[37th Edition] In pursuit of social change, will partnerships aim true? / March 2008

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
In pursuit of social change, will partnerships aim true?

Across Asia, there are a growing number of partnerships forged between grantmakers, community foundations, nonprofit organizations, businesses and governments pursuing social change as a goal. Social change philanthropy has supported and helped to address issues of peace and development, equity and justice. From the grantmakers’ experience, lessons abound about how to share decision-making powers in partnerships, and how to learn together as partners to see results for social change..

This issue attempts to look at a few Asian experiences, in particular the role of grantmakers in partnerships. What will it take to realize positive, social change in different societal contexts? Will partnerships aim true, even if it challenges some conventional ways of grantmaking? “Give till it works,” say some philanthropists. “Give till it hurts!” countered one Filipino-Chinese philanthropist after many years of working on the Board of an NGO.

We hope the issue contributes to more productive discussions about the Asian ways of social change philanthropy.

Rory Francisco-Tolentino

How is social change philanthropy a way to respond to this challenge? Firstly, what is social change philanthropy (referred to in this issue also as social justice philanthropy and/or community-based philanthropy)?

Resource Generation offers a definition as giving “that addresses systems that are creating inequalities rather than only ameliorating the symptoms.” Social change means broadly “creating a more just distribution of power and resources.” Decision-making power shifts from just the donors to activists and community members. (More about social justice philanthropy from Asian grantmakers in the Perspectives section).

Partnership for Peace:
Sanctuaries for Peace, not terror, established in conflict-ridden southern Philippines
Where Philippine government troops backed by US army trainors pursue Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists or the Islamic separatist group in the southern Philippines, can this also be a place for grantmakers ? In 2004, a consortium of corporate, family and private foundations and other institutions called Tabang Mindanaw teamed up with the Asian Institute of Management-Mirant Center for Bridging Societal Divides to bring an option for peace building and development to the conflict-ridden areas.

The alliance (Pagtabangan BaSulTa) expanded into ten stakeholders from business, government and civil society. Their goal: to improve the socio-economic, and peace and order situation in the three islands to be at par with the rest of the region by 2010. The alliance is currently implementing major projects on water development, livelihood and environmental management, alongside the establishment of Sanctuaries for Peace. (Visit www.pagtabanganbasulta.org)

Today, Tabang Mindanaw reports there are over 70 Sanctuaries of Peace established by the communities themselves in the remote islands. A priest, Fr. Roberto Layson of Pikit, Cotabato witnessed how… “In these villages, former evacuees are beginning to enjoy relative peace and development with the assistance coming from the government and international communities. In mixed communities, the local inhabitants have learned to live together in harmony.”

The AIM-Mirant Center (now AIM-TeaM Energy Center) brought into the partnership a framework developed by The Synergos Institute called “Bridging Leadership.”As an approach employed to address problems or conflict requiring significant social change, it also seeks real, positive transformation in the lives of marginalized or disadvantaged populations. It trains leaders of various sectors to become transformational, focused on social vision, change and the transformation of organizations to be more responsive. Its “defining characteristic” is the collaborative framework which enables people to influence each other to work together to effect real changes that they seek. (www.synergos.org)

The Key: Transformative Leadership
For Khun Paiboon, bridging gaps comes naturally
In Thailand, the work of a “bridging leader” has been modeled by its former Deputy Prime Minister and Social Development and Human Security Minister, Khun Paiboon Wattanasiritham. Khun Paiboon has been professionally engaged with government, business and development sectors at different times of his life. The breadth of these experiences gave him knowledge and understanding of how people from different sectors think and work, and how they can collaborate with other sectors to achieve a shared vision for the development of the poor… .He viewed problems in collaborative work not as real conflicts but as shortcomings or gaps in knowledge or understanding between sectors. Bridging these gaps was a role he undertook.

“It is very often that I have been able to be a middle person or an arranger of meetings, bringing people together and getting them to talk about issues of common concern…it becomes beneficial.” Khun Paiboon is often acknowledged to have brought community or people centered participatory development to a reality on a national scale—the process contributed to the vision and strategies for the country’s Eighth Five Year National Plan.

(Read more about Khun Paiboon’s work at Synergos website, and also at http://opinion.inquirer.net/ for review of the book, Crossover Leadership in Asia: Staying Whole in Two Halves)

Getting the Message Out :
Stakeholders partner for Health Promotion

Engaging multi-stakeholders challenges partners’ abilities at coordination and communication. The Koalisi untuk Indonesia Sehat (KulS) is a large health coalition coordinated from district to national levels to promote health and quality services in line with the government’s Healthy Indonesia 2010 framework. Indonesians set up the coalition in 2000 to protect public health investments at a time of rapid decentralization in the country.

Through advocacy and strategic communication, it has influenced government (including assisting in the review and refinement of the local national level health policy) and influenced communities towards positive, behavior change (encouraging hygiene and sanitation and the prevention of common and dangerous illnesses).

The coalition was started by 100 participant organizations leveraging public, NGO, and private sector philanthropic resources to support preventive public health. An international coalition, Health Community Partnerships supported KulS, with one partner, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focusing on the communication strategies. The achievements of KulS include:

Establishment of a network of 47 local coalitions and 36 national members that support programmatic efforts led by the national Secretariat

Leveraging of approximately US$3 million from other non-USAID resources in its first five years

Establishment and formalization of public-private partnerships to harness the power of the private sector in health, including the formation of the youth advocacy group, the Indonesian Youth Partnership

Nationwide campaigns like the country’s first Hand Washing with Soap activity

(For more information, visit http://www.hcpartnership.org/About/annualreport05)

The Ripple Effect:
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) explores relevance of ‘Bridging Leadership’
Initially successful partnership strategies attract replication in other areas. Japan Center for International Exchange has partnered with AIM to apply the Bridging Leadership framework to human security programs. Collaborating partners in the two countries are Star Kampuchea (Cambodia) and the Center for Development and Integration (Vietnam). (We will feature JCIE projects in succeeding issues of the Post).

(Access Forbes’ List at http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/56/biz_philanthropy08)

Rohini Nilekani of Infosys Technologies works for elementary education
The Chair of India’s Akshara Foundation has focused the foundation’s work on elementary education. Her goal, she says, is "the absolute reduction of poverty, which is so shameful in this country." The Foundation works in partnership with other NGOs and has linkages with government. “We do have plans to train other NGOs. We see ourselves getting involved fully in training in about five years. In a country like ours, schooling should cease to be a problem, and should be taken care of by the government. This will enable organisations to concentrate on improving learning methods rather than working to get children into schools.”

Prida Tiasuwan of Pranda Jewelry envisions poverty alleviation
From his experiences with the Thailand chapter of Social Venture Network Asia which he founded and led as president until recently, Prida Tiasuwan sees how business and NGO-social activists can partner to redevelop a market-based slum in Bangkok. The venture project is modeled after one in Sri Lanka which Prida Tiasuwan visited and studied.