Investing In Public Life

At the end of the 20th century, civil investing emerged as one of the most important developments in American philanthropy. Not quite a philosophy, not quite a grantmaking strategy, and not quite a type of grant, civil investing can be broadly defined as the use of philanthropic resources for building community and strengthening public life. This is a report of the 2003 -- 2004 Dialogues on Civil Investing, which brought together foundation executives, community leaders, and nonprofit directors to identify common concerns and develop joint strategies for a new and different kind of grantmaking

USAID Water and Development Strategy, 2013-2018

The first global Water and Development Strategy released by the US Agency for International Development outlines the approach that will guide USAID's water programming through 2018. The Strategy emphasizes sustainability, working through host country systems, using emerging science and technology, and learning from past efforts

How a Christian Ethic of Care Can Inform the Organization and Structure of Schools of Education

A natural outcome of a Christian ethic of care is the adoption of structures and organizations that facilitate or enhance this kind of caring. This article investigates these kinds of structures as they relate to schools of education. Discussion and recommendations focus on moving away from a hierarchical model toward a more organic structure where authority and decision-making are more distributed, communication is emphasized, and collaboration is the norm

Real Results: Why Strategic Philanthropy is Social Justice Philanthropy

The crises affecting our nation and the world have prompted philanthropists to become more organized, focused and, perhaps above all, "strategic" in their efforts. The movement toward "strategic philanthropy" has already contributed to greater philanthropic effectiveness. Yet, despite important contributions to education, health, the arts and the environment, it is clear that philanthropy's ultimate impact is still limited. Great disparities along the lines of race, gender, class and other identity markers persist and, in some cases, are even exacerbated.This suggests that something is missing from our sector's understanding of what makes for truly strategic and effective philanthropy:A clear understanding of one's goals includes not only the desired impact but also identifies who will benefit (or not) and how.A commitment to evidence-based strategy cannot ignore the tangible, positive impact -- and often the necessity -- of influencing public policy.Keeping a philanthropic strategy on course requires the input of those who stand to gain or lose the most from grantmaking: the grantees and the communities they serve.Truly strategic philanthropy is social justice philanthropy

Integrating Students into Interdisciplinary Health and Health Disparities Research Teams

Major initiatives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the World Health Organization have produced a large and compelling body of evidence on how to reduce health disparities, which entails having a clear understanding of how social factors shape health and healthcare outcomes. Specifically, there is a need for healthcare professionals to understand social determinants of health (e.g., low socioeconomic status, lack of health insurance, and poor education) and how these lead to disparities in health for people of minority racial and ethnic groups. Little is known about how students are developed as health disparities researchers or how their research experiences impact their views about addressing social determinants of health as a career goal. The purpose of this paper is to describe how health and human sciences students were integrated into three minority HIV prevention and testing projects using the lifelong learning for health professionals (LLHP) principles and activities framework, which entails a focus on: (a) education, (b) community, and (c) organization in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary research

Unlocking medical leadership’s potential:a multilevel virtuous circle?

Background and aim: Medical leadership (ML) has been introduced in many countries, promising to support healthcare services improvement and help further system reform through effective leadership behaviours. Despite some evidence of its success, such lofty promises remain unfulfilled. Method: Couched in extant international literature, this paper provides a conceptual framework to analyse ML's potential in the context of healthcare's complex, multifaceted setting. Results: We identify four interrelated levels of analysis, or domains, that influence ML's potential to transform healthcare delivery. These are the healthcare ecosystem domain, the professional domain, the organisational domain and the individual doctor domain. We discuss the tensions between the various actors working in and across these domains and argue that greater multilevel and multistakeholder collaborative working in healthcare is necessary to reprofessionalise and transform healthcare ecosystems

Dynamics of Faculty Engagement in the Movement for Democracy's Education at Nothern Arizona University: Backgrounds, Practices, and Future Horizons

As scholarship has become increasingly narrow and disconnected from public life, Kettering research has documented an intense sense of malaise in higher education, what Harry Boyte has called a loss of civic agency. Surprisingly, however, faculty at a few campuses have begun to self-organize to integrate civic work into their teaching and research. This study, by Blase Scarnati and Romand Coles, documents such efforts at Northern Arizona University. Rather than making civic engagement a specific project of one or two faculty, what makes this campus special is that civic engagement has taken hold across the university. Building on research by KerryAnn O'Meara, this working paper shows that civic engagement is not only fulfilling to faculty at an individual level but is starting to impact the civic culture of their institutions

Chasing the honey bee: enhancing leadership for sustainability

This paper explores the ways in which different conceptions of leadership can contribute to the sustainability of economic productivity, social equity and, of course, the natural systems and resources upon which all social and economic development depend. It begins by briefly defining leadership and outlining the major approaches to leadership studies in terms of trait and social theories of leadership. In particular, the paper argues that transformational leadership and what Western (2013) calls “eco-leadership” are most consistent with the systemic, ethical and learning dimensions of sustainability. This involves contrasting what Avery and Bergsteiner (2011, 2013) call the “honey bee” and the “locust” approaches to leadership. With these authors, the chapter argues that the “honey bee” approach of critical, transformational leadership is most consistent with sustainability. The paper concludes with an example of how capacities for “honey bee” leadership and eco-leadership can be developed and enhanced through a university programme

Can University/Community Collaboration Create Spaces for Aboriginal Reconciliation? Case Study of the Healing of The Seven Generations and Four Directions Community Projects and Wilfrid Laurier University

In this article, the authors attempt to illustrate how two Aboriginal community-based projects were conceptualized and developed through the collaborative efforts of four individuals who believed in the merits of a project aimed at survivors and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system as well as Aboriginal people in trouble with the law. Drawing upon a small body of literature on university/community collaboration, the authors illustrate the importance of meaningful collaboration between universities and communities in order to enhance a mutually beneficial relationship conducive to community-engaged scholarship. Through an examination of the case study of the Healing of The Seven Generations Project and the Four Directions Aboriginal Restorative Justice Project, the authors hope to illustrate to fellow Aboriginal colleagues in Canada the merits, strengths and challenges of university/community collaboration. Ultimately, what the authors hope to share through this article is an example of how university/community collaboration can create spaces whereby Aboriginal people have become agents of their own healing

Adult education and social movements : perspectives from Freire and beyond

The disenchantment with leftist, especially social democratic, parties in the West and elsewhere can easily lead to faith in social movements as organizations which apply pressure, combat co-optation (though not always) and are often perceived to provide the freedom and non-hierarchical mode of operation not found in political parties, although there is often a great divide between the rhetoric and reality in this regard. The purported attributes of social movements might very well be «talked up». One wonders whether social movements have been perceived to constitute an alternative to the «defeated left» as a result of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Is the invocation of social movements an appeal to a deus ex machina? Are they the present day political prophets that need to be invoked, just like those other prophets that Max Weber (2001) invoked, in a different context, at the end of The Protestant Ethic when he sought a way out of the «iron cage»? In this paper we explore issue surrounding the relationship between adult education and social movements.peer-reviewe