It was a 12-week sprint, but for some of those involved, it’s been a dream for many years. Embracing Complexity is a first-of-its-kind step towards a collaborative future, between philanthropic foundations committed to system change.
In 2017, around 20 of the largest philanthropic foundations worldwide provided more than $6 billion for development work. Funding on this scale supports vital projects around the world. But solving humanity’s most pressing problems means going beyond activity-based funding, and building change for the long term.
SYSTEMIQ and McKinsey acted as facilitation partners to six organisations – Ashoka, Catalyst 2030, Co-Impact, Echoing Green, Schwab Foundation and Skoll Foundation – which came together to build an overarching framework for funding systems change. The result is the first large-scale, cross-foundational report of its kind – one executive director described it as ‘a roadmap for foundations that believe in system change, but don’t know how to start’.
As the report developed, five principles emerged: embrace a systems mindset; support evolving paths to systems change; work in true partnership; prepare for long-term engagement; collaborate with other stakeholders.
Jörn Kobus coordinated the work for SYSTEMIQ. As he explains: “The aim was to build an overarching framework for funding systems change, from the joint perspective of participating foundations, intermediaries and systems change leaders. The report provides guiding thoughts that are – for the first time – jointly supported by some of the most prominent foundations in this space. One of the partners put it perfectly when they called it a coordinated effort to change the system of funding, in a way that allows the partners to embrace their role as systems change leaders in their own right.”
Read the report: Embracing Complexity. Towards a Shared Understanding of Funding Systems Change
