Implementation Models - Synthesis of Findings

Implementation models:
Synthesis of findings
February 2017
Supported by

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Introduction
A successful philanthropic initiative depends not just on the strategy pursued – but also on how
that strategy is implemented. This work seeks to gather lessons learned from past philanthropic
initiatives to inform funders who are launching ambitious large investments and want to get
implementation right.
Implementation considerations can vary significantly based on the shape of an initiative – starting
a new organization can look very different than investing in a portfolio of existing organizations.
Given these differences, we chose to look at four “models” for implementing initiatives:
These by no means represent an exhaustive set of potential models to pursue, or the most high
potential models. Rather, these are four examples of models, each of which has significant
potential for impact when chosen wisely and executed well.
These materials outline the considerations involved in choosing to pursue each of these models
and findings on how to implement them, drawn from real-world experience. We hope the
materials will be useful to funders as they design and implement ambitious investments.
New entity (intermediary) Advocacy
Core implementation partner
(intermediary)
Influencing the private sector

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Overview of this resource
This work is grounded in the experience of funders and organizations who have been through
the challenging work of implementation. For each of the models we explored, we examined
several initiatives that fit that model and had evidence of impact. Then for each of the models,
drawing both on these case studies and existing field research, we identified key lessons across
three areas:
• When would you use it?
- What is the definition of the model?
- What are situations in which the model is attractive?
- What are the key benefits and tradeoffs of the model?
• How do you do it well?
- What are the key challenges associated with the model?
- What are the best ways to address those challenges?
• What does it take on the part of the funder?
- What level of staff time is required from the funder?
- What capabilities does the funder need to have?
- What should the funder expect in terms of timeline?
These materials include one section for each of the four models. Each section begins with a
one-page summary of the key high-level considerations for the model. This is followed by a
synthesis of the main lessons learned. Finally, each section ends with several two-page case
studies on organizations that have used the model.
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We owe immense thanks to the individuals and organizations that shared their hard-won
insights on these topics. These include:
Thank you

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Contents
New entity – intermediary………………………………….....6
Core implementation partner – intermediary…………27
Advocacy…………………………..……………………………………45
Private sector influence.…………………………………………62

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New Entity (Intermediary)
Definition: Creating a new nonprofit intermediary that provides support and coordination across a field and/or
grantee portfolio (e.g., through technical assistance, knowledge, convening; excludes funding or direct service).
Field/problem conditions
 Major gap exists in current field activities
 Players believe addressing gap has potential to achieve large
impact
 No existing field player is positioned to address gap
 Field expects to benefit from a coordinating body
 Program activities not expected to be time-bound
 Activities are expected to benefit from neutral decision-making
 Activities have been successfully tested at a smaller scale
 Presence of multiple and/or sustainable funding sources
Funder characteristics
 Activities expected to be outside funder mandate/capabilities
 Funder prefers not to be in primary operating role
 Funder has willingness to invest significant funds and staff time,
to be involved long-term, and have high risk tolerance
 There’s a senior leader at the funder to champion the work
 Funder sees value in having its brand closely tied to an
idea/solution
WHEN TO USE THIS MODEL
• Can bring a customized capabilities to address field gap
• Can unify field players
• Can provide a nimble and flexible approach
BENEFITS+
• Costs and risks of starting up new entity are high
• Requires relatively longer start-up timeline
• Involves giving up significant control over work
• Involves risks related to financial sustainability
• Can make an exit more challenging
TRADEOFFS-
• Developing compelling value proposition
• Cultivating strong leadership
• Building operational capabilities at new entity
• Establishing effective governance
• Planning for long-term sustainability
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
EXAMPLES
Note: This model may be a good fit when the above factors exist, although a situation does not need to include all factors

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Synthesis of findings on new entity - intermediary
When would you use it?
• Model definition
• Situations in which the model is attractive
• Benefits
• Tradeoffs
How do you do it well?
• Key challenges and how to address
• Other factors for success
• Incubation
What does it take from the funder?
• Staff time
• Capabilities
• Timeline
Case studies
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Model definition
Funder invests in creating a new intermediary nonprofit to address a gap in
the field. The intermediary’s role is execution: coordinating and managing
across a grantee portfolio and/or field. This model excludes organizations
whose primary function is funding or direct service.
• Strategy co-development
• Technical assistance
• Re-granting
• Disseminating knowledge
• Engaging in policy research
• Catalyzing partnerships
• Convening
• Engaging in policy activity
• Measurement and evaluation
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NEW ENTITY - INTERMEDIARY
Activities could include:

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Situations in which model is attractive
 Major gap exists in current field activities
 Field players believe addressing gap has potential to achieve
significant impact or paradigm shift
 No existing field player is positioned to address the gap
This model may be a good fit when these factors exist
(note that a situation does not need to include all factors)
Field/Problem
Conditions
Funder
Characteristics
These first three conditions are
necessary but not sufficient; other
conditions should be in place to
meet high bar for new entity
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 Field expected to benefit from a coordinating body
 Program activities not expected to be time-bound
 Program activities expected to benefit from independent decision-making (e.g.,
neutrality among players is especially important)
 Program activities have been successful when tested on a smaller scale (e.g., as
foundation initiative)
 Multiple and/or sustainable funding sources exist
 Program activities expected to be outside funder mandate or capabilities
 Desire not to be in primary operator role for the initiative
 Willingness to invest significant funds and staff time
 Willingness to be involved over a long time horizon
 High degree of risk tolerance
 Presence of a high-profile leader at the funder to champion the work

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Benefits and tradeoffs
• Costs and risks of starting up new entity are high
- Significant time and resources go into entity design and development,
which can still result in failure to launch or no impact
- It can be difficult to shut down an entity that is not having as much
impact as desired
- Funders face reputational risk if the entity is ineffective
- If the entity does not address a unique niche, it risks impinging on the
work of other field actors
• Requires relatively longer start-up timeline
- In successful examples, 2+ years were needed from initiative design to
program implementation
- Funders should allot sufficient time to set up legal structure, work
with contractors, and build operational capabilities
• Involves giving up significant control over work
- In order for the new entity to be truly independent, the funder must
be willing to compromise with the entity’s leadership and other
funders/partners
• Involves risks related to financial sustainability
- Even if the new entity starts up successfully, there is an ongoing
challenge of securing consistent funding
• Can make an exit more challenging
- A new entity can become dependent on ongoing funder support
- An exit could be interpreted by the field as a lack of belief in
the new entity
• New entity can bring customized approach and
capabilities to address field gap
- New entity intermediaries generally adopt a specific approach
or role required by the field (e.g., coordination, convening)
- The entity’s capabilities can be expressly designed to address
the field-driven need
- The entity can bring singular focus to the issue, rather than
being split across multiple priorities or partner interests
• Can unify field players
- New entities can serve as a neutral convener with the ability to
bring field players together
- In successful examples, new entities established partnerships
with players across the field, resulting in large-scale impact
• Can provide a nimble and flexible approach
- Compared to foundations and partnerships, new entities can
adapt more rapidly to field needs
- Increased agility can help entity address complex and evolving
problems (e.g., one organization was able to adapt its
geographic and messaging priorities based on shifts in the
legal and political landscapes)
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BENEFITS TRADEOFFS

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Key challenges and how to address them (1 of 3)
Developing
compelling
value
proposition
• Have strong leadership in place at the new entity
- Prioritize top leadership positions and aim to secure those early; most senior hires can attract talent at lower levels
- Consider investing in an executive search firm to find chief executive, as well as the next level of leadership and Board members
- Look for opportunities to hire select leaders from key partners, either temporarily or permanently
- Identify opportunities to recruit key individuals who worked on idea concept or early-stage initiative
- Hire the right leaders, or at least have promising candidates, before finalizing the new entity launch
• Empower leaders to own and guide the strategy
- Successful examples of new entities show leaders who could drive vision and strategy forward, rather than relying on partners
- Funders and partners should invest in a thorough onboarding process for the CEO
- The new entity CEO should influence governance structure and composition
• Evolve leadership based on needs of the organization
- Consider changes to leadership during the entity’s natural transition points (e.g., the transition from incubation to independent entity)
Cultivating
strong
leadership
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CHALLENGES
• Design the vision and strategy to address a field-driven need or major gap in the field
- Work with key players to co-design aspects of the vision and strategy
- Clearly convey the value provided by the new entity
- Balance focus on goals with approach that includes wide range of field voices
- Avoid overloading the new entity with too many goals or activities early on
• Consider incubating the initiative within the funder or in another organization
- Incubator can help test and refine the value proposition, in addition to providing operational capabilities
• Draw on ideas from a wide range of voices in the field, not limited to partners and funders
- Input from diverse stakeholders (e.g., scientists, business leaders, public officials) can provide key guidance
- E.g., One funder organized multiple convenings with field experts across sectors to share ideas
• Adapt value proposition over time based on field need and impact
WAYS TO ADDRESS

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Building
operational
capabilities at
new entity
• Align on governance structures and roles early
- Clearly define structural elements (e.g., permanent Board seats, sub-committees) and roles (e.g., Chair
responsibilities); although much of this governance design can be begun before hiring an executive director, that
individual should be involved in final decisions
- Aim to keep governance streamlined and avoid multiple Boards; balance this with the importance of including
diverse range of stakeholder voices
• Draw broadly from the field when selecting Board members, rather than relying on core partners
- This helps the new entity gain a broad set of perspectives as well as stakeholder buy-in
• Re-evaluate governance structure regularly and be prepared to evolve it over time
- E.g., One new entity collapsed its original two boards into one board to streamline decision-making
Establishing
effective
governance
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CHALLENGES
• Develop staff hiring capabilities and talent pools
- The new entity should look beyond funders and partner organizations when identifying sources of talent in
order to broaden its perspectives and skillsets
• Invest time in creating legal entity and required legal capabilities
- Consider hiring a contractor with local contextual knowledge and experience to provide guidance
• Build financial capabilities related to absorbing, managing, and raising funds
- The CFO role is often essential to have in place quickly
- Developing fundraising capabilities quickly can help raise critical early funds
WAYS TO ADDRESS

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Planning for
long-term
sustainability
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CHALLENGES
• Before developing the new entity, test value proposition with field players and explore potential
funding sources
• Approach potential funders early and cultivate long-term relationships
- Without a proactive approach, one large funder can crowd out interest and funding from other players; this
brings major risks for both the new entity and the funder
• Have a high-profile champion with credibility in the field draw attention and funding
• Identify other types of financing mechanisms to supplement traditional funding
- Consider innovative funding models (e.g., fee-for-service, co-financing by beneficiaries) and be realistic in
assessment
• Demonstrate success early on to draw further support
- Build M&E capabilities to effectively track early successes
• Guide new entity by making continued funding dependent on sustainability actions or targets
WAYS TO ADDRESS

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Other factors for success
• Consider building on ideas proposed by leaders in the field
- Ideas championed by a field leader often channel a field-driven need, and they can be easier to develop and launch
when that champion serves as initial leader
• Allot more time than you expect for initiative design and launch
- Funders report relatively long timeline from initial concept to launch (2+ years)
- Hiring staff and developing core organizational processes (e.g., HR, M&E, communication) have been shown to be
particularly time-intensive
• Consider incubating the initiative within the funder or another initiative
- For key considerations and best practices, see following pages
• Establish the right level of management and oversight, and know when to step in
- Although it is important to give the new entity independence, a funder should not hesitate to take a hands-on
approach at critical moments facing the initiative (e.g., financial distress)
- In later stages, the funder can take on the role of strategic thought partner, asking critical questions and providing
ideas, but not prescribing
- In all interactions, funders should to aim demonstrate their trust in the leadership of the new entity
• Be thoughtful about exit
- Before any exit, the funder should aim to put sustainability mechanisms in place
- If a funder chooses to exit, it should clearly communicate its timeline and process for exit to ensure smooth transition
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In addition to addressing value proposition, leadership, operational capabilities,
governance, and sustainability, factors for success include:

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Incubation: what it is and why to use it
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• To test the degree of field need, strength of program’s value proposition, or effectiveness of program activities
before potentially launching as an independent new entity
• To gain access to key capabilities that an early-stage organization may not have
- E.g., One organization benefited from an incubator’s back-office capabilities and in-country staff
• To draw on the brand strength of the incubator
- E.g., One new entity tapped into the strong brand of its foundation incubator to gain credibility in the field
• There is no strict definition of the term used in the social sector
• For these materials, incubation can be defined as an initiative receiving substantial support, generally involving
shared building space, staff allocation, and back-office capabilities (e.g., IT), from a host organization
(“incubator”)
- This structure has similarities with an implementation partner model
• Incubating initiatives can vary in their level of intention to ultimately launch as a new independent entity
- In some cases, incubation is one step in a defined plan to achieve full independence
- In other cases, there is not a definite plan to spin off, and the incubated initiative may or may not become a new entity
• For those initiatives that become a new entity, timeframe can vary greatly, often based on level of evidence
required, pace of organizational growth, and the specific benefits and tradeoffs of a particular incubation set-up
- E.g., Incubation time for examples varied from 1 to 9 years
Why would you decide to incubate a new entity?
What is incubation?

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Other
considerations
and best
practices
• Initiative may have limited ability to take on independent role in the field due to affiliation
with incubator
• Initiative might face barriers to organizational development (e.g., recruiting, governance) and
efficiency
- E.g., One organization found recruiting and fundraising easier as an independent entity
• During incubation, work to build out core organizational components that will be critical for
success as an independent entity
- E.g., During incubation, one organization invested time in defining its recruitment strategy
• Continually evaluate readiness for new entity launch, and if conditions are in place, take
decisive action
• Consider initiating executive search process before or during incubation, rather than after
new entity launch
- Examples show shifts in leadership from incubation phase to new entity phase are typical
Where should
the entity be
incubated?
• Funder, which can bring field experience, reputation, and relevant contacts
- Key drawbacks: challenges in obtaining access to operational and on-the-ground expertise; need for
the funder to engage more deeply in operational details; potential clash with staffing and operational
processes geared towards grantmaking
• Operating partner, which can offer back-office capabilities and local footprint
- Key drawbacks: less connection to the funder’s expertise and grantmaking team; less funder influence
on the initiative in early stages
Incubation: how to do it
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Staff time
Can vary significantly; examples showed ranges at different stages of the entity:
• Initial initiative design and funding: 1-2 FTEs
- Majority of time is program officer level for strategy, design, and partnership development
• Launch of entity: 2-6 FTEs
- If an initiative is first incubated, required staff time at the funder is likely to be lower during incubation period
- Majority of time is program officer level for program activities and operational level for building capabilities such as HR, finance, and legal
- Senior officer time is required for public outreach in the field and developing/maintaining partnerships
• Steady state oversight and support: wide range from 0.5-15 FTEs
- 0.5-1 FTE is for program officer level to provide strategic guidance (e.g., sit on SteerCo and Board) and oversight
- Funder may choose to dedicate 10+ FTEs to program support depending on entity needs and funder capabilities and resources
Capacity Estimates
• Initiative complexity: The breadth of the entity’s strategy, scope, and geographies, as well as the number of activities
involved, can influence the time required on the part of the funder
• Risk profile/innovation: A strategy that is very new and different can take more time to design and support, particularly if the
funder has conceived the idea
• Incubation: Funder may need to dedicate fewer staff resources if the initiative is being incubated outside the foundation
• Level of funder support required: Certain types of supports can require more funder staff time (e.g., developing finance
capabilities, engaging in advocacy)
• Level of desired control over initiative strategy and decisions: A deeper level of involvement in initiative decisions also requires
deeper investment of staff time
• Number of implementation and funding partners: Managing more partners for the new entity (and coordination between
them) takes more time for funder staff
DRIVERS OF FUNDER STAFF TIME
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Examples:

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Capabilities and timeline
• Relationships and influence: Model requires funder to tap into its field influence to attract attention, funding,
and partnership from others in the space
• Field credibility: Need to be well-respected by players in the field or have relevant partnerships to provide a
level of credibility for the new entity
• Start-up capabilities and mindset: Need to have the operational capabilities to succeed in a start-up phase,
such as hiring, financial, and legal, as well as experience in a start-up environment
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Need to have risk tolerance, determination, and a learning orientation to thrive in
early stages, and should foster those characteristics in new entity
• Governance experience: Should be able to provide effective leadership on a SteerCo
• Contracting ability: Should have connections and experience working with contractors in areas such as
executive search, legal, finance, and M&E
• Can vary; a large initiative may take 2+ years to move from concept to program activities in incubation
• Spinning off an entity from incubation to a fully independent entity can require an additional 1-2 years
• Key drivers of timeline (for both time to incubation and time to independent launch) can include initiative complexity, level of
support in the field, and number of other partners involved
• It is not uncommon for timelines to run behind schedule; delays can result from securing seed funding, finding senior
leadership, ramping up implementation, and factors outside the funder’s control (e.g., government delays, policy change, shift
in the field)
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CAPABILITIES
Timeline to program launch

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Case study: Gates Foundation – Gavi
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which received seed money to launch from the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation brings together public, private, and social sector
actors to increase access to vaccinations for children in the developing world.
Gavi’s work centers on expanding access to a broad portfolio of advanced, life-
saving vaccines by working with developing countries and partners including
the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank. Gavi seeks to
strengthen the capacity of country health and vaccine delivery systems as well
as shape markets to make life-saving vaccines more accessible. Members of
Gavi include donor and implementing governments, inter-governmental
organizations, civil society, research and technical institutes and the vaccine
industry.
The idea for Gavi was conceived at a summit held at The Rockefeller
Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy in 1999. The Alliance launched in
2000 and was initially housed within UNICEF until becoming a new,
independent entity in 2009. A 28-person board governs Gavi, and about 250
staff members manage day-to-day operations. The Gates Foundation provided
the initial seed money for Gavi—$750 million over five years. Since 2000,
Gavi’s efforts have been financed by foundations, governments and private
companies. Gavi also finances about 25% of its work through innovative
financing mechanisms, such as vaccine bonds, matching funds, and advanced
market commitments. Gavi-supported countries manage their immunisation
programs and co-finance a portion of their Gavi-funded vaccines.
OVERVIEW
Since Gavi’s inception, almost 580 million additional children have been immunized, and over 8 million deaths from
preventable disease have been averted. In 2015, more than half of all immunized children received Gavi-supported vaccines.
Between 2010 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate in Gavi-supported countries fell an average of 3.6% per year.
IMPACT
Source: Gavi Progress Report 2015 for image

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Case study: Gates Foundation – Gavi
• A new entity can gain traction when it is designed by major field players in response to a clear gap
- From Gavi’s outset, the major players in the global vaccine space were on board; many had already been involved in defining the need and
designing the initiative. Gates enabled the main actors in the field to execute their vision, instead of trying to get the field to buy into its
design. Because it addressed a clearly recognized need and had a compelling value proposition, Gavi soon garnered support from additional
scientists, intergovernmental organizations, and funders.
• Setting up a new initiative takes a lot of money and time, though responsibilities may be split among partners
- The Gates Foundation’s initial $750 million grant was the catalyst for Gavi, but this only came after a working group spent about two years
developing the idea. Other partners that were already steeped in the field incubated Gavi and provided key capabilities for the first several
years.
• High-level champions at a funder may leverage additional funding and bring attention to the new entity
- Bill and Melinda Gates have been visible advocates for Gavi since 1999. Their influence has helped draw attention to the initiative and bring
additional funders and partners on board.
• A funder’s role should evolve to respond to the needs of the new entity – and to reflect its own capabilities
- Gates was not involved in the initial conception of Gavi, and its key contributions in early days were focused on funding, influence, and
relationships. Over time, Gates has expanded its role into strategy and other supports, due both to needs at Gavi as well its own evolution in
capabilities and expertise as a foundation.
• Incubation can help a new initiative access key capabilities, but an independent structure may eventually be beneficial
- Gavi spent most of its first decade incubated at UNICEF, which gave it valuable access to UNICEF’s back-office operational capabilities and
close in-country relationships. When Gavi became officially independent from UNICEF in 2009, its newly separate structure gave it freedom
to develop and manage its own processes, make decisions more quickly outside, and build out key capability areas (e.g. HR, knowledge
development, and recruiting).
• A new entity should be willing to evolve governance and leadership to suit changing needs of the organization
- When it became an independent entity, Gavi consolidated its two governance structures into a single board composed of a range of
stakeholders in order to promote communication across a diverse range of perspectives.
- Around this time, Gavi gained new leadership to manage the organization’s transition.
• To achieve long-term sustainability, new entities should demonstrate success early on and consider sustainable
financing beyond the original funder
- Gavi made strategic decisions early on to focus on a few specific geographies and three vaccines where it could make a visible impact. These
results helped Gavi gain credibility and additional funding soon after its launch.
- Gavi began fostering relationships with other potential donors early in its existence, which has culminated in strong long-term donor
partnerships. It has also created innovative finance mechanisms and incorporated country self-financing into its model.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

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Achieving the Dream (ATD) is an independent nonprofit that leads a national
network of more than 200 community colleges dedicated to helping their
students, particularly low-income students and students of color, achieve their
goals. Achieving the Dream works with colleges to close achievement gaps and
accelerating student success through a change process that builds colleges'
institutional capacities in seven critical areas. The organization’s core offering is
coaching for presidents and other college leaders to create a culture of
evidence and build a student-focused culture. ATD reinforces its capacity
building efforts with policy work and stakeholder engagement. Over the past
12 years, ATD’s efforts have contributed to the field’s growing use of data-
driven approaches as well as a shift from access to student success.
ATD was originally conceived as an initiative by the Lumina Foundation in 2004.
The initiative was implemented by seven organizations working in partnership,
with one organization (MDC) taking the managing partner role. After six years,
ATD began the transition process from a partnership into an independent
nonprofit entity. The initiative was fully funded by Lumina in the earliest years,
with other foundations also contributing funding later in the partnership stage
and in the new entity stage.
OVERVIEW
ATD helps 200+ education institutions that serve 4M+ students and has policy teams in 15 states pursuing reform efforts.
- Increase in college completion at some network colleges (e.g., University of Hawaii Community Colleges increased the number of
degrees awarded by 70% between 2010 and 2014, during a stable enrollment period)
- Increase in course completion at some network colleges (e.g., Trident Technical College increased its fall term successful course
completion rate from 62% in 2011 to 76% in 2014)
- Participation in field-building initiatives by network colleges (e.g., of 30 institutions selected for the American Association of
Community College’s Pathways Project, 21 were ATD colleges)
IMPACT
Source: Achieving the Dream 2016 Annual Report for image
Case study: Lumina Foundation – Achieving the
Dream

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Case study: Lumina Foundation – Achieving the
Dream
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A funder should set a high bar before pursuing the new entity model
- In order to be effective, a new nonprofit should have clarity around mission, a clear niche in a receptive field, and a
path to financial sustainability. During its time as a collaborative initiative, Achieving the Dream was able to test
whether those conditions existed, including testing the strength of the value proposition by working with
community colleges and determining the extent of demand for its services. This experience helped inform ATD’s
decision to spin off as a new entity.
• The new entity model can provide clear focus and streamlined governance
- Lumina chose to transition ATD from an initiative to a new entity to achieve two main benefits: First, ATD would
have a clear focus on community colleges, which strengthened recruiting, diversified funding sources, and increased
efficiency; second, ATD would have leaner governance not dependent on the founding partners, allowing it to make
decisions more quickly and easily involve new partnerships to scale impact.
• Successful launch requires credibility in the field
- To launch the new entity, the Lumina Foundation required strong credibility and convening power with other players
in the field.
• A new entity should look for funding sources early – and be realistic in assessment
- A new entity structure can help attract diversified funding, but also requires early and deep attention to business
model, including realistically assessing different income sources (e.g., ATD evaluated the potential for fee-for-service
revenue and determined that it would be an important component, though not the majority, of ATD’s income).
• Launching a new entity requires time and support from a funder
- During the period when ATD transitioned from a collaborative initiative to a new entity, Lumina temporarily
increased its staff focused on Achieving the Dream providing support for planning and setting up the new entity. In
the years following the transition, Lumina ramped back down and focused more on an oversight role.

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Case study: Rockefeller Foundation – Global Impact
Investing Network (GIIN)
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing
around the world. The GIIN defines impact investments as investments
made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of
generating social and environmental impact, alongside a financial return.
They can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and returns
range from below market to market rate.
The idea for the GIIN was conceived in October 2007, when The
Rockefeller Foundation convened a small group of funders at its Bellagio
Center in Italy to discuss the nascent space of “impact investing,” a term
coined at the meeting. After a broader convening in 2008, the ~40
participants organized behind four central initiatives: a global network of
leading impact investors, a standardized framework for assessing social
and environmental impact, an impact investing bank, and an effort to
invest in sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.
As part of its new Impact Investing Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation
developed a breakthrough report with the Monitor Institute on the topic
released in January 2009. Later that year, the GIIN formally launched with
the initial mission of tackling the four core initiatives. Since then, the GIIN
has provided critical infrastructure for the impact investing space, acting
as a platform to share ideas, draw new ideas to the field, and bring
investors together.
OVERVIEW
According to a third-party evaluation of the Impact Investing Initiative in 2012, the GIIN was one key actor that helped define the
concept of impact investing. GIIN also developed the core field infrastructure that led to the Impact Reporting and Investment
Standards (IRIS) and ImpactBase, an online database of impact investment funds and products. In addition, the GIIN has drawn a
range of new actors into the space, with its Investors’ Council comprising leading corporations, foundations, and nonprofit funds. As a
result, the GIIN was an essential entity that helped lay the groundwork for major growth in the impact investing space, which has
grown from $2.5B in 2010 to an estimated $12.2B in 2015.
IMPACT
Source: GIIN website for image

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Case study: Rockefeller Foundation – Global Impact
Investing Network (GIIN)
• By testing a potential new entity’s value proposition with key stakeholders, a funder can ensure the
organization will have field support
- As part of its early research, The Rockefeller Foundation designed two convenings to better understand the need around
impact investing; then, after identifying the field need, it oversaw the formation of formal working groups to initiate
research on priorities.
• The early stages of work can be a valuable period to identify potential leadership for the new entity
- Amit Bouri was originally an external consultant who worked on the 2009 report, but his deep understanding of the GIIN
as well as his personal qualifications made him an ideal choice to serve in the organization, ultimately becoming CEO in
2015.
• When defining a nascent field, an intermediary should aim to be inclusive
- By broadening its definition of impact investing, the GIIN was able to include a diverse array of actors, which
strengthened its position as a central field intermediary.
• Bringing in other funders early can cultivate deep relationships that lead to major support
- The GIIN invested effort in building strong informal relationships with actors including the UK’s Department for
International Development (DFID) in its early years. This led to sustained interest and support by a core group of allies
(DFID later committed GBP 10.5 million in 2012 to support the GIIN).
• When developing a field, a multifaceted approach can help draw in a range of players
- To appeal to distinct groups and strengthen the emerging impact investing field, The Rockefeller Foundation and the
GIIN used a variety of approaches, including research, convenings, stakeholder interviews, standards development, and
public outreach.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

26
Key sources: new entity - intermediary
Note: These resources relate to organizations we have profiled and the model in general; we have also drawn on additional examples based on public research
and TBG experience.
Secondary research
• “10 Keys to Starting a Nonprofit – Public Charity”, Nonprofit Law Blog, Jan. 2011
• “2014 Partnership Profile: The GAVI Alliance.” E2Pi | Evidence to Policy Initiative, April 2014.
• “Achieving the Dream: The State of the Initiative,” MDC, May 2008.
• “Advice for Funders Launching New Organizations,” Arabella Advisors, Aug. 2013.
• “Announcing the New Achieving the Dream,” Achieving the Dream, July 2011.
• “Annual Report,” Achieving the Dream, 2015.
• “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Announces $750 Million Gift to Speed Delivery of Life-Saving Vaccines,” Gates Foundation, November 1999.
• Bridgespan experience with Achieving the Dream, 2009-2011.
• “Courageous Conversations: Achieving the Dream and the Importance of Student Success,” Change Magazine, January 2009.
• “Engaged Partners: The Achieving the Dream Partnership, Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking,” January 2008.
• “Evaluation of GAVI Phase 1 Performance,” Abt Associates Inc., October 2008.
• “Gavi Alliance By-Laws,” Gavi, last revised June 18-19, 2014.
• “Gavi Alliance Statutes,” Gavi, last revised November 16-17, 2011.
• “Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization: Meeting of the Proto-Board,” Gavi, July 12-13, 1999.
• “How Do I Start a Nonprofit Organization?” Grantspace (Foundation Center), 2016.
• “Second Gavi Evaluation,” CEPA LLP, September 2010.
• “Smarter Relationships, Better Results: Making the most of grantmakers’ work with intermediaries,” Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2013.
• “Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges,” MDRC, January 2011.
• “Why Do Funders Work with Intermediaries?” Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2013.
• Organization websites
Interviews
• Interview with Alex de Jonquières, Chief of Staff at Gavi, October 5, 2016.
• Interview with Carol Lincoln, Senior Vice President at Achieving the Dream, August 31, 2016.
• Interview with Sam Cargile, Vice President and Senior Advisor at Lumina Foundation, September 20, 2016.
• Interview with Steve Landry, Vaccine Program manager at the Gates Foundation, September 29, 2016.

Core Implementation Partner:
Intermediary

28
Core Implementation Partner (Intermediary)
Definition: Investing in one or a few existing nonprofit intermediaries that provides support and coordination
across a field and/or grantee portfolio (excludes funding or direct service).
 Relevant partner(s) exists
 Program activities expected to be time-bound
 Coordination required across multiple actors
 Funder has a lack of relevant geographic presence, staff
expertise, capabilities and/or relationships required for
the initiative
 Funder involvement expected to be time-bound
 Interest in avoiding start-up or operational risk
 Interest in minimizing ramp-up time, potentially to
capitalize on field momentum
 Interest in keeping demands on staff time relatively low
 Willingness to share some control over initiative
direction and execution, as well as credit for results
• Can limit demands on funder staff
• Can shorten start-up timeline and reduce start-up risk
• Can make an exit easier
• Strengthens existing field capacity
BENEFITS+
• Requires finding the right partner, which may mean
making compromises
• Involves giving up some control to the partner
TRADEOFFS-
• Selecting the right partner
• Establishing clarity of decision-making
• Managing ongoing measurement and learning
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
EXAMPLES
Note: This model may be a good fit when the above factors exist, although a situation does not need to include all factors. For more information on YieldWise, please see the Appendix.

29
Synthesis of findings on core implementation
partner - intermediary
• Benefits
• Tradeoffs
• Multiple implementation partners
• Staff time
• Capabilities
• Timeline
Case studies
1
2
3

30
Model definition
Funder invests in one or a few existing nonprofit intermediaries that provide
support and coordination across a field and/or grantee portfolio to further the
funder’s strategy.
• Strategy co-development
• Technical assistance
• Re-granting
• Disseminating knowledge
• Engaging in policy research
• Catalyzing partnerships
• Convening
• Engaging in policy activity
• Measurement and evaluation
1
CORE IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER - INTERMEDIARY
Activities could include:

31
 Funder has a lack of relevant geographic presence, staff expertise, capabilities, and/or relationships
required for the initiative
 Funder involvement expected to be time-bound
 Interest in avoiding start-up or operational risk
 Interest in minimizing ramp-up time, potentially to capitalize on field momentum
 Interest in keeping demands on staff time relatively low
 Willingness to share control over initiative direction and execution, as well as credit for results
Field/Problem
Conditions
Funder
Characteristics1
 Relevant partner(s) exists
- Aligned values and goals
- Program-related experience and capabilities
- Necessary geographic footprint and place-based expertise
- Initiative would be high priority for this partner
- Credibility in the field
- Operational capabilities: contracting, legal, sub-granting, and financial management
 Program activities expected to be time-bound
 Coordination required across multiple actors

32
• Requires finding the right partner – which may mean making
compromises
- There is no “perfect” partner; even in strong partnerships there were
some tradeoffs in the partner selection phase
• Involves giving up some control to the partner
- In successful examples, partner had significant voice in initiative
design and execution
- Partner is also likely to have more control over key operational
decisions (e.g., staff hiring)
• Concentrates risk for the initiative in one or a few partners
- Rather than spreading funding across a portfolio of grantees, funder
must be willing to invest fully in the ability of one or a few partners to
deliver
• Can limit demands on funder staff
- Initiatives in the $50-100M* range required 1-2 FTEs in the
design phase, across multiple levels, and 0.5-1 FTEs on an
ongoing basis
- Limits need for funder geographic presence near program
sites
- Can decrease operational burden (e.g., legal, contracting, and
oversight needed for sub-granting)
• Can shorten start-up timeline and reduce start-up risk
- Reduces the time and resources required to set legal structure
and build operational capabilities
• Can make an exit easier
- Time-bound nature of investment was significant factor for
some funders in selecting model (e.g., one funder envisioned
an initiative as fixed in length and sought a partnership to
allow for clean exit)
- Partner can either plan to wind down program or build on
existing fundraising mechanisms to continue operations
• Strengthens existing field capacity
- Approach is attractive for funders who prioritize investing in
existing organizations
1
BENEFITS TRADEOFFS
*Based on investment of profiled funder, not on total funding of the initiative

33
2
Selecting the
right partner
• Consider the partner decision before finalizing initiative design and scope
- E.g., One funder planned to work with multiple regional partners to execute the initiative, but decided to focus
on one global partner after assessing potential partners
• Narrow down partners quickly to get to deeper level of diligence; the number of realistic
candidates can often be relatively small (1-3)
• Rigorously assess the mission and values fit of potential partners; ask about their existing priorities
and strategy to understand alignment with initiative
- E.g., One funder discussed a potential candidate’s strategic plan before delving into the potential initiative, in
order to get a clear read on the organization’s priorities
• Don’t assume the most prestigious, largest partners are the best fit; the initiative should be high
priority for the implementing organization
- E.g., One funder with multiple partners found that the smaller organizations were more motivated to focus on
the initiative, while some larger, more prestigious partners deprioritized the initiative given their broader
agenda
• In addition to program expertise and experience, operational capabilities are critical
- Contracting expertise, legal, sub-granting experience, and financial management (ability to manage very large
sums over time) may all be key, depending on initiative design
• Credibility in the field is important
- E.g., One funder hired a specialized PR firm to conduct a branding study to understand credibility of potential
partners and congruence between brands
• Might need to consider multiple partners to take on different portions of the initiative
CHALLENGES WAYS TO ADDRESS

34
2
Clarity of
decision-
making
• Be clear up front about what’s “non-negotiable”
- In discussions with potential partner, funder should be clear about what has already been decided; partner
should be up front with any differences of opinion on what’s feasible
• Align on clear outcomes and strategy early
- In decision phase, a written document of expected outcomes and strategy can ease communication
- Keeping initial number of authors low can make the initiative design process smoother; other
funders/collaborators can sign on later and suggest modifications as needed
• Set up explicit governance structures
- For large initiatives, consider a governance committee to provide strategic oversight, including both funder and
implementer representation (e.g., one funder had a joint governance committee with three members each
from the funder and implementer)
- Keep governance simple: Limit number of committees and number of members
- Clarify decision rights between funder and implementer
- Recognize tradeoffs in determining decision-making roles (e.g., being more involved in decisions can take more
funder time and make it more difficult to hold partner directly accountable)
• Enable governance structure to evolve over time
- E.g., one initiative originally created an advisory board, but disbanded over time as initiative needs evolved

35
Ongoing
measurement
and learning
2
CHALLENGES
• Align on desired outcomes early
- E.g., One set of partners used a “shared results framework” to help ensure all partners thought about impact
along the same main objectives
• Work together to determine a measurement and evaluation approach
- Should include both short-term and longer-term measures
• An intermediary’s work can often be challenging to measure and attribute; be cognizant of this
challenge and creative in identifying ways to address
• Allocate adequate time on the funder’s side to M&E; examples of support include helping select
evaluator, determine evaluation approach, develop key metrics, and review outcomes
• Be open to evolving measurement approach as needed over time
- Develop new metrics and measurement methods as needed to assess impact
• Use longer-term initiative breakpoints (i.e., 3-5 years) to assess outcomes and consider larger
strategic changes
- Formal evaluations can be timed with these breakpoints to provide additional information that inform initiative
decisions
WAYS TO ADDRESS

36
• Approach with a collaborative spirit and mutual respect
- Funders emphasized the importance of true collaboration; ultimately, funder and implementer must be aligned on the initiative goals and
approach
- Be aware of the power differential; funder sets the tone for open communication and creates feedback channels
- Encourage challenging discussions and mutual pushback; a bedrock of respect and aligned values is critical
- Avoid micromanagement of the partner’s spending and staff management decisions, which can undercut trust and interfere with its ability
to operate
- Individual relationships are key; “People are so important; personal relationships and building trust are essential”
• Get the right staff in place at the partner – particularly the initiative leader
- Even though there is a partner in place, that doesn’t mean staffing the initiative at partner is straightforward; hiring is still critical and may
require funder attention (e.g., one funder co-owned the executive search process for the initiative along with the implementation partner)
- Getting the right leader in place is key. Implementing partner is likely to have the formal decision on hiring, but it is beneficial for funder to
have input, and potentially a veto; achieving consensus is ideal
- Funder is likely to be involved less in more junior hiring, but some partners may need support in securing other staff if capability profile
differs from typical staff or their normal hiring process is burdensome
• Adequately resource initiative management on the foundation side
- Ensure foundation staff tagged to the initiative have adequate time and seniority to provide guidance to the partner (e.g., address
roadblocks to execution; consult on evaluation plan and evaluator selection; provide input on strategy adjustments based on outcomes)
- Plan to meet partner in person (timeframes could vary) (e.g., one funder invested in monthly international travel to maintain strong links to
the work)
• Consider funding needs beyond direct program activities
- Large grants with lots of coordination can require significant operational costs beyond direct programmatic activities; flexible funding or
adequate overhead rates are critical to cover these activities
- Align on overhead and funding rates early
- Work with the partner to identify what the greatest funding needs are (e.g., one funder provided financial support to its partner’s related
programs and physical infrastructure to ultimately help the partner deliver on the initiative)
• Funding contingency can be a valuable lever, but should be used carefully
- Most funders had some contingency to funding, but timing varied (e.g., 1-5 years); if timeline is shorter, it is important to be clear about
likely funding in later years to enable longer-term planning
- Mutual trust is important; partner should not fear unexpected funder exit
2
In addition to addressing partner selection, decision clarity,
and measurement and learning, factors for success include:

37
Multiple implementation partners
2
• Multiple implementation partners can be valuable when there is not one partner with all the capabilities
required to execute
- Bringing in multiple partners can bring additional capabilities, expertise, reach, and relationships to the initiative
• Managing more partners takes more funder time – and more coordination among partners
- It takes time to select, onboard, and manage relationships with multiple partners
- Managing multiple partners can be easiest when there is a clear division of work between them
• Re-evaluate partner roles over time, responding to changes in initiative needs and partner engagement and
performance
• Establish clear partner roles and structures for communication
- Funders should encourage partners to be in contact with each other, rather than only communicating with the funder
- It may sometimes be helpful to designate a lead partner who can take some of the coordination work, depending on the
level of integration and coordination required
- Funders should be cognizant of the different contexts facing partners (e.g., one funder encouraged program officers to visit
multiple local sites to broaden cultural understanding of partners)
CONSIDERATIONS
Funders may choose to divide the work between implementation partners in one of several ways:
• Issue area
• Function
• Geography
HOW TO DIVIDE THE WORK

38
Staff time
Staff time estimates based on example $50-100M initiatives by profiled funders (note that staff time can vary significantly):
• Up-front design, selection, and launch: 1-2 FTEs
- Majority of time is program officer level for strategy, design, and partner selection
- Engagement with senior leadership to champion initiative, provide insight and momentum
- Some analytic capacity for partner identification and selection
• Ongoing initiative oversight: 0.5-1 FTEs
- Majority of time is program officer level to provide strategic guidance and oversight (e.g., sit on Steering Committee); mid-level staff can
assist with M&E and other support
- Junior time for grants processing and other activities likely to be more limited given partner’s role
Capacity Estimates
• Initiative complexity: The breadth of the initiative and number of activities involved can influence the time required on the
part of the funder
• Risk profile/innovation: A strategy that is very new and different can take more time to design and execute, particularly if the
funder has conceived the idea
• Number of partners: Managing more implementation partners (and coordination between them) takes more time for funder
staff
• Level of control desired over initiative decisions: A deeper level of involvement in initiative decisions also requires deeper
investment of staff time
• Partner experience and capabilities: A partner with less relevant experience may require more support; in addition, funder
may need to supplement capabilities that are less developed at the implementing organization (e.g., communications,
measurement, hiring)
• Other funders involved: Involving other funders can provide valuable additional funding and sources of influence and
knowledge, but it takes time to coordinate with them
• Geographic distance and need for on-the-ground support: A need for on-the-ground funder oversight in distant locations can
take significant time
3
Examples:

39
• Strategic vision: Model requires funders to bring strong vision and strategy for what the initiative could look
like, refined with the partner
• Ability to form effective grantee partnerships: Need to be able to collaborate closely with partner, including
building trust and negotiating compromises
• Measurement and evaluation: Need to be able to help define outcomes and determine evaluation strategy
(e.g., participate in selecting evaluator)
• Legal/contracting: Need to be able to negotiate large contracts*
• Program area expertise (can vary): Some funders have extensive expertise and technical knowledge, while
others may be newer to the program area
• Can vary; a large initiative may take 1-2 years from conception to program activities commencing
• Key drivers of timeline can include:
- Number of partners
- Initiative complexity (e.g., extent of sub-granting)
- Breadth of partner options (evaluating more partners takes more time)
- Initiative risk profile/innovation (something very new and different takes more time to design and launch)
- Geographic distance between partners
- Level of partner experience
- Staff needed and whether there are strong candidates at the partner
- Partner bureaucracy and existing processes
• It is not uncommon for timelines to run behind schedule; delays can result from finding and negotiating with partner, hiring
staff, and ramping up implementation
3
CAPABILITIES
Timeline to program launch
*Note that this legal expertise may be more limited than a more hands on-model, which may require even more extensive legal expertise
to handle issues such as sub-granting to other countries

40
In 2010, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
partnered with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
(EGPAF) to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in
Zimbabwe. EGPAF served as the core implementation partner and
worked closely with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care
to connect with health providers on the district level.
Over the five-year grant period, EGPAF and the Ministry worked to
reduce child mortality and HIV infection by improving access to and
utilization of quality prevention of mother-to-child transmission
(PMTCT) services. EGPAF also used the CIFF grant to improve
performance measurement tools, HIV testing, and tracking of HIV-
positive pregnant women.
Funding for the original project ended in 2015, though CIFF then
gave a new, smaller grant to EGPAF in order to ensure the
sustainability of the initial program’s success.
OVERVIEW
Zimbabwe has drastically improved access to and utilization of PMTCT services during the life of the CIFF grant.
Between 2010 and 2015, the mother-to-child transmission rate fell from about 28% to 6.7%, preventing infection in
approximately 38,000 infants and saving over 13,000 children’s lives. PMTCT services are now available at over 1,500
clinics across all districts in Zimbabwe, and the percentage of pregnant women accessing these services has
increased to 95%.
IMPACT
Source: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation “Our Work” webpage for image
Case study: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
– Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

41
Case study: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
– Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Tapping into momentum from major events in the field can help spark effective partnerships
- Global impetus for action—such as new guidelines from a global body of authority—can increase the field’s urgency
around an issue and interest in collaboration. In this case, new WHO guidelines for PMTCT inspired CIFF and EGPAF to
partner for relatively rapid action.
• Key strengths a partner can bring include programmatic expertise, operational capabilities, and in-
country presence
- EGPAF’s technical assistance and other capacity building capabilities, along with existing relationships with key local
stakeholders and the national government in relevant geographies, were critical.
• Selecting a partner before finalizing the strategy can provide the flexibility to find the right organization
- CIFF considered potential partners before finalizing a geography for the initiative, rather than first selecting a
geography and then identifying the most promising partner, because it viewed the partner decision as so important.
• Defining the role of the partner up front and any “non-negotiables” can be helpful
- CIFF specified that it was looking for a partner aligned to the overall strategy and approach (“non-negotiables”) that
could also challenge the Foundation on operational decisions; having that discussion up front allowed for productive
collaboration characterized by healthy debate.
• Determining outcome indicators early on and reviewing them regularly can help partners stay aligned
- CIFF placed a strong emphasis on measuring results and early alignment on indicators helped invest and generate the
right data to inform decisions. The partners also supported an electronic patient database in surveillance sites to track
mothers and babies and inform data-driven decisions.
• Strong links to on-the-ground work can boost a funder’s ability to shape strategy and provide support
- To prevent a potential disconnect, CIFF invested in frequent travel to Zimbabwe and interfaced directly with EGPAF and
the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care, even though the Foundation was not formally part of the governance
committee for the initiative.
• A strong local champion can provide legitimacy, guidance, and leadership to the work
- The presence of a strong MOHCC national PMTCT Coordinator greatly strengthened the initiative. She helped generate
buy-in from a range of local actors and provided effective leadership rooted in her health expertise and local
knowledge.

42
The Hewlett Foundation and other funders launched the Think Tank Initiative
(TTI) in 2008 to provide support to think tanks in developing countries,
strengthening their capacity to produce high-quality research and ensure their
findings reach policy makers, in order to drive better policies and more
prosperous and equitable societies. The initiative is managed and
implemented by a core implementation partner: Canada’s International
Development Research Centre (IDRC). IDRC also provides funding to the
initiative.
These funders provide financial support for IDRC to implement TTI and build
the capacity of think tanks. Currently, TTI provides 43 think tanks across 20
countries with flexible, long-term funding and other support (e.g., access to
experts, networks, program officer support). This support helps institutions
attract and retain local talent, develop research, and invest in public outreach.
The Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development,
Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation*, and
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation have joined Hewlett and
IDRC in supporting TTI.
Originally designed as a ten-year initiative, TTI is set to end in 2019.
OVERVIEW
TTI has identified positive change at various think tanks it works with; examples include: Policy change in specific countries (e.g., the
Economic Policy Research Centre in Uganda helped shape the Ministry of Agriculture's national fertilizer strategy), increase in demand
for think tanks’ work (e.g., the Instituto Desarrollo in Paraguay won a bid to develop a national development strategy—the first of its
kind in Paraguay), increase in staff numbers at think tanks (staff grew an average of 13% across all TTI institutions from 2009-2013), and
economic benefits in specific regions (e.g., an external consulting group found the Indian Institute for Dalit Studies’ investment in
shaping anti-discrimination regulations in 2012 could collectively result in over $2B more in lifetime income for Dalit graduates).
IMPACT
*The Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation provided funding for phase 1 only.
Source: TTI Annual Report 2011-2012 for image
Case study: Hewlett Foundation and others – IDRC –
Think Tank Initiative

43
Case study: Hewlett Foundation and others – IDRC –
Think Tank Initiative
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• An implementation partner model can help a funder manage its own staff capacity and footprint
- Hewlett selected the core implementation partner model to have access to operational capabilities, global relationships, and thought
partnership required to execute an international initiative without significantly expanding its own staff capacity or footprint.
• In selecting an implementation partner, operational capabilities are critical
- In addition to ensuring aligned values and vision as well as program-related capabilities and relationships, Hewlett prioritized essential
organizational capabilities (e.g., HR, contracting, re-granting) to ensure its core implementation partner would be able to execute the
initiative effectively. These organizational capabilities were crucial to successfully implementing a complex initiative that involved sub-
granting in multiple countries.
• Clearly defining roles and accountability contributes to a well functioning partnership between funder and grantees
- The initiative benefited from making clear distinctions between strategic and operational issues to align on where each organization
should take ownership. At the same time, IDRC and the funders found it helpful to continually promote a spirit of partnership and
collaboration (e.g., making consensus-based decisions for some hiring, even though that was formally IDRC’s responsibility). IDRC’s role
as a funder in addition to implementing also contributed positively to the dynamics and spirit of mutual collaboration.
• A shared results framework can help both monitor progress, and manage varying expectations
- To help manage distinct expectations for what success looks like and manage reporting burden, partners developed a shared results
framework to get alignment on the core objectives of the program finance mechanisms.
• When multiple funders are involved, clearly defining non-negotiables can be helpful
- The funders defined “rules of the road” regarding non-negotiable conditions and procedures (e.g., no sector-specific funding) to ensure
the interests of individual funders do not change aspects of the initiative over time.
• Establishing an explicit governance structure can be valuable; it should be streamlined and evolve over time
- The funders found it helpful to have an explicit governance body for the initiative; through an iterative process, they learned that a
more streamlined governance structure (e.g., fewer governance bodies, fewer representatives per committee) allowed for more
effective, action-oriented collaboration. They also found their needs evolved over time; the International Advisory Group of experts
contributed early on for expertise, guidance and connections, but its role was not continued in the second phase of the initiative.

44
Key sources: core implementation partner -
intermediary
and TBG experience.
Secondary research
• “Accelerating the Elimination of Pediatric HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe: End-of-Project Report,” EGPAF, November 2015.
• “Annual Report, 2014-2015,” IDRC.
• “Annual Report, 2015,” CIFF.
• “Compilation of Project Summaries,” EGPAF, April 2013.
• “Final Report of the External Evaluation of the Think Tank Initiative (Mid-Project),” European Centre for Development Policy Management and Overseas
Development Institute, September 2013.
• “Making Sense of Nonprofit Collaborations,” The Bridgespan Group, December 2014.
• “Partnering with Intermediaries,” Tom David and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, June 2007.
• “Results Framework,” IDRC, Accessed September 2016.
• “Smarter Relationships, Better Results: Making the most of grantmakers’ work with intermediaries,” Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2013.
• “The Think Tank Initiative in Review,” IDRC, 2010.
• “The Think Tank Initiative: Strengthening Policy Research for Development (Executive Summary 2007),” IDRC and Hewlett Foundation, November 2007.
• “Why Do Funders Work with Intermediaries?” Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2013.
Interviews
• Interview with Anna Hakobyan, Director, Evidence, Measurement & Evaluation at CIFF, November 30, 2016.
• Interview with Linda Frey, consultant (previously Hewlett Foundation), September 14, 2016.
• Interview with Peter McDermott, former Executive Director of Health at CIFF, September 20, 2016.
• Interview with Peter Taylor, International Development Research Center, September 9, 2016.
• Interview with Sarah Lucas, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, September 6, 2016.

46
Advocacy
Definition: Investing in activities to guide and enable governments to change their practices in order to achieve
a social impact goal; “advocacy” is defined as guiding changes in practice broadly, rather than a single policy.
 Public sector is the biggest lever for change
 There are factors that make change more likely, such as
a catalytic event, an influential champion, strong
evidence base, or intersection with
government/multilateral priorities
 Funder has appetite for a longer, risky investment
 Funder has a platform for advocacy, such as an
influential foundation leader or convening power in the
field
 Funder has experience in connecting with the needed
level within the public sector (e.g., staff with relevant
skillsets, prior initiatives that involve government
advocacy)
• Can achieve significant scale and change whole
systems
• Can address sustainability concerns
BENEFITS+
• Timelines can be long and hard to control
• The risk of failure can be high due to factors beyond
funder control
• There are potential reputation risks
• Policy change is just the first step to impact
TRADEOFFS-
• Finding the right point of entry
• Creating an enabling environment
• Acquiring needed capabilities
• Managing uncertain timeline and results
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
EXAMPLES
Note: This model may be a good fit when the above factors exist, although a situation does not need to include all factors. For more information on 100 Resilient Cities, please see the Appendix.

47
Synthesis of findings on advocacy
• Benefits
• Tradeoffs
• Staff time
• Capabilities
• Timeline
Case studies
1
2
3

48
Model definition
Funder invests in activities to guide and enable governments to change their
practices in order to achieve a social impact goal. “Advocacy” is defined as
guiding changes in practice broadly, rather than a single policy.
1
ADVOCACY
• Advocacy initiatives include a variety of strategies that
range from partnering to pressuring the public sector
• Activities funded include:
- Policy advocacy
- Training and technical assistance
- Capacity building (e.g., funding new positions)
- Measurement and monitoring
- Public awareness campaign
- Securing commitments
• Guiding the public sector can involve a number of
other implementation models, including:
- Portfolio of grantees
- Core implementation partner
- New entity
• Networks are a particularly common choice given
advocacy often involves many different entities in
multiple settings
• The capabilities and resources that a funder
requires are dependent on these model choices
- E.g., a funder is likely to require fewer in-house skills
when working with implementation partners
OTHER IMPLEMENTATION MODELS STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

49
 Funder has appetite for a longer, risky investment
 Funder has a platform for advocacy, specifically:
- Influential foundation leader
- Convening power in the field
 Funder has experience in connecting with the needed level within the public sector
- E.g., staff with relevant skillsets, prior initiatives that involve government advocacy
Field/Problem
Conditions
Funder
Characteristics1
 Public sector is the biggest lever for change
 There are factors that make change more likely, specifically:
- A catalytic event
- Presence of external influential champion at the local level, global level, or both
- Strong evidence base or other case for change
- Intersection with other government/multilateral goals and priorities (e.g., SDGs)

50
• Timelines can be long and hard to control
- Often change is possible within political windows and
election cycles, which can be very short (e.g., less than four
years for a mayor, accounting for transitions and “lame
duck” periods)
- Conversely, achieving policy change can require long
investment timelines and patience for the climate to change
or for a window of opportunity to open
• The risk of failure can be high due to factors beyond
funder control
- Control over the public sector is dispersed and changing;
creating an enabling environment for legislation or
governance can be very difficult and hard to predict
• There are potential reputation risks
- Since all public issues face some opposition, the funder may
alienate the politicians, public, industries, and other
constituencies opposed to the sought after changes
• Policy change is just the start
- Funders often need to provide support for implementation
to achieve desired results
• Can achieve significant scale and change whole
systems
- The public sector operates at the level of the
population or society; successfully guiding the public
sector can result in impact at scale
• Can address sustainability concerns
- Successfully guiding the public sector can result in
dedicated funding streams, new policies and
regulations, and workforces to sustain impact after a
funder exits
1
BENEFITS TRADEOFFS

51
2
Finding the
right point of
entry
• Develop a multifaceted approach that uses multiple of the following tactics: public-awareness
campaigns, training/technical assistance, data analysis and monitoring, capacity building (e.g.,
funding new government positions), commitments from political leaders, advocacy for policy change
• Develop a strong case for change, which could include evidence of social outcomes, cost savings, or
benefits to constituents
Creating an
enabling
environment
• Understand the social issue and which corresponding government levels (e.g., national vs. local),
departments (e.g., health vs. transportation), and branches (i.e., legislative, judicial, or executive)
are involved in each country of interest; focus on the bodies that have control over key factors and
may be easier to affect; recognize there will be interdependence between levels.
• Include some form of political will as an essential point of entry
- E.g., In one initiative, the funder meets with key politicians when selecting geographies to work in; buy-in from
these leaders is a selection criteria for geographies
• Look to stakeholders and systems outside of government that can bring support, such as the
private sector (e.g., companies operating in relevant countries), multilaterals (e.g., the World Bank,
USAID, DFID, etc.), and civil society/advocates (NGOs that represent the issue and/or people in
question)

52
2
Acquiring
needed
capabilities
• Determine needed capabilities for advocacy, assess in-house strengths, and find partners to fill
gaps
- Guiding the public sector may require capabilities outside of a funder’s wheelhouse, such as advocacy, deep
technical expertise in an issue area, relationships with local government leaders, etc.
• Consider not just skills, but also the legitimacy and platform of organizations and individuals when
bringing on staff and forming partnerships and relationships
• If capabilities aren’t easily gained, consider efforts to build capabilities in the field
- E.g., One funder invested to develop individuals with effective advocacy skills given the gaps it noted in these
capabilities field-wide

53
Uncertain
timelines and
results
2
CHALLENGES
• Define the needed political window and operate only when it exists
- Only work with governments in which the leader is committed and has a long enough term
- E.g., One funder chooses to only work in geographies where the committed political leader has enough time
left in the term to make meaningful change
• Alternatively, pursue multiple strategies at once in order to be in the right place at the right time
- Work in multiple countries at multiple levels of government, and even with other sectors
- While the time won’t be right for every effort, when windows of opportunity open across the portfolio, the
funder/organizations are poised to take advantage of them
• Tackle policy change, implementation, and public awareness
- Design a strategy that mobilizes needed political leaders across levels of government, public sector workers
within bureaucracies, and the public at large
- E.g., Some strategies may involve engagement at both a local and national level to make required changes
• Get other institutions involved such as multilaterals, nations with aid programs, and companies
with operations in relevant countries
• Maintain flexibility in strategy
- Because policy environments can change quickly, recognize that strategy may have shift accordingly (e.g., a
funder may shift to focus on a different branch of government based on shifting environment)
• Look for changemakers
- Identify individuals in government that are likely to be entrepreneurial and proactively push to accomplish
goals
WAYS TO ADDRESS

54
• Gain a public, visible commitment from political leadership
- These commitments are hard to back away from and provide some assurance that government will take needed steps
• Pair global with local advocacy
- Using both global and local advocacy can fortify the impact of either effort; global outreach can motivate national and local public sector
leaders to make commitments and take stances, while local activity can help ensure those commitments are meaningful
• To contribute to global advocacy, use prominent foundation leadership, convene the global stakeholders, or lead an issue area
- Having existing prominence through a foundation leader or having the authority to convene the right set of stakeholders are ways to
contribute to global advocacy for the public sector
- Identifying and owning an issue can also contribute to guiding the public sector, but will not be sufficient in and of itself
• For local advocacy, either use or acquire knowledge of local context and local relationships
- A funder can use a network of offices and staff with local knowledge and relationships
- Alternatively, a funder can successfully connect with local government through core implementation partners
- E.g., One funder funded staff members within local governments to provide deeply embedded, tailored support
• Be clear about the role of advocacy in strategy and how to address legal and operational considerations
- Is advocacy necessary to achieve policy change, helpful to increase support for a new measure, or important to shape implementation?
- Determine which organizations are best positioned to serve as advocates, and whether you will fund them and/or build their capacity
• Use comparative measurement as one lever for change
- Indexes of issues by country, global status reports, international standards, and other ways to make apples-to-apples comparisons between
countries regarding social issues can motivate nations to change and show funders and others where to focus
- Where these systems aren’t in place, one key strategy for a funder may be to help build them
- Funders have significant choices regarding how to do this, including funding a multilateral agency or other organization as a core
implementation partner, creating a new entity, or even doing it themselves
• Develop the “business case” to guide the public sector
- E.g., Some funders commission research to establish cost savings and benefits for certain interventions or changes
2
In addition to addressing entry point, enabling environment, needed capabilities,
and uncertain timeline/results, factors for success include:

55
Staff time
Staff time estimates based on example $100M-$1.5B initiatives by profiled funder (note that staff time can vary
significantly):
• Up-front activities: 2-4 FTEs
- Significant investment of very senior leadership time, often the head or founder of the foundation
- Engagement between foundation leadership, subject matter owners within the foundation, and key external stakeholders/players to
develop the goals and strategy
• Ongoing initiative oversight: 2-~30 FTEs
- Varies significantly based on implementation model
- Majority of time is program officer level to oversee and collaborate with grantees; a big driver of the number of program officers is the
decision regarding whether to have one program officer focused on each country or not
- Senior time helps adjust the strategy, and to build, activate, and maintain relationships with government and other leaders
Capacity Estimates
• Implementation model: The need for front-line foundation staff can vary significantly depending on the implementation
model for the advocacy strategy, for example:
- If the funder chooses core implementation partner – direct service, the funder needs fewer junior staff, even for a large-scale global operation
- Creating a new entity – intermediary requires more support staff, such as legal, financial, and operational support
• Number of institutional stakeholders involved: When public sector guidance strategies involve multilaterals, other funders,
and other governments, senior time will need to be spent to develop relationships
• Level of credibility for the specific agenda: If the agenda has an evidence base and is well accepted and known, then funders
(in particular leadership, communications, and research teams), may be able to draw from resources outside the foundation
to help establish the case for change
- Funders may also use other grantmaking outside a specific initiative to build credibility and experience
• Level of commitment of public sector staff: If the officials and staff within government are committed to the initiative, funder
staff time will be used more efficiently
3
Examples:

56
• Credibility/platform: Way to get stakeholders to listen (e.g., influential leader, convening power, issue ownership)
• Ability to understand the public sector: Need to be able to understand how the public sector works for a given issue in
specific countries
• Understand global and local contexts: Need to be able to understand both the global and local context for a given issue
(e.g., who are the credible people and players, what is the history/shared experience with the problem, etc.)
• Form needed partnerships: Depending on the partnership strategy, need to know who the right people and
organizations are, and have a way to engage and mobilize them; relationship-building and partnership are often key
• Program area expertise: Knowledge of the specific issue in question
• Legal: Understand legal boundaries in working with government
• Timeline to program launch can vary widely, as some activities can start almost immediately while building partnerships, convening
stakeholders, and making financial investments can take 1-2 years
• Key drivers of timeline to program launch can include:
- Clarity of the agenda and strategy
- Implementation models chosen
- Funder capabilities, relationships, and capacity
- Factors in the external environment (e.g., timing of elections)
• Within 2-3 years, efforts to guide the public sector can show favorable results depending on the strategy and circumstances
• However, these results are intermediate, and the timeline to conclusion ranges from 5-20 years in order to achieve the full benefits of a
public sector advocacy strategy
3
CAPABILITIES
Timeline to launch, results, and conclusion

57
Case study: Bloomberg Philanthropies – Road Safety
Bloomberg Philanthropies (BbP) partners with leading road safety
NGOs and multilaterals to bring evidence-based practices to middle
and low-income countries and cities facing climbing road-related
deaths and injuries. BbP has worked with over 10 countries and 10
cities to reduce preventable deaths and injuries caused by unsafe
road travel. BbP brings its partners to work with each government.
These leading road safety organizations help governments increase
seat belt and helmet use, reduce speed, improve drinking and
driving legislation, create safe and sustainable urban transit (e.g.,
bus rapid transit), and improve urban design and infrastructure.
BbP funds its partners to perform the following activities:
strengthen surveillance to improve crash, injury, and fatality data,
monitor interventions through observational studies, strengthen
legislation through advocacy and technical assistance, train law
enforcement officials, and deliver mass media campaigns to change
public attitudes and behaviors. BbP also funds high-level staff
embedded in local governments that focus on road safety.
OVERVIEW
Since BbP began working on road safety in 2007, “nearly 2 billion people have been covered by strengthened road
safety laws, 65 million people have been exposed to hard-hitting media campaigns promoting road safety, close to
30,000 professionals have been trained on road safety tactics, and local governments have committed $225M towards
infrastructure improvements that will make roads safer.” In addition, eight out of the initial ten countries BbP worked
with from 2010-2014 passed new road safety legislation. For example, in 2013, Vietnam established penalties for
motorcyclists wearing helmets below safety standards. Efforts focused on implementation have also shown results: in
2014, in Ivanovo, Russia, 88% of car riders wore seatbelts, an increase of over 50% compared to 2011.
IMPACT
Source: Bloomberg Philanthropies Road Safety webpage for image

58
Case study: Bloomberg Philanthropies – Road Safety
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Substantial impact doesn’t require a substantial headcount
- By relying on a network of well-vetted global partners that can serve multiple countries and cities, delegating
decisions to program staff, and using senior staff as needed to bring their credibility to bear, BbP is able to run a
multi-million dollar, global initiative with less than three FTEs in New York City.
• Understanding how responsibility for different issues is dispersed across the public sector leads to
better strategies
- Road safety, like many public health or social issues, involves multiple departments, branches, and levels of
government. Understanding which public sector stakeholders own which parts of the puzzle can allow funders to
bring the right people to the table.
• Commitment from the highest level of political leadership reduces the risk that efforts to guide the
public sector will fall flat
- BbP only works with governments run by interested, committed leaders. BbP gains access to these leaders through
senior staff, including Mike Bloomberg, and their network of global NGO and multilateral partners. Since
responsibility for road safety is spread across multiple departments and levels of government, this isn’t a panacea
but a necessary precondition.
• A willingness to fund multiple activities helps each individual effort pay off
- BbP used multiple points of entry from training law enforcement officials to working with partners to develop stark
media campaigns in order to get results. Any single tactic would likely fall short; in fact, BbP learned that national
legislative change was not enough. However, BbP also maintained focus on the evidence-based interventions that
had a proven track record of saving lives. For example, BbP has chosen not to take other road safety related
interventions that don’t have the same evidence base. BbP’s varied but well-bounded focus has led to success.

59
Case study: OSF – Publish What You Pay
In 2002, a small group of London-based NGOs, along with George Soros,
started a coalition to tackle the “resource curse”: the paradox that developing
countries rich in natural resources often experience corruption, violence, and
poverty. These NGOs believed that greater transparency and accountability for
government would translate natural resource wealth into economic
opportunity for citizens and sustainable development. Rather than simply
lobby government for more transparency, these NGOs began discussing how
to encourage companies to publicly disclose their revenue payments to
countries, as a more efficacious way to help guide government action.
With this idea in mind and initial in-kind support from the Open Society
Foundations (OSF), this initiative grew from one person working out of OSF’s
offices into a global coalition of 800 organizations, called Publish What You Pay
(PWYP), that inspired the creation of a new international standard, the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), with nearly thirty compliant
countries today. Recently, some governments have codified the voluntary EITI
Standard into law, through Section 1504 of the 2010 Dodd Frank Act in the
United States and through the 2013 Amendment to the European Union
Accounting Directive.
OVERVIEW
Significant progress has been made since the early 2000s regarding revenue transparency, much directly linked to the efforts of the PWYP
coalition. For example, the coalition directly contributed to: elevating revenue transparency to the international agenda for organizations
such as the Catholic Church, the United Kingdom, and the G8; Tony Blair and the UK government’s founding of the EITI; and the World
Bank Group and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s measures to include transparency as part of their private sector
lending requirements.
While the coalition’s impact has been significant, other factors have also shaped the revenue transparency movement’s success. For
example, the relatively high price of oil in 2010 affected the passage of section 1504 of the Dodd Frank Act. If oil prices had been in 2010
what they are today in 2016, the appetite to impose new regulations on the extractive industries would likely have been greatly diminished
amidst layoffs and bankruptcies.
IMPACT
Source: Publish What You Pay “Our Eyes on the EITI Future, EITI Board Term 2016-2019” for image

60
Case study: OSF – Publish What You Pay
• A long-term, multifaceted approach pays off
- OSF points out that external factors, such as the price of oil, contributed to PWYP’s success. Given the role of timing and other factors
beyond a funder or the coalition’s direct control, OSF’s strategy of being multiple places at once for long periods of time paid off. This
multifaceted approach reduced OSF’s risk; if advocacy to achieve a specific policy change wasn’t paying off in the short term, other
efforts—such as supporting the EITI and calling for company disclosures—were.
• A prominent, influential foundation leader can mobilize resources from multilaterals and foreign governments
- George Soros’ experiences, relationships, and stature helped elevate natural resource governance and revenue transparency to the
global agenda and bring other champions on board. Once EITI became a global priority, governments and multilateral agencies around
the world contributed resources, changed their programs, and—in some circumstances—even changed their laws to support it.
• Guiding the private sector can help put pressure for change on the public sector
- OSF/PWYP figured out creative means to bring revenue transparency to resistant governments, bringing private sector and
governments outside developing countries to bear. OSF/PWYP started with the private sector as a means to guide the public sector. For
example, once rating agencies suggested that transparency could improve ratings, and companies such as Newmont Mining stated that
disclosure did not compromise competitive advantage, legislative changes became more palatable, and the objections of resistant
industry players less credible. In fact, many companies have supported the EITI because better governance in developing, resource-rich
countries lowers companies’ operating costs and business risks.
• Flexible, diverse support from a funder can help advance grantees’ progress
- OSF provided a range of support to grantees, including office space, unrestricted grants, and direct advocacy on behalf of revenue
transparency and better natural resource governance. The flexibility of the financial support enabled grantees to take risks in their
countries. In addition, OSF has the operational capabilities to provide PWYP with a much wider range of support than simply program
grants. OSF stays out of grantees’ day-to-day decisions, but will take a stance on strategic issues, often enabled by OSF-held board
positions and relationships.
• Launching new entities took longer and required more support than anticipated
- The PWYP International Secretariat was originally incubated within OSF, and took more than a decade before spinning off. OSF gave
spin off grants to the new entities to address legal, financial management, and other operational capacity needs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

61
Key sources: advocacy
and TBG experience.
Secondary research
• “Accelerating Progress: Strategy for 2016-2020,” Family Planning 2020, January 2016.
• “Behind Today’s Breakthrough Advocacy Campaigns,” Liacas, Tom and Jason Mogus, SSIR, 9 June 2016.
• “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Boost Family Planning in Developing Countries.” UNFPA Press Release. April 18, 2014.
• “Bloomberg Philanthropies Selects Ten Cities and Five Countries to Participate in New Phase of the Global Road Safety Initiative”, Bloomberg Philanthropies,
February 2015.
• “Commitment to Action,” Family Planning 2020, November 2015.
• “Communications for Social Good,” Bales, Susan Nall and Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr, April 2004.
• “Driving Change Through Pride of Place,” Jenks, Brett, SSIR, 28 Jan 2015.
• “Family Planning Strategy Overview.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• “Governance Manual, Family Planning 2020,” December 5, 2014.
• “Improving Maternal Health Around the World.” Rachel Vogelstein. White House Blog. October 6, 2010.
• “International Alliance Launched to Support Country-Led Progress in Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Press Release. September 2010.
• “Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, and Social Movements,” Ganz, Marshall, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, Harvard Business School,
2010.
• “Leading the Worldwide Movement to Improve Road Safety,” Bloomberg Philanthropies, 2012.
• “Making a Commitment to FP2020.” September 2016.
• “Melinda Gates Calls for Global Action to Save Women’s and Children’s Lives.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release. June 2010.
• “Partnership in Action: 2012-2013,” Family Planning 2020, November 2013.
• “Partnership in Action: 2013-2014,” Family Planning 2020, November 2014.
• “Publishing What We Learned: An Assessment of the Publish What You Pay Coalition,” van Organje, Mabel and Henry Farham, 2009.
• “Scrutinizing ONE’s Secret Sauce for Global Social Change,” Drummond, Jamie, SSIR, 16 May 2014.
• “The Cultural Touch,” Boss, Suzie, SSIR, Fall 2008.
• “The Elusive Craft of Evaluating Advocacy,” Teles, Steven and Mark Schmidt, SSIR, Summer 2011.
• “The London Summit on Family Planning: Summary and Accountability Annex.” July 11, 2012
Interviews
• Interview with Kelly Larson, Program Director, Global Road Safety, September 29, 2016.
• Interview with Sarah Pray, Open Society Policy Center, Fiscal Governance Program, September 28, 2016.
• Interview with Wynn Bubnash, Associate Program Officer for Family Planning at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. October 5, 2016.

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Private Sector Influence
Definition: Investing in activities to influence corporations to change their practices in order to achieve a social
impact goal.
 Issue area requires significant action by private sector
actors for meaningful change
 There is an existing compelling incentive for businesses
to change (e.g., policy, business case, consumer
pressure, untapped market potential)
 There is a window of opportunity for action (e.g.,
interest from companies, potential for savings, brand
benefit)
 The funder has or can easily build/partner for
knowledge of the private sector and the industry/issue
 The funder believes that the relationship with particular
companies and/or industries is in line with the
foundation’s brand and will not negatively impact other
initiatives
• Potential to shift some of the cost and responsibility
for implementation to the private sector
• Companies are susceptible to multiple influence levers
BENEFITS+
• Companies are diverse; influencing multiple firms
requires multiple approaches and entry points
• With partnership approaches, it is difficult to scale
• With pressure, there is a risk of alienating companies
• Working with the private sector requires different
experiences and mindsets than traditional
philanthropic approaches
TRADEOFFS-
• Identifying and using effective incentives
• Building the capabilities to work well with companies
• Scaling changes within and across companies
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
EXAMPLES
Note: This model may be a good fit when the above factors exist, although a situation does not need to include all factors. For more information on Smart Power India, please see the Appendix.

64
Synthesis of findings on private sector influence
• Benefits
• Tradeoffs
• Staff time
• Capabilities
• Timeline
Case studies
1
2
3

65
Model definition
Funder invests in activities to influence corporations to change their practices
in order to achieve a social impact goal.
1
INFLUENCE – PRIVATE SECTOR
• Private sector influence initiatives have a variety
of strategies that range from partnering to
pressuring the private sector
• Activities funded include:
- Securing commitments
- Advising and technical assistance
- Capacity building for intermediaries
- Measurement and monitoring
- Consumer awareness campaign
- Advocating for new regulation
• Initiatives focused on influencing the private
sector can also involve a number of other
implementation models, including:
- Portfolio of grantees
- Core implementation partner
- Networks
- New entity
OTHER IMPLEMENTATION MODELS STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Note: Initial research suggested that some of the strongest examples of private sector influence were led by nonprofits,
rather than funders. As a result, two of our model examples focus on nonprofit efforts to influence the private sector
(rather than funder-driven efforts)

66
 The funder has or can easily build/partner for knowledge of the private sector and the
industry/issue
 The funder believes that the relationship with particular companies and/or industries is in line with
the foundation’s brand and will not negatively impact other initiatives
Field/Problem
Conditions
Funder
Characteristics1
 Issue area requires significant action by private sector actors for meaningful and sustainable change
 There is an existing compelling incentive for businesses to change:
- A policy/regulation requiring company compliance
- A business case that offers greater returns
- Consumer or investor pressure that threatens business
 There is a window of opportunity for action:
- Interest from companies, including leadership
- Companies would take action if a funder could lower the risks through offering risk capital or
other measures
- Ability for companies to capture benefits for an initiative in terms of savings, revenue, brand
image, lower risk, improved operations, etc.
- New enabling technical innovation or regulatory environment

67
• Companies are diverse; influencing multiple
organizations requires multiple approaches and entry
points
- A funder/organization needs the resources and capabilities
to tailor approaches for each company and relationship
- Important for companies to be able to see themselves in
examples and potential solutions
• In partnership-based approaches, it is difficult to get to
scale beyond partners
- When desired changes are challenging and require
implementation support, achieving scale beyond partners
proves very resource-intensive and difficult
• In pressure-based approaches, there is a risk of
alienating companies
- Publicly calling for companies to change can alienate them
and reduce the likelihood of their broad support for
foundation initiatives
• Working with the private sector requires different
experiences, mindsets, and capabilities than traditional
philanthropic approaches
- Foundation staff may have to adapt approaches more
regularly, operate on shorter timelines, understand how
companies work, use private sector terminology, or
bring specific capabilities (e.g., legal, regulatory)
• Potential to shift some of the cost and
responsibility for implementation to the private
sector
- Given that the desired change is a part of the
company policy and operations, the funder can shift
the cost of the initiative and responsibility for its
management to the company over time
- A company taking on management and funding of a
change can increase sustainability
• Companies are susceptible to influence through a
variety of levers
- Pressure from consumers and investors, a compelling
business case, a new regulation, or an internal
champion all represent levers that organizations can
use to influence the private sector
1
BENEFITS TRADEOFFS

68
Identifying
and using
effective
incentives
2
CHALLENGES
• Consider the full array of possible incentives, and determine which levers are most achievable:
- A business case (e.g., increases revenue, decreases costs, lowers risk, improves brand, improves operations)
- A regulation
- Consumer/investor pressure
- Moral case (note: can contribute to case for change when driven by internal champion, but unlikely to be compelling alone)
• Where incentives exist and are achievable, use a mix of social and business incentives
• Take steps to make incentives more obvious and compelling to companies
- Codify and communicate the business case, mount a consumer pressure campaign
- Make the case as relevant as possible to each company (e.g., their field, their geographies)
• Recognize the need to tailor approaches to specific companies, and even specific departments and
individuals within companies
- Corporations can be idiosyncratic, face competing agendas from within, and have geographically dispersed departments
that require funders/organizations to quickly adapt approaches and tailor messages
• Work in “inside-out” ways that promote company ownership of the initiative from the beginning
- Identify both a leader and an operator within the company; aim to work with operators in the relevant business unit
• In influencing companies, use other companies as a leverage point
- Corporations trust other corporations’ experiences and seek to imitate or outperform their competition
- Indexes, cohorts, case studies, and face-to-face meetings are ways to bring different companies’ experiences to bear in
order to influence the private sector
• Use external stakeholders to influence the private sector
- Funders may have to invest in cultivating consumers to either pressure companies or buy into a new initiative
- Investors can also put pressure on companies to change
- Working with intermediaries can help companies implement changes
WAYS TO ADDRESS

69
2
• Look for companies with internal champions, vulnerable to consumer or investor pressure, or with a
significant upside to participating in the initiative
• Once you’ve established an entry point (which vary widely by initiative and company), develop a strategy for
going up (to the CEO or other leadership), to the side (to other geographies/departments), and to the back
office (HR, compliance, etc.)
• Provide longer-term implementation support by either monitoring the company or assisting them with
implementation
Scaling
changes
within and
across
companies
Building the
capabilities to
effectively
work with
companies
Capabilities mentioned below could apply to both a nonprofit and a funder
• Hire or contract with leaders widely respected and known by private sector entities in a particular field
• Train or recruit staff that have significant relationship management, negotiations, or business backgrounds
• Establish a dedicated private sector department, capability, or new entity
• Dedicate staff to each partner company for relationship and partner management
- E.g., One initiative assigns a relationship manager to each company; another established a small office near a major
corporate partner’s headquarters
• Empower the staff working with companies
- Delegate decisions to the representatives working directly with companies, so that they can tailor messages and adapt
approaches
• Establish a rapid learning and communications capability to ensure that information gathered from
companies flows to the staff setting the overall strategy
• Co-create solutions with clients in a responsive manner
- E.g., One initiative builds teams with both nonprofit and company staff that work together for one to two years

70
• Consider using a range of ways to influence companies, including:
- Creating a platform for companies to make public commitments
- Creating an index or other measurement to compare company performance regarding an issue
- Establishing a certification or accreditation to encourage and reward certain behavior
- Building the capacity of intermediaries (nonprofit and for-profit) to work with companies to achieve goals
- Creating cohorts of companies to learn from shared experiences, or compete, to achieve a social impact goal
- Launching a campaign directed at consumers to pressure companies to make desired changes
- Partnering with companies to assist with implementation of a new initiative in support of a social goal
• Pick a feasible but significant number of companies
- Relying solely on one or two companies carries risk, while trying to influence too many companies requires significant
resources
• Build intermediaries to work with companies to implement needed changes
- Rather than making grants to companies or providing direct technical assistance to companies themselves, build a field of
nonprofits or other intermediaries to work with the private sector to achieve change. These could be either private sector or
nonprofit intermediaries
• Require companies to “have skin in the game” and establish a plan for transitioning the responsibility to the
company over time
- “Skin in the game” can involve financial or staff time commitments that increase as the initiative progresses
• Be clear about expectations regarding what a funder will and won’t do
- Upfront, be clear about roles and the specific activities each partner will undertake; a legal team can help put contracts in
place, e.g., One initiative uses a written document at the beginning of each partnership to clarify roles
• Establish goals that reflect both business and social impact – and track both
- Ensure measurement systems incorporate both the metrics important to the business and the funder
• When influencing companies to enter a new space, consider investing in market-building activities
- These activities (e.g., investing in technical innovation or engaging with policy) can create an enabling environment for success
2
In addition to using effective incentives, building capabilities,
and scaling change, factors for success include:

71
Staff time
Capacity estimates are based on both nonprofit and funder examples; funders would require fewer staff if
functions are executed by grantees
Staff time estimates based on example $5M-$11M initiatives by profiled funder or nonprofit organization:
• Up-front influence building: 2-4 FTEs
- Significant senior leadership time, often subject matter experts within the organization
• Ongoing initiative oversight and/or execution: 2 -~30 FTEs
- Varies significantly by implementation model
- Engaging with specific companies can be the full-time job of one or more senior to mid-level staff
- Doing the non-relationship management aspects of the work, such as launching a media campaign, developing an
index, etc. can require large teams of specialized people
Capacity Estimates
• Implementation model: The need for front-line staff can vary significantly depending on the implementation
model for the influence strategy. For example:
- If the funder selects core implementation partner – direct service, the funder will need to contribute very few junior staff
- If the funder wishes to do much of the influence work itself, it will need staff to engage with companies and support the
approach to influence, whether a media campaign, an index, a platform for commitments, etc.
• Number of companies involved: The more companies involved, the more staff are needed to engage with
company staff, respond to their questions, tailor approaches to their context, etc.
• Role of the funder in terms of policy vs. implementation: Initiatives that stop at company policy changes, or
play more of a monitoring as opposed to an implementation support role, need to devote fewer staff to the
effort
3
Examples:

72
Capabilities required are based on both nonprofit and funder examples; funders may not require all these capabilities if
functions are executed by grantees, or if funders can hire others to perform them
• Credibility/platform: Way to get stakeholders to listen (e.g., respected industry/issue expertise, examples from other
companies, and relationships with consumers)
• Ability to understand the private sector: Need to be able to understand what incentivizes companies, how they are
organized, and what terminology they use
• Adapt to how companies work and to specific company contexts: Need to be able to learn from conversations with
companies, rapidly tailor approaches, and work at the same pace as private sector partners
• Adapt operations: Ability to adapt due diligence processes, MOUs, non-disclosure agreements, and other legal and
operational functions to the private sector context
• Manage relationships: Ability to communicate with companies, understand their incentives and contexts, respond to
their questions, and adapt company engagement accordingly
• Issue area expertise: Knowledge of the specific issue in question
• Timeline to launch takes approximately 1-3 years and varies based on the approach; varies based on:
- Amount of research required
- Dependence on getting key conversations
- Media/communications strategy
- Funder capabilities, relationships, and capacity
- Factors in the external environment (e.g., regulation, prices)
• Within 1-2 years, efforts to influence the private sector can show favorable results depending on the strategy and circumstances (e.g., a
company responds to consumer pressure and changes its strategy)
• The timeline to conclusion can go from 5-10 years, depending on the role that the organization wishes to play in implementation (e.g., no
role, partnership and co-management, monitoring and compliance)
3
CAPABILITIES
Timeline to launch, results, and conclusion

73
Case study: Environmental Defense Fund – Private
Equity
Environmental Defense Fund ‘s (EDF) engagement with three private equity (PE) firms — The Carlyle
Group, Oak Hill Capital Partners, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)—led to over 40 companies in
their portfolios reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.3M metric tons and realizing over $1.2B in
combined cost-savings and new revenue. EDF’s worked with PE firms and their portfolio companies to
find opportunities to improve efficiency and cuts costs through energy, waste and water management.
EDF’s work in PE is part of its EDF+Business program, which works high impact companies to transform
business as usual in their products, operations and supply chains.
EDF’s work with PE firms began when TPG approached EDF to help shape the environmental impact of its
buy-out of energy company TXU with Goldman Sachs and KKR. As a result, TXU dropped its applications
for eight proposed coal plants in Texas, and made many other commitments to reduce air pollution and
global warming emissions, including support of a mandatory federal cap on carbon emissions. This
experience showed that PE firms could be powerful intermediaries, and soon EDF partnered with KKR to
pilot a new program designed to improve KKR’s portfolio companies’ operations and cost structures using
an environmental impact reduction lens. EDF partnered with Carlyle soon after to prompt the firm to
build in environmental impact reduction criteria into its due diligence process. EDF and its partners
eventually expanded on this work to produce toolkits and frameworks for other PE firms interested in
following suit. These are available for free download on EDF’s website, though it is unclear if and how PE
firms are utilizing them.
Recently, KKR relaunched its in-house program to focus on not only eco-efficiency, but also eco-
innovation, and eco-solutions for its portfolio companies and beyond. Also, the use of an environmental
lens for value creation has expanded among PE firms. This knock-on effect from its initial engagement is
exactly what EDF strives for in working with a sector.
OVERVIEW
The Green Portfolio Partnership between KKR and EDF realized significant environmental benefits during its duration of 2008
to 2014. In total, KKR’s 27 participating portfolio companies realized $1.2B in combined cost-savings and new revenue; 2.3M
metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions reductions; 27M cubic meters of reduced water use; and 6.3M tons of reduced waste.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is valued at $85.1M based on monetization values from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
IMPACT
Source: EDF 2015 Climate Report for image

74
Case study: Environmental Defense Fund – Private
Equity
• Influencing private sector behavior requires significant staff capacity with business experience and expertise
- EDF’s Corporate Partnerships team comprises 40 individuals, many of whom have business degrees and consulting experience. They have broad
project and relationship management experience that enables them to quickly adapt to new contexts and challenges. EDF had to build and sustain
this team in order to work effectively with private sector partners and gain credibility within the public sector. It was also critical for EDF to bring
technical expertise, but that expertise could be contracted or held by others at the organization, rather than by the direct relationship leads.
• Existing economic incentives are critical to success
- EDF leverages incentives (e.g., cost-savings) to motivate private companies to reduce environmental impact rather than trying to convince the
private sector of the value of environmental consciousness for its own sake. A strong business case is critical to convincing private companies to
change behavior – a challenging and resource-intensive process.
• Direct collaboration with private sector partners can drive company ownership, thereby improving results and senior buy-in
- EDF pursues a partnership model with private companies. It requires partners to dedicate staff toward initiatives and collaborates with them to
develop a work plan. EDF works directly with its partners’ teams to develop and implement recommendations, and ensures buy-in from leadership
by requiring sign-off on the work plan and also by bringing senior leadership into working teams. EDF works with companies for years at a time to
see the initiative through from idea to implementation and result. This model also helps leverage EDF’s investment because partners are required
to contribute additional staff in order to work with EDF.
• Financing private sector projects may be challenging; flexible funding is particularly valuable
- In order to keep environmental activism as its top priority, EDF does not accept funding from its private sector partners. Further, because business
tends to move quickly, EDF likes to be able to respond flexibly and rapidly to new developments and opportunities in the private sector. EDF has
tried to respond to both of these factors by cultivating relationships with donors that fund the program generally, rather than earmarking funds for
specific projects. Social sector actors interested in partnering with private companies should carefully consider how they will finance this effort.
• Working with intermediaries can provide credibility and increase the reach and scale of initiatives
- PE firms have a built-in element of scale because they manage a large number of different companies across industries. As two of the largest PE
firms in the world, KKR and Carlyle hold significant credibility in the private sector beyond their respective portfolio companies. Therefore, EDF’s
work with these firms influenced other PE firms and their portfolio companies, or at least exposed them to the idea of an environmental impact
reduction approach to value creation.
• It is important to consider reputational risks in corporate partnerships
- EDF seeks to protect its reputation as an environmental advocacy organization by not accepting funds from private sector partners. Still, EDF
balances a fine line between the private and social sectors: sometimes corporate partners think EDF is pushing too hard while environmental
organizations think it is not going far enough.
• Building capacity at intermediary organizations can enable longer-term sustainability
- EDF sought to build both buy-in and skills at PE companies so they could continue the work beyond EDF’s initial engagement. EDF also targeted
private sector players such as consulting firms to taking on the work, once EDF proved the potential results and value proposition.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

75
Case study: Oxfam – Behind the Brands
In 2013, Oxfam launched the global Behind the Brands campaign as a part of
the broader GROW campaign, an effort to end hunger and ensure
sustainability and equity across the food supply chain. Through the Behind the
Brands campaign, Oxfam targeted the 10 largest food and beverage
companies—known as the “big 10”—in the following ways:
• Public scorecard: Oxfam developed an annual scorecard to evaluate the big 10’s
policies across seven dimensions: transparency, women, workers, farmers, land,
water, and climate. Using publicly available information, Oxfam ranked the
companies’ policies and practices, publishing the scores on the initiative’s website.
• Consumer pressure: Oxfam simultaneously mobilized consumers to call on the big 10
to reform their policies and practices, primarily through social and traditional media
campaigns. For example, over 700,000 consumers signed an online petition on the
Behind the Brands website.
• Company engagement: Oxfam engaged with companies’ corporate social
responsibility or public/government affairs departments—as well as senior leadership
when possible—on specific company issues. For example, Oxfam met with the Coca-
Cola Company to illustrate the instances of land grabs in Coke’s sugar supply chain,
and to highlight the resulting business risks.
OVERVIEW
In February 2013, the big 10 companies scored an average 22.9 out of a possible 70 points on the annual scorecard. By April 2016, the
average score was 35.2, indicating a significant improvement in business policies. Nine of the big 10 improved their scores by 10 percent or
more. The biggest improvements came in the themes of land, climate change, and women, the issues on which Oxfam campaigned.
Throughout the initiative, several of the big 10 announced changes in policies and made specific commitments to address Behind the
Brands’ seven issues.
IMPACT
Source: Behind the Brands webpage for image
Oxfam expects the initiative to have two phases, the first focused on the campaign and the second on implementation. In April 2016, Oxfam released
its final scorecard. With policy changes and commitments from companies in hand, Oxfam began to shift efforts from awareness raising to the second
phase, focused on monitoring and assisting companies implementing promised changes.

76
Case study: Oxfam – Behind the Brands
• Spurring competition between companies can help drive changes in corporate policy and commitments
- While companies feared receiving low scores, especially in comparison to their competitors, the index also allowed companies to
demonstrate leadership in certain areas. For example, Coke and Pepsi received positive press for each announcing a zero land grab
policy in 2014. In this way, the index created a “race to the top.”
• Campaigns can get results, but they require more than just marketing
- For a relatively low investment and short timeline, Behind the Brands gained significant commitments from the world’s largest food and
beverage companies. However, gaining these commitments required more than just marketing: Oxfam built relationships with
companies, researched and developed business cases for change, mobilized allies such as investors, and developed and managed a
scorecard, amongst other efforts.
• In a call for industry-wide reform, organizations should not be afraid of drawing negative attention to specific
companies, nor should they ostracize them
- Oxfam has balanced building trusting relationships with companies alongside awareness-raising campaigns that highlight companies’
negative policies and practices. Both sides of this coin are important—Oxfam engages with companies to gain insight into whether
meaningful change is happening, but they also have the recourse of calling public attention to practices that need improvement. Oxfam
divides these responsibilities across its team members, and staff work together and communicate to keep the dynamic from going too
far in either direction. Companies understand their relationships with Oxfam and know what to expect, even if news isn’t always good.
• Gaining commitments from companies to change policies is just the beginning; ensuring their implementation can
be less clear and require different capabilities
- With commitments and policy changes in hand, Oxfam now has to shift efforts away from the places where large corporations are head
quartered towards the places where food is produced. Oxfam also wishes to now engage the traders and suppliers impacted by the
changes in the big 10’s policies. Given the different capabilities required in this shift, advanced planning at the start of the campaign
process would benefit implementation.
• The diverse skill sets and expertise inherent in a global, industry-wide campaign required a large team, though not
all full time
- Oxfam needed communications, media, commodity, regional, corporate, and issue area expertise. Running the campaign meant pulling
together a large, diverse team with different expertise.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

77
Case study: Poses Family Foundation – Workplace
Initiative
Since 2013, the Poses Family Foundation (PFF) has worked to
increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, in
large part by influencing private sector hiring practices through
their Workplace Initiative. This initiative includes three main parts: a
national program advising, alongside nonprofit partners, large
corporations on how to create or expand disability inclusion
programs; a local program building coalitions to assist companies in
hiring people with disabilities in communities across the country;
and a field-building initiative to accelerate learning and funder
collaboration. Poses has engaged with 250 partners to sustain the
work, including for-profit organizations as well as nonprofits and
government agencies.
OVERVIEW
PFF’s Workplace Initiative is on track to contribute to 7,500 new jobs for people with disabilities by the end of 2017.
Since 2013, the initiative has influenced the hiring of over 4,700 people with disabilities. Participating companies also
report positive culture changes, high retention of hired individuals (~83%), and decreased turnover as a result of
disability inclusion efforts.
IMPACT
Note: Retention is calculated differently across projects but uses a minimum of 90 days.
Source: Adobe Stock for image

78
Case study: Poses Family Foundation – Workplace
Initiative
• Influencing the private sector is most feasible when the corporations have a clear business case for change
- PFF benefitted in achieving its goals when the private sector had clear incentives to change their practices: a business case that
demonstrated lower turnover (as shown by the experience of Walgreens, an early innovator who achieved business benefits through
disability inclusion). In addition, PFF emphasized that sourcing talent with disabilities widens the applicant pool, and given the high level of
competition for strong talent, finding qualified candidates across all job types is a critical benefit to companies. Furthermore, after PFF
initially conceived this initiative, a new policy (section 503) established a target of 7% of the workforce as employees with disabilities for any
government contractor, providing an additional incentive for companies to participate. PFF has worked to develop new case studies about
the strong business case with companies across different industries.
• Experience working with corporations and field expertise are both valuable to successful private sector partnerships
- PFF recruited two national experts to work with companies and nonprofits; these individuals provide expertise in disability inclusion and
experience working with large corporations.
• It takes significant staff time to shift corporation practices
- Given that the model requires large corporations to shift mindsets and practices, PFF staff time is a limited resource. Staff spend time
collaborating with partners to identify companies’ concerns, provide training, demonstrate benefits, and then eventually scale programs
across companies. The depth of the change involved and the size of the companies requires sustained involvement by four full-time PFF staff
(approximately three years per company, and ten companies at a time for the team).
• Each company is unique - Partnering with large corporations requires customizing the approach
- Each company’s concerns and champions related to disability inclusion are different—staff may be discussing 503 with a compliance officer,
or the potential to improve company culture with the head of the diversity and inclusion program; this means that staff need to tailor their
work to each company and stakeholder.
• Building capacity of field players and ensuring companies have “skin in the game” can contribute to sustainability
- PFF involves a nonprofit partner focused on disability employment that works with the company alongside PFF to help implement a disability
inclusion program, building field capacity to take on this work on the long term. PFF also enables financial sustainability by ensuring
companies contribute. In the initial year, PFF may provide the majority of the funding to the nonprofit—or less if matching funds are
available. Over 2-3 years, PFF gradually decreases funding while companies increase their share, with PFF’s funding always dependent on
goals achieved.
• Empowering staff to adapt the approach in real time can help spur progress and innovation
- PFF empowers staff to quickly adapt to meetings and conversations with companies, drawing from their entrepreneurial and consulting
backgrounds; this freedom means that staff can quickly respond to companies’ distinct concerns, interests, and new opportunities for
change, rather than rolling out a boiler plate approach or waiting for a formal foundation strategy refresh.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

79
Key sources: private sector influence
and TBG experience.
Secondary research
• “10 of the world’s biggest food and beverage companies battle to improve their social sustainability through the behind the brands campaign,” Oxfam
International, April 2016.
• “Ahead of the Curve,” FSG. 2013.
• “Breakthroughs: Annual Report 2015.” Environmental Defense Fund. 2015.
• “Corporate Citizenship 2010: A Progress Report to our Investors, our Partners and our Communities.” The Carlyle Group. 2010.
• “Diversity & Inclusion Report,” Walgreens, 2013.
• “ESG in Private Equity—2015.” Malk Sustainability Partners. 2015.
• “Green Returns Timeline.” EDF+Business.
• “KKR Green Solutions Platform.” Green.kkr.com.
• “National Funders Collaborate to Support Ground Breaking Work in Disability and Employment,” PRNewswire, November 2014.
• “Team Green: KKR, Carlyle partner with EDF.” The Deal. April 19, 2010.
• “Working Collaboratively with the Private Sector,” Big Lottery Fund, 2012.
• “Working with the Business Sector: Pursuing Public Good with Private Partners,” Grantcraft. June 2010.
Interviews
• Interview with Alyson Wise, Rockefeller Foundation, formerly at Poses Family Foundation, September 6, 2016.
• Interview with Irit Tamir, Advocacy Manager, Private Sector Department at Oxfam America, September 20, 2016.
• Interview with Meg O’Connell, Poses Family Foundation and President of Global Disability Inclusion, September 1, 2016.
• Interview with Tom Murray of the Environmental Defense Fund. October 11, 2016.

81
Additional context on Rockefeller Foundation initiatives
In 2016, The Rockefeller Foundation launched YieldWise, a $130 million initiative, with the goal of
demonstrating how the world can halve food loss by 2030, one of the UN’s sustainable development
goals. The foundation is working with a number of core implementation partners to reduce post-
harvest loss in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, where up to half of all food grown is lost. These partners
are driving solutions like improving access to technologies that curb preventable crop loss, training
and aggregating farmers, and facilitating buyer agreements between farmer groups and
multinational companies to guarantee farmers steady access to new local and global markets.
Core implementation partner
Since 2010, the Rockefeller Foundation has worked with energy services companies (ESCOs) to bring
reliable, affordable electricity to rural India to help communities become safer, healthier, and more
productive through increased access to electricity. Recently, the foundation established a new
organization, Smart Power India, which works with a variety of stakeholders, including ESCOs, rural
communities, government, NGOs, and telecom companies in order to drive the supply of and
demand for renewable energy mini-grids. SPI serves four primary functions: project development
support to ESCOs; business development to connect ESCOs with customers and investors; load
development and community engagements to drive demand; and policy and regulatory engagement.
Private sector influence
100 Resilience Cities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping cities around the world build
resilience to the economic, social and physical challenges that are increasingly part of the 21st
century. 100RC was pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation in 2013 and is financially supported by
the foundation and managed as a sponsored project by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), an
independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides governance and operational
infrastructure to its sponsored projects.
Advocacy
Note: This page aims to provide additional context on The Rockefeller Foundation’s
initiatives that are highlighted as examples of specific models.

82
This document was completed
in February 2017 by Nidhi
Sahni, Lauren Hult, Neelay
Patil, and Isabelle Brantley at
The Bridgespan Group, in
collaboration with Elena
Matsui, Caroline Kronley, and
Kappie Farrington at The
Rockefeller Foundation. We
hope this will be a useful
resource for funders planning
to implement large
investments.
Please direct any questions to:
Lauren Hult
Lauren.Hult@bridgespan.org
Nidhi Sahni
Nidhi.Sahni@bridgespan.org
Elena Matsui
EMatsui@rockfound.org
For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s
mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity
throughout the world. Today, The Rockefeller Foundation
pursues this mission through dual goals: advancing
inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more
broadly shared prosperity, and building resilience by
helping people, communities and institutions prepare for,
withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and
chronic stresses.
To achieve these goals, The Rockefeller Foundation works
at the intersection of four focus areas—advance health,
revalue ecosystems, secure livelihoods, and transform
cities—to address the root causes of emerging challenges
and create systemic change. Together with partners and
grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze
and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely
partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others
cannot—or will not.
To learn more, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.
The Bridgespan Group is a global
nonprofit organization that
collaborates with mission-driven
leaders, organizations, and
philanthropists to break cycles of
poverty and dramatically improve the
quality of life for those in need.
Bridgespan’s services include
consulting to nonprofits and
philanthropists, leadership
development support, and developing
and sharing insights—all with the goal
of scaling social impact.
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