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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.
2019-10-01
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.
2019-08-01
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.
2018-12-01
Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF);
As highlighted in WWF's Living Planet Report (2018), our ocean remains in crisis and the situation desperately needs change in order to reverse the trend of global biodiversity decline. The European Union's (EU) fisheries footprint spans our planet. With active fishing in every ocean and with the highest number of seafood imports, it is the world's largest seafood market. Recognising that a healthy ocean increases resilience and creates more stable conditions for the viability of the fisheries sector, Europe has a long-established Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which governs all European fisheries in the waters of EU Member States (MS), in international waters and through fishing agreements in non-European waters around the world.
Following the most recent reform in 2013, the CFP now aims to make fisheries environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. The CFP defines the sustainable management of marine ecosystems and fish stocks. It is based on scientific evidence for a concrete biological understanding of the state of stocks, and refers to socio-economic data before establishing fisheries catch quotas. Successive to this, an accountable, transparent and fair set of rules for fishers must be enforced by promoting a culture of compliance and by applying deterring sanctions for wrongdoers.
2018-11-20
Open Society Foundations;
In this report, whistleblowers from eight European countries describe what they experienced after they took a stand. Additionally, civil society experts weigh in on how the EU can craft policies to better protect whistleblowers. The question of how to define whistleblowing—does it apply to sexual harassment, can NGOs be considered whistleblowers, and so on—is also explored.
The report ultimately recommends an EU-wide directive on whistleblowing, which it argues would give whistleblowers the protection they need to step forward. The report also argues that a multi-level, multi-stakeholder approach would emphasize the value of whistleblowers and the crucial role they play in a healthy open society.
