The world is in crisis and acute societal needs are continuing to grow. Traditional approaches to philanthropy, while supporting progress in many arenas, have fallen short of addressing the world's most challenging issues. The business community, in particular, has historically been an underutilized partner in social reform efforts, and is a sector that is still understanding and honing its role in philanthropy and contributing to sustainable development.

This session will examine innovative approaches for corporate engagement with society, moving beyond traditional ideas of corporate social responsibility. It will also examine how philanthropy is evolving new models to more effectively leverage its assets, including through investments and cross-sector collaboration. The implications of these changes, and how they resonate in an increasingly globalized society, will be explored.

Questions to be examined include:

• How are new practices affecting policy, and what new policy frameworks are needed to stimulate greater innovation and uptake of progressive approaches?
• What new tools are needed to help evolve economic models that value a broader range of outcomes, moving beyond simple financial returns?
• What concrete steps are being taken - and how can they be expanded and deepened - to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and improve impact on economies and communities?

The program will enable business and philanthropy leaders, as well as other experts, to share their experiences and challenges in leveraging their core strengths and assets to achieve change through approaches such as: mission-related investing, policy and advocacy, strategic corporate social responsibility, creating social and economic value through new products, value-chain enhancements and cluster development, and multi-stakeholder collaboratives.

The session will:

• share concrete examples, tools and recommendations;
• expand on and articulate the strategic value proposition for business and philanthropy to adopt new ways of working;
• identify enabling policies and other mechanisms to encourage the uptake of innovative practices and approaches; and
• allow for the expansion and deepening of collaborative efforts and commitments to joint actions among participants.

Salzburg Global Seminar sessions are not "conferences"; rather, they are much more interactive and pragmatic. Emphasis is placed on the exchange of good practice and the formation of ideas, issues and solutions rather than static presentations. The seminar will be interactive using a combination of methodologies to fully engage participants and provoke open, critical and constructive dialogue. The agenda will include moderated plenary sessions (combining brief presentations of key themes and related questions, with robust discussion); group work to delve deeper into priority themes and frame recommendations and proposals; possibly a series of round table discussions to ensure that critical issues are well elucidated and engage key stakeholders actively in setting the parameters of the discourse; and a summary session with a moderated panel discussion to extract compelling ideas and articulate recommended directions and action proposals.

Participants will be encouraged to think beyond the confines of their own professional or national priorities, and to consider critical issues within a broader context, identify new opportunities for joint action, and consider ways to align their efforts. Another element not to be discounted is the particular creative atmosphere and energy provided by the facilities and experience of the Salzburg Global Seminar. This experience has shown that innovative solutions can often be developed when people have time to think more deeply about the issues at hand, and are exposed to different ideas and ways of thinking from those they usually hear.

Summary:  

This session will examine innovative approaches for corporate engagement with society, moving beyond traditional ideas of corporate social responsibility. It will also examine how philanthropy is evolving new models to more effectively leverage its assets, including through investments and cross-sector collaboration. The implications of these changes, and how they resonate in an increasingly globalized society, will be explored.

The program will enable business and philanthropy leaders, as well as other experts, to share their experiences and challenges in leveraging their core strengths and assets to achieve change through approaches such as: mission-related investing, policy and advocacy, strategic corporate social responsibility, creating social and economic value through new products, value-chain enhancements and cluster development, and multi-stakeholder collaboratives.

The core objectives are to:

• share concrete examples, tools and recommendations;
• expand on and articulate the strategic value proposition for business and philanthropy to adopt new ways of working;
• identify enabling policies and other mechanisms to encourage the uptake of innovative practices and approaches; and
• allow for the expansion and deepening of collaborative efforts and commitments to joint actions among participants.

This seminar will gather approximately 50 participants from as many as 20 countries around the globe to share experiences and information from different sectors, countries and perspectives; engage in an analytical review of shared, and divergent, interests and strategic priorities of different stakeholders; and identify key gaps as well as generate ideas on how to address them. Participants will include those working in business, philanthropy, research, and policy; a cross-section of decision-makers and those influencing the direction these actors are taking. While there will be a number of featured speakers, all participants will have concrete experience to bring to the table. In addition to professional diversity, participants will reflect diversity based on geography, gender, age and experience.

Session Report
Session Report 497: Value vs. Profit: Recalculating ROI in Financial and Social Terms
Session Document
Global Philanthropy Forecast: Shaping the Future of Giving (2008)

"Thank you for the extraordinary experience. Great talent, smart people and a lot to be done form what we learned here. Hope to be back."
Fellow from Mexico

"Many thanks to the organizers any my colleague participants. You have awakened my gray matter, fed my intellectual spirit, expanded my waitline, and All while keeping my laughing and smiling in your good company. Looking forward to carrying foward the thinking and action as we depart."
Fellow from USA

"Each rock castle has many ripples. May these ripples spread goodness. Blessings to the rock that carries, patience to the ones that read the stories."
Faculty from United Kingdom