Six Things We are Doing in March to Rethink, Reframe and Redesign the Social Impact Sector

Happy International Women's Day.

I love a good event, podcast or reading recommendation. Here are six ideas to stretch your thinking for those working in the social impact space.

1. We are?launching a workshop ?to support people in the social impact space and ground their work in equity-centred, anti-racist and co-designed processes.

Social inequities aren’t going anywhere. Covid-19 has only exacerbated and highlighted societal inequality. The social impact sector (e.g. domestic-focused charities, voluntary associations, social enterprises, international development and humanitarian aid) is growing in response to global and national challenges (such as the cost of living crisis, widening economic inequities, disparities between north/south, and continued structural injustices). We want to ensure that the right people are in the room, at the table and designing solutions; this is where our upcoming workshop,?Introductory Workshop to Critical Participatory Action Research,? can help you think through your approaches to social impact work and activism.

This introductory workshop ?is for you if:

• You work in the social impact space; you may be a practitioner, academic, or graduate student looking at ways to meaningfully co-design projects or research with people.
• You want to learn more about creating inclusive, equity-based, solidarity-focused approaches to working with people.
• You’d like some direction and recommendations for critical resources that you can contextualise for your work.
• You want to connect with others in this area, share ideas and learn.

The introductory workshop will be practical and interactive. We’ll start by looking at CPAR and its origins in social activism before exploring how you can apply CPAR to your research, projects and policy development approaches.

Subsidised and free spots are available. Contact?[email protected] ?if you want to chat about any adjustment/provision related to disability, or if you would like to join but don't have the funds— we need you all in the room.

2. BOND’s Anti-Racist and Decolonising toolkit ?maps out how racism cuts across all areas of our organisations and shows the necessity of an anti-racist and holistic approach to decolonising our organisations to create a fairer, more equitable and racially just sector.

3. Rethinking Humanitarianism | Is ‘decolonised aid’ an oxymoron? ?In this New Humanitarian podcast, Heba Aly, New Humanitarian and Degan Ali, executive director of Adeso, discuss the limitations of decolonising aid. I loved Degan Ali’s perspective and her adamant position that ‘there has to be a true reimagining of the entire global governance system, particularly trade and financing by the IMF and the World Bank.’

4.?Good Leaders Podcast Episode 4 — Atif Choudhury: ‘Play to your strengths — and know you can’t know it all’ —another podcast I discovered recently. I loved listening?to?social entrepreneur Atif Choudhury, the founder of?Zaytoun , the world’s first Fairtrade Palestinian olive oil cooperative. Of?Diversity & Ability , a social enterprise supporting “individuals, organisations and social justice projects to create inclusive cultures where diversity is valued, and people can thrive.”

5. Where is all the funding for Black feminist movements?? The Black Feminist Fund was started in 2021 to significantly increase the resources available to Black feminist movements globally and radically change how Black feminist movements are funded. This report highlights some of the challenges these movements face regarding accessing funding.

6. The Participatory Grantmaking network ?is one of my favourite communities of practice. I’ve been inspired by their approaches to grantmaking processes and the importance of ensuring they are more democratic, inclusive and participatory. It is something that I hope Equity EIE Consulting can build upon and integrate into our programmes this year, so watch this space, and do get in touch if you see opportunities for collaboration.

Community padlet: People constantly share interesting articles, podcasts, events and ideas that shape my thinking and approach to social impact work. Feel free to add suggested resources here .