Clear all

1,740 results found

reorder grid_view

Assessing Research for Philanthropic Funding : Innovative Approaches

September 1, 2023

This publication on responsible research assessment aims to explore diverse approaches taken by foundations to enhance the fairness, transparency and effectiveness of evaluating research proposals for funding. The publication delves into three distinct methodologies that challenge traditional assessment methods and offer innovative alternatives: 1. Using artificial intelligence (AI); 2. Adopting narrative curriculum vitae (CVs); and 3. Implementing randomised selection. It provides an overview of general principles of responsible research assessment, key framing documents and recommendations for implementing these principles; and offers examples of the real-world application of these methods by various foundations and organisations.While these approaches demonstrate the innovative potential within research assessment, they are by no means an exhaustive representation of all available tools and methods. Nevertheless, they serve as compelling illustrations of the ongoing efforts to revolutionise evaluation practices and foster a more inclusive and equitable research ecosystem.

Responsibly Unlocking the Value of Data in Europe

July 6, 2023

As part of the Datasphere Initiative's European Dialogues' project, this report lays out some of the main trends, priorities, challenges, emerging barriers, good practices, and recommendations to responsibly unlock the value of data for all in Europe. Based on a desk research and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Europe, the report analyzes regulatory efforts led by the European Commission, selected European Union (EU) member states, the UK, and Switzerland.As European efforts to design data policies are ongoing and evolving, this report offers a snapshot of some key reflections on how the European Union and non-EU member states are approaching data governance. While non-exhaustive, the report attempts to analyze some key trends and offer insights on how approaches to data are having an extraterritorial impact and contributing to the region's ability to responsibly unlock the value of data for all.

Understanding Migrant Destitution in the UK: Literature Review

June 30, 2023

In 2020, it was reported that a fifth of destitute households were migrants (JRF 2020). In many of these cases, the destitution arose primarily from the households' immigration status, specifically the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which restricts access to the welfare safety net (including most mainstream benefits such as Universal Credit). Attempts to tackle destitution in the UK, therefore, must consider the characteristics of the NRPF condition, its impacts and the characteristics of the parallel welfare safety net which is in place for (some) migrants and delivered by local authorities.This literature review is part of COMPAS' Understanding Migrant Destitution in the UK research project, a UK-wide study (2022-2023) focusing on local authority practice and provision for vulnerable people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) facing destitution. Building on COMPAS' (2015) research on Safeguarding Children From Destitution: Local Authority Responses To Families With 'No Recourse To Public Funds' (NRPF), we will be using a mixed methods approach exploring the following core research questions across all four nations of the UK:How has the cohort of people with NRPF and at risk of destitution changed since 2015?How has social care provision for people with NRPF at risk of destitution changed, including in relation to decisions made on who is eligible for services?How have outcomes for destitute people with NRPF changed since 2015?

Enterprise Grants Taskforce: Defining, scoping and scaling the size of the Enterprise Grants sector in the UK

June 29, 2023

In a new report by Social Spider CIC, enterprise grants are identified as critical to actively supporting enterprising behaviour for charities and social enterprises, especially those working in challenging areas of market failure. With increasingly limited resources to create positive social impact, this new movement of grant-making intentionally fills a gap in the funding market that complements unrestricted funding, project-based grant funding and repayable social investment.As a new approach, enterprise grant-making can enable social organisations to find new and different ways to generate sustainable levels of traded income. In-depth interviews with funders, social enterprise support bodies and charity infrastructure organisations have supported the definition of enterprise grants and helped scope and size the field to-date.

Build Forward: NGO recommendations on Ukraine recovery and reconstruction

June 28, 2023

It has been 15 months since the Russian Federation launched a full-scale military offensive in Ukraine, dramatically escalating the war that had been ongoing since 2014. These hostilities have inflicted a massive human and economic toll on families and children across the country.This paper, a collaboration between Ukrainian and international civil society and NGOs, aimed to inform participants of the second Ukraine Recovery Conference on how to meet immediate needs while taking steps towards Ukraine's recovery and eventual reconstruction. It emphasises the importance of adopting an inclusive, human-centric, child-centric and gender-just approach, anticipating major risks that may jeopardise reconstruction efforts, and proposes recommendations along with mitigation measures that can be taken at present.

Reviving News Media in an Embattled Europe

June 21, 2023

For over a decade, a series of crises have undermined the media's ability to support democracy. Traditional business models have collapsed with the rise of the internet and social media platforms. Hyperpartisan news sites and disinformation have damaged readers' trust in online content. At the same time, illiberal leaders in several democracies have developed sophisticated methods for silencing and co-opting the media.Freedom House conducted in-depth research and interviews with nearly 40 media professionals and experts in six countries: Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Poland. The countries vary by market size and by the health of their democracy, but all are part of the European Union (EU), where members are debating important regulatory measures to protect media independence and pluralism under a proposed European Media Freedom Act. Freedom House examined four conditions affecting the playing field for independent news media and their role in democracy: their ability to sustain themselves financially, reach and engage diverse audiences, earn public trust, and play a watchdog role.

Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Front: Helping Ukrainians Win the War and the Peace by Having Their Backs against Oligarchy

June 20, 2023

Remarkably, while fighting for their lives against Russian invasion, Ukrainians continue to wage their long internal battle against oligarchy and corruption. Ukraine is midway through this generational struggle, which began on the streets of the Maidan in Kyiv nearly a decade ago. In 2014, after deposing a kleptocratic president whose campaigns were bankrolled by agents of the Kremlin, Ukrainians got to work transforming this post-Soviet oligarchy into a modern European state under the rule of law.Continuing to uproot oligarchy—a critical part of winning the war, rebuilding the country, and preparing for EU accession—will require heavy domestic and foreign support. Anti-corruption must be central in that support. This issue drove Ukrainians into the streets a decade ago. It has topped voters' minds in every Ukrainian election since, helped trigger the largest war in Europe since WWII, and is now motivating Ukrainians to win even at enormous cost. Transparency and accountability mechanisms are essential to reassuring Western taxpayers that their wartime aid to Ukraine is safeguarded. They must also be key conditions of the ambitious reconstruction and European modernization that will inspire freedom's cause globally. Countering corruption is as strategically vital today as the policy of containing communism was in the Cold War.

Making the case for unrestricted funding: A summary of key points for foundation staff and Boards

June 20, 2023

This briefing summaries the key points from IVAR research to help grantmakers and Boards to consider and make the case for unrestricted funding. The evidence is clear and compelling: the preference for restricted funding rests on familiarity, not evidence. While restricted funding can be the right choice, it has not earned its place as the dominant model.  Perceived barriers should not deter a change that presents value to both charities and funders. In this short briefing, we lay out the value of unrestricted funding, consolidated from our research to date, to help grantmakers and board members clearly consider and make the case for unrestricted funding: both in their organisations and to colleagues in the sector.

Lessons from Other Democracies: Ideas for Combatting Mistrust and Polarization in US Elections

June 15, 2023

Protections are baked into each stage of US election administration. Yet, there is a crisis of confidence in US elections. After falling to a record low following the 2020 elections, trust in US elections increased after the 2022 midterms. However, far too many Americans continue to harbor mistaken beliefs about the prevalence of widespread fraud and miscounted votes, as well as concerns about the ability of election officials to administer future elections fairly. Malign actors—both foreign and domestic—are taking advantage of and reinforcing these trends to serve their varied interests, including geopolitical advantage and monetary gain.Adopting best practices from other countries is an opportunity to buttress policies and procedures that make US elections free and fair and draw inspiration from others facing the same challenges. With its decentralized election system and state "laboratories of democracy", the United States is well suited for incremental, location-specific adaptation of new ideas.

Refugees welcome? Understanding the regional heterogeneity of anti-refugee hate crime

June 8, 2023

In this article, we examine anti-refugee hate crime in the wake of the large influx of refugees to Germany in 2014 and 2015. By exploiting institutional features of the assignment of refugees to German regions, we estimate the impact of unexpected and sudden large-scale immigration on hate crime against refugees. Results indicate that it is not simply the size of local refugee inflows which drives the increase in hate crime, but rather the combination of refugee arrivals and latent anti-refugee sentiment. We show that ethnically homogeneous areas, areas which experienced hate crimes in the 1990s, and areas with high support for the Nazi party in the Weimar Republic, are more prone to respond to the arrival of refugees with incidents of hate crime against this group. Our results highlight the importance of regional anti-immigration sentiment in the analysis of the incumbent population's reaction to immigration.

Nations in Transit 2023: War Deepens a Regional Divide

May 24, 2023

In 2023, Democracy Scores declined in 11 out of the 29 countries in the report, and 7 countries earned improvements. Yet civic activists and democratic leaders continued to strive for better governance across the diverse region.Key Findings:For the 19th consecutive year, democratic governance suffered an overall decline in the region stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia.Democratic institutions stood strong in Ukraine but collapsed further in Russia.On illiberal populism, European Union member states pursued diverging paths.EU hopefuls made democratic progress, but still face daunting obstacles.Autocracies remained trapped in a vicious circle of repression and instability.

Arts and Culture at the Core of Philanthropy : Volume 2

May 23, 2023

As multiple crises have unfolded in recent years, the arts and culture sector has been among the most damaged financially, and its structural fragilities have significantly deteriorated. At the same time, its value to society throughout these crises has been undoubtedly clear.This second volume of Philea's research into European philanthropic funding in the field of arts and culture reveals a philanthropic sector that is strongly committed to resourcing artistic and cultural organisations to strengthen their resilience; has a cross-cutting and intersectional tendency in its work; and is clearly open to collaborative and participatory approaches.This edition of the mapping surveyed 64 foundations from 17 different countries, and includes contributions from several experts in the field.