What do you believe the arts sector ought to look like twenty years from now? This is a question that every arts funder should be able to answer with a healthy amount of specificity. Whether arts funders choose to acknowledge it or not, much of what we do shapes the future of the field. This …
Research follows one rhythm, policy another. Researchers arrive at study questions, design fieldwork, collect and analyze new data, figure out what it means, write up technical articles, and then – and only then – may translate their new knowledge into policy recommendations. Sometimes they have to get funding along the way, which slows the whole …
Hold onto your seats, evidence enthusiasts! Whether you’re a fan of evidence-informed policymaking, evidence-based decisions, or just what works, you’re in for an action-packed few weeks. Not even the most globetrotting devotee could make all the events September and October have in store, so here is a quick guide to what’s on, what we’re watching for, …
The core qualities that drive success in the 21st century can be learned but not necessarily taught. That is the most critical insight in journalist Paul Tough’s excellent book, “Helping Children Succeed,” which came out this summer. It is an important conclusion, in part because it takes issue with more conventional school reform, which has tended …
Does support for the infrastructure of nonprofits and philanthropy – the research, publications, events, networks and technology – compete with funders’ primary areas of giving? In an article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fay Twersky and Lindsay Louie explain why the answer is no. The two work on philanthropy sector grantmaking at the Hewlett…
In the wake of Britain’s stunning vote to leave the European Union, those of us who work in global development are trying to figure out what a Brexit would mean for the organizations and causes we care about. Even if we think only about the practical implications, and steer clear of hand-wringing about what the …
The International Aid Transparency Initiative aims to make information about aid spending easier to access, use and understand. It’s meant to help individuals in developing countries and donor countries see where aid, development and humanitarian money comes from, where it goes, and whether it helps reduce poverty. The IATI Members’ Assembly, which includes country governments,…
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India announced a historic agreement to phase out the powerful greenhouse gases known as F gases and to inaugurate a partnership that will advance solar energy development in India. The agreement between India and the U.S. builds on ambitious pledges made by both nations at the …
Recently, leading thinkers gathered to discuss what cybersecurity could look like in 2020 and beyond. Among them was Steven Weber, a professor in the Department of Political Science and the School of Information at UC Berkeley, where he serves as faculty director of the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (founded in 2015 with a grant from the …
Do we really need another report about global education? If the report is Millions Learning: Scaling Up Quality Education in Developing Countries, the answer is yes! Millions Learning starts with a single proposition: the 100-year gap in educational outcomes between developed and developing countries cannot be closed with a business-as-usual approach. Co-authors Jenny Perlman Robinson …