Venture Philanthropy- the Evolution of High Engagement Philanthropy in Europe.

This article looks at venture philanthropy and the Evolution of High Engagement Philanthropy in Europe

Worker Centers: Organizing Communities at the Edge of the Dream

[Excerpt] Through their service provision, advocacy, and organizing work, worker centers are helping to set the political agenda and mobilize a growing constituency to make its voice heard on fundamental labor an immigration reform. This work, in and of itself instrumental to a brighter future for low-wage workers in the United States, is also indispensable to the revitalization of organized labor and progressive politics in America

Why Performance-Based College Funding Doesn't Work

For the better part of the past century, elected officials have sought ways to improve the performance of public sector operations, such as fire departments, libraries, health clinics, job training programs, elementary schools, and traffic safety. Interest in performance management has only grown over time, to the point today that it is nearly impossible to talk about government finance without also talking about performance. The idea of attempting to measure outcomes and paying for those results is compelling because of its simple logic. Proponents believe setting clear performance goals and tying funding to them will create incentives for public organizations to operate more efficiently and effectively, ultimately resulting in better delivery of public services. Fire departments, they reason, should not be funded according to the number of engines they own, but according to the number of fires they put out. Hospitals should be funded not by the number of patients admitted, but by the health outcomes of their patients. Schools should not be funded by the number of teachers they employ, but by each teacher's contribution to student learning.In recent years, advocates seeking to increase the number of college graduates in the United States have promoted the idea that states should finance their public universities using a performance-based model. Supporters of the concept believe that the $75 billion states invest in public higher education each year will not be spent efficiently or effectively if it is based on enrollment or other input measures, because colleges have little financial incentive to organize their operations around supporting students to graduation. When states shift to performance-based funding, it is hoped, colleges will adopt innovative practices that improve student persistence in college. The appeal of performance-based funding is "intuitive," its proponents argue, "based on the logical belief that tying some funding dollars to results will provide an incentive to pursue those results."However, while pay-for-performance is a compelling concept in theory, it has consistently failed to bear fruit in actual implementation, whether in the higher education context or in other public services

Building ArtsSmarts' Research Capacity: An Interim Report

In 2006, the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) created an initiative to build Canada's capacity to conduct research on learning, inviting not-for profit organizations to apply for Researcher in Residence grants. ArtsSmarts was one of the successful grant applicant organizations. Saad Chahine was hired by ArtsSmarts to take on the researcher-in-residence role. Several meetings resulted in the development of a work plan (Appendix A) and an outline of the various activities to be carried out by the researcher-in-residence. The work plan was approved by CCL, and the residency commenced in June 2007. What follows is an interim report on the residency, documenting what has been accomplished since June 2007, and providing direction for continuing to build ArtsSmarts' research capacity going forward

Youth councils in municipal government: Examination of activities, impact and barriers

This study reports on youth councils in 24 municipalities in one major metropolitan area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with one key adult stakeholder in each municipality in order to understand the scope, structure, functioning, activities, and impact of youth councils. These data were supplemented with review of documents and websites that described the councils. Findings indicated that youth councils were engaged in a wide-range of activities suggesting the model is fluid to meet the needs of both the youth and the community. Specific impacts were identified by participants some of which were directly related to the delivery of activities and others which influenced policy change. Among the barriers identified was the continuing need to identify a broader range of youth to participate in these initiatives. Despite a societal need for greater youth civic engagement and the generally positive attitude toward this idea, youth councils remain limited in practice and the research base is under-developed. Our study contributes to advancing both practice and research