Health Equity: 08/09/11

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

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

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

BELLAGIO, Italy, August 08 /2011 Rockefeller Foundation

The initiative, jointly led by the Institute of Development Studies IDS , the Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation aims to find new forms of collaboration between philanthropists and development experts

High-level summit will be held at the Rockefeller Bellagio Centre, Italy, from 8-22 November 2011

“……..As millions of people, multilateral organisations, and philanthropic foundations around the world dedicate time and resources for short- and long-term solutions to the urgent food crisis in the Horn of Africa, a global dialogue is launched to foster innovative partnerships focused on the improvement of human well-being.

The Bellagio Initiative brings together the world’s most respected and innovative thinkers in the fields of philanthropy and international development. Over the coming months they will consider the key issues likely to shape the future wellbeing of humanity and identify new opportunities for joint action by philanthropic and development organisations.

The initiative comes as philanthropic giving becomes ever-more important in the fight to eradicate poverty. It has more than doubled in size over the past decade, according to OECD figures, standing at over US$22bn in 2009.

Throughout the second half of 2011, the Bellagio Initiative will engage a diverse group of practitioners, opinion leaders, beneficiaries, social entrepreneurs and donors to consider innovative solutions to some of the major challenges affecting poor people today.

The Initiative will convene global consultations on topics such as climate change, emerging markets, sustainability, migration and rights which, together with specially commissioned papers and commentary, will feed into debate at a high-level summit being held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Centre, Italy, in November. This summit will see some of the world’s best thinkers and practitioners in philanthropy and development circles sitting together – in some cases for the first time – to explore joint solutions to poverty. Others from around the globe will participate online.

In addition, the Bellagio Initiative will produce:

· A Timeline of Philanthropy, providing insights into the phenomenal growth of private giving.

· A Mapping of the Philanthropic Sector, revealing who the big private donors are today, what they spend their money on and which countries benefit most from their giving.

· A Framework for Action, focusing on building partnerships, across regions and sectors, for the promotion of human wellbeing……….”
Press Release

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[EQ] Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress

Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress

Professor Joseph E. STIGLITZ, Chair, Columbia University

Professor Amartya SEN, Chair Adviser, Harvard University

Professor Jean-Paul FITOUSSI, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, President of the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE),
Coordinator of the Commission, IEP

Available online PDF [292p.] at: http://bit.ly/qqoIll

“……………statistical indicators are important for designing and assessing policies aiming at advancing the progress of society, as well as for assessing and influencing the functioning of economic markets.

Their role has increased significantly over the last two decades. This reflects improvements in the level of education in the population, increases in the complexity of modern economies and the widespread use of information technology. In the “information society”, access to data, including statistical data, is much easier. More and more people look at statistics to be better informed or to make decisions. To respond to the growing demand for information, the supply of statistics has also increased considerably, covering new domains and phenomena.

…… What we measure affects what we do; and if our measurements are flawed, decisions may be distorted. Choices between promoting GDP and protecting the environment may be false choices, once environmental degradation is appropriately included in our measurement of economic performance. So too, we often draw inferences about what are good policies by looking at what policies have promoted economic growth; but if our metrics of performance are flawed, so too may be the inferences that we draw.

…….However, there often seems to be a marked distance between standard measures of important socio economic variables like economic growth, inflation, unemployment, etc. and widespread perceptions. The standard measures may suggest, for instance that there is less inflation or more growth than individuals perceive to be the case, and the gap is so large and so universal that it cannot be explained by reference to money illusion or to human psychology. In some countries, this gap has undermined confidence in official statistics (for example, in France and in the United Kingdom. only one third of citizens trust official figures, and these countries are not exceptions), with a clear impact on the way in which public discourse about the conditions of the economy and necessary policies takes place.

……… There may be several explanations for the gap between the statistical measurement of socio-economic phenomena and citizen perception of the same phenomena

– The statistical concepts may be correct, but the measurement process may be imperfect.

– In many cases, there are debates about what are the right concepts, and the appropriate use of different concepts.

– When there are large changes in inequality (more generally a change in income distribution) gross domestic product (GDP) or any other aggregate computed per capita may not provide an accurate assessment of the situation in which most people find themselves.

If inequality increases enough relative to the increase in average per capital GDP, most people can be worse off even though average income is increasing – The commonly used statistics may not be capturing some phenomena, which have an increasing impact on the well-being of citizens……….”

– The way in which statistical figures are reported or used may provide a distorted view of the trends of economic phenomena……..”

Content:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. SHORT NARRATIVE ON THE CONTENT OF THE REPORT

Chapter 1: Classical GDP Issues

Chapter 2: Quality of Life
Chapter 3: Sustainable Development and Environment

II. SUBSTANTIAL ARGUMENTS PRESENTED IN THE REPORT

Chapter 1: Classical GDP Issues

Chapter 2: Quality of Life

Chapter 3: Sustainable Development and Environment

THE G20 AND RECOVERY AND BEYOND

AN AGENDA FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY http://bit.ly/mWV2u8

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