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation                        
Co-Impact Core Partner

"The growth of old and new societal problems seems to outpace current solutions. Bold philanthropy and the setting of audacious goals are needed to underwrite social innovation, especially for emergent issues. We strongly align with Co-Impact's endeavour to drive systemic change by unleashing the imagination of various actors in the ecosystem through collaborative approaches. We are proud to be part of this network. We hope to contribute towards enduring impact, and we wish Co-Impact's grantees much success."                        
Rohini & Nandan Nilekani                        
Co-Founders, EkStep Foundation                        
Co-Impact Core Partner

"We live at a time of great optimism thanks to decades-long progress to cut poverty, reduce hunger and save lives from disease and illness. Yet the significant human development challenges that remain require even greater investment. In fact, solving each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals requires $2.5 trillion. By working together as part of Co-Impact's data-driven model, philanthropists and foundations can put their resources and experience behind a set of initiatives that are driving real, measurable change. Co-Impact's first round of grantees are examples of locallybased organizations well-positioned to bring about lasting change for millions around the world."                        
Dr. Rajiv Shah                        
President, The Rockefeller Foundation                        
Co-Impact Core Partner

For more information on Co-Impact and our program partners as well as the full press release, please visit www.co-impact.io.

MEDIA CONTACT:

                       
Portland Communications
Bridget Nurre Jennions (UK) +44 20 7554 1704
Dan Wilson (US) +1 917 421 3661
Co-Impact@portland.communications.com                        
                       
Co-Impact
Sara Husseini (UK) +44 20 8058 4287
media@co-impact.io

United States, 1 October 2018 – The Chandler Foundation announced today that it has appointed award-winning social entrepreneur Mr. Tim Hanstad as its CEO. Mr. Hanstad, 56, will be responsible for leading the Chandler Foundation's mission to promote inclusive prosperity and well-being. His appointment follows a rebranding of the organization from the Cassia Foundation to the Chandler Foundation.

Founded by Mr. Richard F. Chandler, the Chandler Foundation is a global philanthropic organization with over 20 years of experience in granting, social entrepreneurship, and program management in diverse countries around the world. Through Co-Impact, a collaborative philanthropic initiative of which Mr. Chandler is a core partner, the foundation also partners with other philanthropists to accelerate systems change solutions to the world's most complex social problems.

Mr. Hanstad joins the Chandler Foundation from Landesa, an organization working with governments, civil society, and businesses to secure opportunity for the world's poorest people through legal land rights. Mr. Hanstad co-founded Landesa and led its growth from a two-person organization to a global leader that has helped provide transformative opportunity to more than 120 million poor families.  

On the appointment of the foundation's new CEO, Mr. Chandler said: "Successful philanthropy requires both insight and execution. In this regard, Tim Hanstad, with his decades of work in the field leading high impact programss, brings experience and a track record of integrity and success to the table. I believe that he is ideally suited to lead the Chandler Foundation as we pursue our dream of seeing a world flourishing with everyone's creativity."

Mr. Hanstad added: "I am excited to be part of this new chapter of the Chandler Foundation story. I look forward to building on the innovative thinking and practical approach that the organization has taken to build heathy communities, vibrant marketplaces and strong nations."

How do we create enduring prosperity rather than address just the symptoms of poverty?

This is a question that the Chandler Foundation has been grappling with over the years. On September 5, Leslie Lang Tsai, who serves as the assistant vice president and general counsel of the foundation, spoke at the Blum Center about the challenges of effective philanthropy and the road the Chandler Foundation has taken to achieve it.

As she addressed the packed room, Tsai, who earned a B.A. in Rhetoric and a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley, noted there are now more opportunities for Cal students to focus on poverty alleviation and social impact. When she graduated in May 2006, the Blum Center was just about to launch its Global Poverty & Practice minor and the Big Ideas student innovation contest. The landscape of poverty alleviation, particularly on the UC Berkeley campus, was shifting toward ideas about how to understand, build, and maintain effective programs, using a mix of history, social science, and technological innovation.  

Tsai started her talk with a thought experiment, asking the audience of largely undergraduate and graduate students: If you had one billion dollars, how would you use it to eliminate poverty and create inclusive prosperity?

Answers from the audience ranged from unconditional cash transfers to maternal health investments to comprehensive education programs, allowing Tsai to introduce the audience to the Chandler Foundation’s method for determining how to invest in effective organizations in the field. She recounted that Chandler Foundation Founder and Chairman Richard F. Chandler, who started his philanthropy in 1997, underwent “four seasons” of giving before deciding to apply a “Business House Investment Strategy” based on John D. Rockefeller’s idea that giving is investing.

Richard Chandler and his brother, Christopher Chandler, both successful investors, believed, per Andrew Carnegie’s maxim, “It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place.” Their first philanthropic venture, Geneva Global, became the first “philanthropic investment bank,” advising the donor community with the same level of advice they’d expect if they were making an investment.  

In subsequent years, Richard Chandler focused on operating social enterprises as well as supporting social justice leaders before he ultimately created the Chandler Foundation. Tsai said its grant-making program is based on three lessons learned from Richard Chandler’s prior social impact ventures: 1) address the root causes of poverty, not the symptoms; 2) “stay in our lane” as investors; and 3) have measurable impact and return on investment.

Tsai shared that the foundation’s model is to work collaboratively through partnerships. The Chandler Foundation is a founding donor of the Co-Impact collaborative, along with the Bill & Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, which aims to address global poverty through systems change solutions. The foundation’s approach also places a significant emphasis on encouraging all those involved to hew to the “values at the heart of prosperity: humility, accountability, and integrity.”

Near the end of the program, a student from the Global Poverty & Practice minor asked Tsai how best to pursue a career in poverty alleviation. Tsai, who has worked in corporate law at Sullivan & Cromwell and in development at Microclinic International and the World Bank after internships at the United Nations, the African Development Bank, the Supreme Court of Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, shared that a typical career path in the social sector is not a straight line. She advised students to gain expertise and marketable skills in technical areas such as law, engineering, and business, or specific sector expertise in health or urban planning–and to not necessarily focus on how the nonprofit industry works.

Ultimately, she advised, “Develop marketable skills while following your passion and purpose.”

Richard F. Chandler looks at the role of business houses as social investors and innovators

Doing Well and Doing Good: Business Houses and Social Missions

Business houses are in a unique position: they are able to work across different levels of the Prosperity Model and build an orchard of flourishing businesses that lead by example, innovate, create employment, and serve society with goods and services that contribute to their prosperity and well-being.

We have seen in recent decades, for example, that material progress in developing countries has often been driven by technological advances such as mobile phones. Low-cost mobile phones have not only connected business, markets, customers, and suppliers, but have also become a platform for banking transactions. M-Pesa in Kenya exemplifies how technology has fundamentally transformed the ability to transact and do business.

This “business house” paradigm goes beyond simply pursuing financial returns and then engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Unfortunately, most CSR is either corporate philanthropy that redirects shareholder funds, or corporate marketing.

A business house can sow more lasting seeds, which both power and expand a nation's middle class.

Read more in
The Chandler Foundation Story
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“ Of every thousand dollars spent in so called charity today, it is probable that $950 is unwisely spent. ”

Andrew Carnegie
The Gospel of Wealth
1889

‍

‍Initial core partners include Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, Romesh andKathy Wadhwani, and The Rockefeller Foundation

Co-Impact will make large multi-year investments in health, education, and economic opportunity toimprove the lives of millions of people around the world

NEW YORK, November 15, 2017—A group of the world’s leading philanthropists today announced the formation of Co-Impact (www.co-impact.io), a new global model for collaborative philanthropy and social change at scale. Co-Impact will invest US $500 million in three critical areas—health, education, and economic opportunity—to improve the lives of underserved populations across the developing world.

Co-Impact Is Focused on Changing Underlying Systems to Deliver Sustainable Results

Co-Impact’s goal is to improve the lives of millions by advancing education, improving people’s health, and providing economic opportunity so that all families, no matter where they live, have a more hopeful future.

Co-Impact is founded on the belief that achieving these goals requires collaboration and partnership, long-term support for promising approaches, and a commitment from key actors to change underlying systems. Systems change succeeds by bringing together local communities, non-profits, governments, business, donors, and others to drive lasting change beyond what any individual actor could possibly do alone. Co-Impact’s role is to connect philanthropists with each other and with social change leaders to develop, support, and invest in proven solutions that are ready to scale even further.

Co-Impact’s Donor Community and Leadership

Co-Impact’s initial core partners are Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, Dr. Romesh and Kathy Wadhwani, and The Rockefeller Foundation. This core partner group will define strategy and select the opportunities Co-Impact will support. In addition to its role as a core partner, The Rockefeller Foundation has incubated Co-Impact and will provide staff, significant operating funds, and ongoing strategic support. The EkStep Foundation, founded by Rohini and Nandan Nilekani, will serve as Co-Impact’s technical partner by supporting a number of Co-Impact programs with their open knowledge and societal platform assets as well as capacity building.

Co-Impact expects to add additional core partners as well as co-investors interested in specific initiatives or geographic areas. In addition, a Co-Impact Network will provide a broader group of philanthropists from around the world with an opportunity to contribute, exchange, and learn from Co-Impact’s model.

Olivia Leland, Managing Director at The Rockefeller Foundation and founding director of the Giving Pledge, is the founder of Co-Impact and will be Co-Impact’s CEO.

"We believe that collaboration is critical to solving some of the world’s most daunting social challenges,” said Leland. “Our goal is to build a community where philanthropists can work and learn together – along with successful social change leaders – to drive extraordinary results. Our hope is that over time more philanthropists will come together to pool resources and expertise to support great social change approaches and drive results at scale."

Co-Impact’s Grant-making

Co-Impact will make its first system change grants in the first half of 2018. These grants will be informed by more than a year’s worth of due diligence and field research. Systems change grants will be up to US $50 million, flexibly structured, and will go to initiatives with proven leadership and results that are poised to scale even further. Co-Impact will also seek to unlock additional participation by governments and the private sector.

The Need for Co-Impact

The model for Co-Impact grew out of Leland’s experience with the Giving Pledge and subsequent research with donors and social change leaders. That research identified key gaps in the current philanthropic and social change landscape.

There are few effective mechanisms for donors to pool expertise and resources to fund large multi-year projects or for social change leaders to find the philanthropists interested and capable of providing that long-term capital and support. As a result, donors must invest significant time and resources to find, vet, and manage even one game-changing investment. This limits the number of large-scale projects being funded, and keeps many donors from being able to engage in these kinds of projects, despite their desire to do so. Similarly, social change leaders must devote extraordinary amounts of time and energy to piecing together disparate and ultimately insufficient funding, limiting their ability to scale their work.

The result is that with the exception of a handful of extraordinary global initiatives, most giving today is for US $10 million or less, short-term, and focused on growing individual organizations rather than creating change at the systems level.

Co-Impact is designed to fill these gaps.

What’s Different about Co-Impact’s Collaborative Model

Co-Impact will drive significant, lasting results by:                        

                           
• Connecting established and emerging philanthropists from around the world, who share a vision of driving change at scale, with each other and with social change leaders in order to pool their knowledge, relationships, and resources;
                           
• Supporting proven systems change opportunities with significant multi-year funding and technology, program management, and other support so they can scale even further; and
                           
• Leveraging additional support by inviting other donors to join, co-invest, and learn alongside, and by actively engaging both the public and private sector.
                       

QUOTES:

"Servant leadership means putting the people we serve at the center of everything we do, and that will be part of the culture of Co-Impact. The founding partners are committed to supporting the champions of human development – bold leaders who are working to unlock the creative potential of individuals, communities, and nations."                        
Richard F. Chandler                        
Founder and Chairman, Clermont Group                        

"Co-Impact is an innovative new model for philanthropy that has the potential to make a big difference in the lives of the world’s poorest. We’re pleased to be part of it."                        
Bill and Melinda Gates                        
Co-Chairs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation                        

"We live in a pivotal time where many people across the world are struggling to attain the very fundamentals of human well-being. Yet we know it is possible to help even the most vulnerable of families move themselves out of poverty, send their children to school, and protect those children from simple, but too often deadly, diseases. Achieving these goals will require a focus on fundamentally changing the way philanthropy, social change leaders, governments, business, and civil society work together—and that is the kind of collaboration and partnership that Co-Impact will enable."                        
Dr. Rajiv Shah                        
President, The Rockefeller Foundation                        

"Time is not on our side on some of the world's most pressing issues. Investing more in social entrepreneurs' proven work allows them to accelerate their pace and reach, and enhances the possibility of achieving transformational social change sooner. It's a pleasure to join this new philanthropic collaborative along with people I greatly admire, in support of the change-makers our world needs."                        
Jeff Skoll                        

"An increasing number of philanthropists are expanding their global commitments, especially in critical areas such as health, education, and job creation. The Co-Impact platform will allow all of us collaboratively to leverage the capabilities that each of us has developed individually to enable system change for large scale social impact and best outcomes. Co-Impact will be a catalyst for collaborative global philanthropy in partnership with the most promising NGOs and governments."                        
Dr. Romesh Wadhwani                        
Founder and Chairman, Wadhwani Foundation                        

"At EkStep Foundation, we are investing in creating open digital public goods. Our intent is for it to benefit an ecosystem of innovators who can create contextual solutions for the development sector through the Societal Platforms approach. We support Co-Impact’s visionary efforts of driving large-scale systemic development, and are glad to be their Technical Partner in this endeavour."                        
Rohini & Nandan Nilekani                        
Co-Founders, EkStep Foundation                        

MEDIA CONTACT:

Rimjhim Dey                        
DEY.                        
917-514-3359                        
rdey@dey.nyc                        
                       
Kavita Tomlinson                        
DEY.                        
914-844-4451                        
ktomlinson@dey.nyc