Global discussion between Ariadne and SIX

Overview

For the first time, Ariadne and the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) are delighted to bring our networks together from around the world in this invitation-only, reflective conversation about how we can shift philanthropic funding to create radical, structural and deep change, in our own practices and amongst our peers.

We explored the following questions:

  • What does funding radical, structural or deep change look like in your own work and contexts? What makes it radical/structural/deep?
  • What are the barriers to doing more of this kind of work and how have you overcome some of them? 
  • Where does the burden of risk fall in doing this work and how are you managing that? Do you feel you could take on more risks as an organisation? Why/Why not?
  • What are examples of helpful and harmful governance practices?
  • How do we advocate for these shifts and support our peers to do so?

What are SIX Funders Node Learning Exchanges?

Over the course of seven years, SIX has hosted funders’ retreats on a wide range of topics from risk and legitimacy to social cohesion. Using SIX’s legacy of designing and facilitating engaging, transformative sessions, we are inviting long-standing friends and partners to build unlikely connections with new and diverse voices, to surface blind spots, and prevent siloes. In the absence of physical meetings, these Learning Exchanges are virtual spaces for individuals in philanthropic organisations worldwide to ask big questions in safe ways and to engage critically and authentically in the tensions, challenges and changes of our time.

To read the insights from this discussion, see Philanthropy, Power and Radical Change