Driving the Change - Global Talent Management for Effective Philanthropy

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Sep 15, 2017
by Salzburg Global Seminar
Driving the Change - Global Talent Management for Effective Philanthropy

Second gathering on global talent management brings together diverse range of foundations and human resources professionals

This session is part of Salzburg Global’s longstanding series Optimizing Institutional Philanthropy

In a period of mistrust of our institutions, and crisis in our governance and corporate systems, the philanthropic sector is playing an important role in bridging divides, re-establishing trust, and addressing the need for a new civic imagination that is inclusive of all people in a globalized connected world.

While significant attention is paid to the financial resources at stake in philanthropy, less focus is given to the skills which make grantmaking for the public good possible. 

In philanthropies, human resources can often be viewed simply as an administration function responsible for payroll, benefits administration and logistical aspects of recruitment. In the business world, however, there are signs it can be utilized for other positive purposes. 

The global corporate sector has myriad examples of human resource operations prioritizing the recruitment, development and engagement of talented employees. Businesses invest their time in forward planning and carefully-executed policies for employee engagement, training and evaluation to optimize organisational resilience and performance.

As the global philanthropic sector continues to expand, there will be a greater need for philanthropic institutions to recognize the importance of human resources in attracting, recruiting, and engaging talented staff who can help take their organisations forward.

From Sunday, 30 human resources professionals and executive directors of foundations will convene at Schloss Leopoldskron, in Salzburg, Austria, for Session 581 - Driving the Change: Global Talent Management for Effective Philanthropy. Together they will discuss the challenges surrounding talent management, and the practices which can be implemented to achieve better results.

The session, which will reach a conclusion on Wednesday, will see participants share insights from various regions and aggregate perspectives and experiences from specific areas of expertise within human resources.

They will attend lectures, take part in group discussions, and focus on developing ways to improve perceptions of talent management in philanthropies. Smaller group conversations will highlight new and ongoing challenges to talent management, identify specific skill and leadership training opportunities, and expand the network of talent management professionals in the philanthropic sector.

Looking ahead to 2030, participants will consider the key trends for the philanthropic sector and how they might vary between major global regions. They will also be asked to assess what kind of talent and skills foundations will need now and in the future and how the recruitment process can be designed to meet this.

Special attention will also be paid to the most innovative practices in talent management and how these can be applied to the philanthropic sector. By the end of the program, participants will produce a concise set of recommendations for dissemination to the global philanthropic sector. 

This session is part of Salzburg Global’s longstanding series Optimizing Institutional Philanthropy, and also builds on the first meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in 2013.  

Andrew Ho, US development director at Salzburg Global Seminar, said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to expand the conversation on the important role of talent management in enabling philanthropy to be more effective, courageous, and impactful for society globally. We are grateful to be hosting this group, and look forward to inspiring collaborative solutions and creating lasting networks among the participants."


The Salzburg Global program Driving the Change: Global Talent Management for Effective Philanthropy is part of Salzburg Global’s longstanding series Optimizing Institutional Philanthropy. It is being held in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Zeshan Foundation. More information on the session can be found here. You can follow all of the discussions on Twitter by following the hashtag #SGSphil.