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2019-11-06
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
30 years. 30 contributors. 30 takes on the future of philanthropy.
With so many complex and urgent challenges facing contemporary society, clearly treading water isn't enough. How can philanthropy adapt to tackle these challenges head on? How can the EFC be the catalyst in this process?The answers to these questions are going to be critical.This commemorative book, marking 30 years since the establishment of the European Foundation Centre, turns to some of the most influential thought leaders on philanthropy from around the world to have their say on the future of the EFC and the wider philanthropic sector.
2019-11-01
Open Society Foundations;
George Soros, the chair and the founder of the Open Society Foundations, established his global reputation as a philanthropist amid the dramatic transformation of Eastern and Central Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
This publication offers further details on the unique role Soros played and how he used his fortune to allay the pain of economic disruption that came with the collapse of the Communist system while also helping to lay the foundations for an inclusive vision of democracy.
2019-10-01
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
This publication outlines the EFC's Institutional Philanthropy Spectrum (IPS), a flexible framework for collecting, analysing and disseminating knowledge on the European philanthropy sector. Mindful of the complex nature of European philanthropy, the Spectrum is designed to be circular rather than linear, illustrative rather than definitive, and therefore open to continuous evolution. This allows the framework to capture the interconnected characteristics of a sector that is in constant flux. Taking a functional rather than legalistic approach to understanding European philanthropy, the IPS is organised around the following key aspects of institutional philanthropy: Financial resources; use of assets; governance; practices and behaviours; and relevance. The Spectrum breaks these aspects down into detailed clusters to identify the unique features and practices of institutional philanthropy actors.
Since its inception, the EFC has been a hub of information and knowledge on European philanthropy. This knowledge provides a solid evidence base for communicating the value and impact of philanthropy and for representing the sector – to governments, policymakers and the public. For EFC members, our knowledge hub serves as a resource for informing strategic decision-making and identifying peers and partners. We believe that the Spectrum frames this knowledge in a way that allows for a deeper understanding of this diverse sector, and makes this knowledge even more useful for philanthropic organisations, enabling them to envision how they fit into the philanthropy space, and allowing them to find commonalities and explore differences with other organisations.
2019-09-01
Open Society Foundations;
The digital revolution is radically changing every aspect of human life in the 21st century and it's essential that regulators address the challenges this transformation brings. The new European Commission should look beyond digital single market issues, and focus on creating new rights-based policies and regulations based on freedom, democracy, equality, and rule of law to ensure that existing offline rights are protected online.
2019-08-01
Harvard Law School, Environmental & Energy Law Program;
While changes in political leadership affect U.S. ocean and coastal management strategies, the trajectory of U.S. policy over time has been to advance comprehensive consideration of the interconnected ecological ocean system in international and domestic ocean management. Domestically, regional planning and protective approaches have helped regulators balance multiple, often conflicting uses that can affect ecosystem resilience.
However, U.S. wariness of multi-lateral international agreements challenges environmentally conscious ocean management goals. Recent domestic ocean policies emphasize fossil energy development over conservation and sustainability concerns. Proposals regarding offshore resource development as well as deregulatory efforts could impact ocean resources and have repercussions in international fora.
At the domestic level, limits on the current administration's ability to abruptly finalize major changes to ocean and coastal management exist: jurisdictional authorities are split among federal and state powers and among multiple agencies, and science-based and procedural requirements are built into the ocean and coastal statutes. The current administration has shown a willingness to continue implementation of certain fisheries management reforms initiated in the prior administration, perhaps indicating certain policy areas may not experience extensive priority shifts.
This paper reviews the legal and regulatory framework supporting U.S. coastal and ocean management, and describes changes under the current administration.a Comprehensive reviews of the legal framework and regulations of topics covered in this report already exist, but there is value in considering the overarching legal framework and understanding how these separate technical areas interrelate. This paper focuses on policy topics prioritized under the current and most recent administrations and assesses the state of play of the ongoing deregulation process.
Overall, ocean management has seen less dramatic change than other areas of environmental regulation during this administration, such as air, water, climate, and energy. Most action on ocean issues has, thus far, concentrated on domestic policy. However, the themes exhibited at the domestic level are beginning to reflect on the international stage and to shift the dialogue with the EU and other partners.
The administration's unwillingness to continue previous domestic policies on climate change and opposition to international agreements involving commitments to do so (for example, in announcing the U.S. intends to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement) have a direct impact on Arctic policies and may also impact ocean and coastal issues closely tied to climate, such as acidification, sea level rise, and adaptation. Yet, at the national level, this administration has supported narrow efforts to address marine debris and plastics in the oceans.
Policies and actions in areas crucial to the management of ocean and coastal areas reveal a pattern of prioritizing economic interests and energy development over conservation and protection. On issues not directly tied to climate and not thought to hinder U.S. energy industry development, this administration has exhibited a degree of continuity in position with the prior administration—such as on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and signing of an agreement preemptively barring fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean. Continued development of offshore wind energy could also be an avenue for increased cooperation with the EU as much of the existing expertise in this area lies with EU-based companies. Recent estimates suggest there are 22,000 MW of offshore wind potential off the east coast of the U.S.—representing a possible $70 billion of economic opportunity.
2019-06-01
Open Society Foundations;
The need for the European Union's involvement in the Western Balkans, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine has never been more acute. The European Commission's structures are not up to the job. A new approach is needed to respond to the realities on the ground and in member states.
The European Union needs to boost the tools of the European Commission to move the process on from enlargement and move decisively towards the unification of Europe. This means creating a directorate general that would have the resources to drive forward the accession process with the Western Balkans countries and the ambitious trade and reform agenda in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. A new directorate general Europe could play this role.
2019-05-27
European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA);
A joint paper by the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the NCD Alliance calls for the creation of an EU Strategic Framework for the Prevention of NCDs towards 2030.Indeed, with epidemic levels of NCDs undermining people's well-being, healthcare systems, and Europe's economic and social prosperity, they consider that preventing chronic diseases should be a main priority for the European Commission.Therefore, the paper proposes principles, priorities and actions for such an EU strategic framework, setting out a roadmap for policy-makers to make change happen.
More information and the summary: https://epha.org/joint-paper-i-towards-an-eu-strategic-framework-for-the-prevention-of-ncds/
2019-03-01
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
This report is the most comprehensive study to date into support for environmental initiatives provided by European philanthropic foundations. It builds on the three earlier editions, increasing the number of foundations and grants being analysed, along with the total value of these grants.
This 4th edition features a detailed analysis of the environmental grants of 87 European public-benefit foundations, as compared to 75 in the previous edition. These 87 foundations include many of Europe's largest providers of philanthropic grants for environmental initiatives.
2019-02-25
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
The field of arts and culture is at the core of philanthropy, and is among the most important areas of funding for philanthropic organisations in Europe. This mapping, produced by the EFC's Arts and Culture Thematic Network, sheds light on how activities carried out by the organisations engaged in this field are diverse in both themes and approaches, covering different sub-areas and with a clear interest in multidisciplinary arts and crosscutting areas and issues.
2019-02-25
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
The field of arts and culture is at the core of philanthropy, and is among the most important areas of funding for philanthropic organisations in Europe. This mapping, produced by the EFC's Arts and Culture Thematic Network, sheds light on how activities carried out by the organisations engaged in this field are diverse in both themes and approaches, covering different sub-areas and with a clear interest in multidisciplinary arts and crosscutting areas and issues.
2019-01-01
Aalborg University, EDGE (Centre for Equality, Diversity and Gender);
The objective of this research memorandum is to identify and describe what constitutes the significant barriers against achieving a better gender balance at Danish universities, in particular within natural sciences and technology.
The memorandum also addresses the question of the possible role of research funding institutions in relation to gender imbalances in academia, and in particular which actions and measures have been put in place in order to prevent women from remaining disproportionately underrepresented.
Based on desk research, this research memorandum presents in total six promising practices and short summaries of existing experiences regarding what works in addressing the gender gap in research funding. While the identified gender balancing initiatives and measures stem from numerous national contexts, each of them are characterised by focusing mainly on one specific part of the grant allocation process – whether it be early in the process, where measures such as certification of applicants and/or earmarked funds are a possibility, or while applicants and projects are being assessed, or in the post-award phase, where measures to ensure public accountability for funding schemes and counteracting the motherhood penalty are distinct possibilities. Following the presentation of the promising practices below is a number of clear and concise recommendations on possible actions to be taken.
2019-01-01
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
The European Foundation Centre and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation surveyed a sample of Europe-based EFC members to better understand how, why and what drives their international strategy and work. This infographic lays out key findings from that survey.
