Embracing an ecosystem approach to philanthropy – Chris Carlson, Neyat Daniel, Fay Hanleybrown and John Harper (Alan’s highlights)

Funders at the forefront of advancing systems change are shifting from being at the center of social change efforts to being a facilitator, connector, and learner in a larger ecosystem of actors who are working to create lasting, systems-level change.

This is more than a shift in power between funders and grantees, but a strategic redistribution and application of power, including the power of others, across an ecosystem to create change.

Instead of seeing themselves as the central focus, funders become one component of a larger ecosystem. This ecosystem approach fundamentally changes the work of funders, and influences how they conduct strategy development, implementation, and learning and evaluation alongside grantees and partners.

*Strategy in complex systems must serve as a compass instead of a map*, laying out a clear direction and focus for the work and then enabling learning and course correction along the way.

Informed by their grantees and the ecosystem of partners, funders can use a range of approaches, as referenced in the diagram below, from increasing the quality and reach of programs and services, to affecting public and private sector actions and investments, to addressing underlying conditions such as mental models, power dynamics, and relationships. For many foundations, it is helpful to build an intentional portfolio of approaches that reinforce one another, and which intentionally cede, share, and wield the power of the foundation in support of community priorities.

“we did this by building a culture of trust and learning versus a culture based on accountability and impact alone. This required shifting paradigms of why we were evaluating, who the main audience for the learning was, who defines success and who bears the responsibility for collecting and analyzing data.”

We are excited by how philanthropy is embodying a powerful shift from being the center of social change efforts—going from dictating top-down strategy, rigidly implementing that strategy, and evaluating at the grant-level with a focus on accountability rather than learning—to working in close partnership with the broader ecosystem of stakeholders necessary to sustain lasting change.