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PPOL-539 STRATEGIC PHILANTHROPY, INNOVATION & PUBLIC POLICY.
Spring only
Philanthropic foundations frequently play critical roles in public policy innovation and development. Sometimes these roles are evident to the general public, as in the case of the Green Revolution, the world-wide proliferation of micro-credit institutions, or the precursors to the U.S. poverty program of the 1960s. In the current era, many people know about the Gates Foundation’s worldwide campaign to combat HIV-AIDS. More often, the role of foundations are more obscure--encouraging policy entrepreneurs, backing critical research, sponsoring pilot projects, underwriting advocacy for particular policy outcomes. Behind an impressive number of policy innovations one can find philanthropy’s fingerprint. Foundations have been influencing public policy outcomes since the modern era of foundations began more than a century ago, but their involvement in public affairs has notably increased since the 1960s. Today, with American foundations alone making grants of over $35 billion each year, foundations are increasingly prominent actors in public affairs nationally and internationally. Moreover, new foundations are being formed at an increasing rate by wealthy people apparently impatient with traditional philanthropy and eager to apply to the field new perspectives reflecting their backgrounds as business entrepreneurs. This course will treat the variety of ways that foundations strive to influence public policy, and will identify critical issues grantmakers confront in their efforts, including the responses of other actors in the political system, and the responses of grant recipients. It will also take up some of the key debates currently embroiling the philanthropic sector. Students taking the course should gain significant insights into foundation decision-making, the potential of the sector to contribute to the common good, and the challenges confronted by foundations in achieving their objectives.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
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