The Bellagio Initiative: The Future of Philanthropy and Development in the Pursuit of Human Wellbeing

The Bellagio Initiative was a series of global consultations that aimed to rethink the framework for philanthropy and development, seeking to be inspired by innovative trends and new opportunities from a wide range of disciplines and practices. The initiative addressed the challenges of promoting human wellbeing in today’s world that is changing ever more quickly. The project was led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the Resource Alliance, and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. With a Summit in November 2011 the Bellagio Initiative came to an end.

Throughout 2011, the initiative engaged a diverse international cast of practitioners, opinion leaders, social entrepreneurs and donors to deliberate on the nature of the challenges and the opportunities for philanthropic and development action. The initiative featured consultation meetings with key constituencies around the world, commissioned think pieces on the challenges, opportunities and new directions, and a summit conference at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center.

The Broker’s contribution to the Bellagio Initiative consisted of an online debate on a series of questions related to the promotion of human wellbeing in general, and the transformation towards a global sustainable and inclusive economy in particular. It was our challenge and objective to cross traditional boundaries between thinking and practice, as well as between disciplines. This was how we aimed to maximize the reach of our discussions, so that they could lead to new ways of thinking and inform sound ethical choices in the future.

We are very pleased with the result (22 blog posts, 2 articles and 41 comments) and quality of the discussions! A full summary of the debate can be read here! We thank all the participants for their contributions.