News, ideas, research & resources, in social entrepreneurship and philanthropy
📢 News
It is a truism of the Covid-19 crisis that we should ‘rebuild better’. But what should we repair and what should we throw away? This month’s Impact & Insight offers a variety of perspectives on the question.
A new report, A Transformative Moment for Philanthropy, by management consultant McKinsey & Co, argues for repair. It recommends how philanthropic giving could work better post-pandemic, highlighting the record-breaking $10.3 billion committed globally by major donors since the start of the crisis. Yet Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, believes philanthropy requires a more fundamental reform, to address the “economic injustice that makes philanthropy necessary”.
The recently launched campaign, #makemymoneymatter, also advocates disrupting the status quo: it aims to raise public awareness of how the £3 trillion held in UK pension funds is invested, challenging savers to move their money into sustainable businesses. Scientists at Imperial College, London, working on a potential Covid-19 vaccine, have also challenged convention. They are sidestepping the drug industry by setting up a ground-breaking social enterprise, to ensure their new vaccine can be gloabally available at low cost.
A transformative moment for philanthropy New report by McKinsey & Co proposes 5 practices philanthropies can build on after the pandemic, including reducing the burden on grantees and supporting the public sector | (8 min)
Opinion: are you willing to give up your privilege?
Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation argues: 'The old playbook — giving back through philanthropy as a way of ameliorating the effects of inequality — cannot address ... the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.' | New York Times (5 min)
In defence of mainstream economics
Leading mainstream economists, including Nava Ashraf, Research Director of the Marshall Institute, are defying a popular pluralist narrative | Variety (5 min)
Examining Covid-19's impact on Britain's live and recorded music industries
Live music has been largely silenced due to the virus, but recorded music has proved to be resilient. Will Page, a Practitioner-in-Residence at the Marshall Institute, and former chief economist at Spotify | Billboard (3 min)
The spreadsheet of life and death
Podcast with Tim Harford: From Covid-19 lockdowns to cancer treatment drugs, the question of quantifying a human life is being weighed by society | Pushkin Cautionary Tales (27 min)
WOW (Women of the World) podcast with Jude Kelly A lockdown conversation with Caroline Criado Perez, whose award-winning book, Invisible Women, exposes the world's gender data bias - from crash test dummies to PPE | (55 min)
When will we reach gender equality?
It has been estimated that it will take 208 years to reach gender equality. Melinda Gates has a plan to speed up the process | Harvard Business Review (5 min)
16 July: Crowdbacker 2020: Building back better
Year Here's biannual launch of social enterprises built by 2019/20 Fellows + live crowdfunding event. 1800-1930 (BST)
30 July:A World Beyond Greed
Paul Collier and John Kay, in conversation | How to Academy
9-11 September: GSG Virtual Global Impact Summit
Speakers include Gillian Tett, (FT); Dolika Banda, (Africa Development consultant) and Philipp Hildebrand, (Vice Chairman, BlackRock)
21-25 September: Social Enterprise World Forum Digital Speakers will include leading social entrepreneurs and changemakers from across the world with over 3,000 participants from over 50 countries.
🎓 Learn...
> Impact Insights A series of five talks by leading social entrepreneurs and impact investors, given to Marshall Institute Executive MSc students, summer 2020
Marshall Institute Practitioner in Residence, Emily Kasriel, recently launched her Deep Listening project. She plans to reach out to academics and practitioners already using Deep Listening in their work, and to hold a workshop with philanthropists and social entrepreneurs to apply the techniques, before sharing best practice more widely.
(Image: BBC)
💸 Resources...
> Turn your Covid-19 solution into a viable business
A step-by-step guide prepared by Dirk G. Schroeder, Associate Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Global Health at Emory University, and CEO of Updraft Health Innovation Advisors | Harvard Business Review
> Impact investing handbook, an implementation guide for practitioners
How to turn investment interest into impact. The 180-page guide features case studies and advice for individuals, families, foundations, and corporations with input from over fifty experts and practitioners | Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
1. The Resolution Project
Resolution Fellowships offer a full range of support for aspiring young social entrepreneurs
2. The School for Social Entrepreneurs Fellowship Programme is accepting registrations of interest for the 2021 programme. The Fellowship consists of 20 days of coaching, held over 9 months. Cost: £450 for employed, or, by contribution for unemployed/part-time
Is there anything you would like to see included in this newsletter in future? Send your contributions, suggestions and feedback to marshallinstitute@lse.ac.uk
