EWB Vision 2020
EWB Vision 2020 Our Purpose
We are EWB. \
We don’t accept\ the status quo.
\ and pragmatism. We combine passion
We challenge and invest in each other to \ learn continuously, because that’s what is needed to create change together.
\ We are outraged and hopeful.
Our fellow human beings continue to live in extreme poverty, with \ dramatically diminished choices and opportunities;
a mother who can’t feed her family, her husband \ telling their son that he can’t pay for school.
\ This is an affront to our beliefs about what is right.
Her hopes are our hopes. His drive is our drive. \ We serve their dreams to allow all of us to truly prosper.
We create systemic change wherever it’s needed to accelerate \ Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people.
We incubate systemic innovations – investing rigorously, proving \ what works by having the courage to fail, and transforming the way people and organizations behave.
This ensures the change we create is \ meaningful and lasting.
To do this, we invest in people who will lead systemic change – \ they do whatever it takes, working tirelessly to learn and grow and transform how people think and how things are done.
These exceptional leaders are able to act \ in the face of ambiguity and drive change together with all EWBers.
Our Purpose We are EWB. We don’t accept the status quo. We combine passion and pragmatism. We challenge and invest in each other to learn continuously, because that’s what is needed to create change together.
We are outraged and hopeful. Our fellow human beings continue to live in extreme poverty, with dramatically diminished choices and opportunities; a mother who can’t feed her family, her husband telling their son that he can’t pay for school. This is an affront to our beliefs about what is right. Her hopes are our hopes. His drive is our drive. We serve their dreams to allow all of us to truly prosper.
We create systemic change wherever it’s needed to accelerate Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people. We incubate systemic innovations – investing rigorously, proving what works by having the courage to fail, and transforming the way people and organizations behave. This ensures the change we create is meaningful and lasting. To do this, we invest in people who will lead systemic change – they do whatever it takes, working tirelessly to learn and grow and transform how people think and how things are done. These exceptional leaders are able to act in the face of ambiguity and drive change together with all EWBers.
EWB Vision 2020 Our Purpose Fulfilling Our Purpose
Our Purpose: We are EWB. We are outraged and hopeful. We create systemic change wherever it’s needed \ to accelerate Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people.
The problem we’re solving Efforts to address poverty and accelerate long-term development in Sub-Saharan Africa are not reaching their potential. Existing systems are unable to scale proven innovations and approaches , and there remains an unproductive relationship between donors, citizens, businesses and governments in developed countries and in Africa.
We understand four interrelated issues that prevent effective approaches from emerging: 1) Talent is wasted. Not enough of Africa’s or the world’s smartest and most well-trained people spend time on development. Those who do are rarely given the time, space and resources to imagine, develop and refine ideas. 2) Resources are wasted. There are skewed incentives that prevent whole-of-system approaches from emerging. Adapting to new information is not rewarded, and too many resources are spent on scaling-up unproven ideas. 3) Knowledge is wasted. Business, civil society, governments and research institutions operate in silos. There are few incentives for lessons and insights to spread. 4) Creativity is wasted. The people funding development are not the same people as those receiving services, namely poor people and their governments. This distorts decisions and what is seen to have value, which kills any competition of ideas and stifles innovation.
\ and Beliefs Our Values
Our Purpose: We are EWB. We are outraged and hopeful. We create systemic change wherever it’s needed \ to accelerate Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people.
Our Bottom Line: Dorothy Dorothy might be a mother who tends a small vegetable farm and still makes time to sit on a local development committee. Dorothy might be a young woman, who didn’t go to high school because her father didn’t have the money, and who won’t accept that fate for her daughter. Or Dorothy might be that woman’s daughter, who dreams of graduating high school as she fetches water each morning.
Dorothy is our most important stakeholder, our informant, our evaluator and we are accountable to her. We regularly consult her to make strategic decisions and we share her stories with others. She simplifies the complexity of our work and reminds us that development is about people. No matter who she is, Dorothy doesn’t accept the fate she has been handed, and neither will we.
\ and Beliefs Our Values
Our Purpose: We are EWB. We are outraged and hopeful. We create systemic change wherever it’s needed \ to accelerate Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people.
Our Principles: Search, learn and be independent We base our work on a set of principles that we believe are necessary to create systemic change.
In particular, we: • Search. We constantly reevaluate our understanding of the problems we’re addressing and continuously adapt our solutions. • Learn out loud. We actively strive to be a learning organization. This means asking ourselves tough questions, admitting failures and institutionalizing learning, being open and transparent, and maintaining a culture of constant upward, downward and sideways feedback. • Maintain our independence. We nurture our status as a “free-actor” in the system, with an independent voice and an ability to invest in approaches and people even if nobody else is.
\ and Beliefs Our Values
Our Purpose: We are EWB. We are outraged and hopeful. We create systemic change wherever it’s needed \ to accelerate Africa’s development and unlock the potential of its people.
Our approach: Incubating systemic innovations wherever they are needed We focus on innovations that impact systems – economic, political, social and cultural. We prove what works, shift incentives and power dynamics, and transform the way people and organizations behave. In doing so, we ensure change is meaningful and lasting – systemic innovation for systemic impact. Our approach combines three elements: 1) Investing in and maximizing talent. We create an environment for the leaders of systemic change to emerge and flourish. We give them the time, space, and resources to imagine, develop and refine their ideas. 2) Incubating systemic innovations. We search for and invest in the early stages of innovation. Success means recognizing that solutions don’t emerge immediately or without many iterations. And some may fail entirely. But those that gain traction have proven results and have the potential to “change the game” in systems that can affect a few million people. Our role as an incubator means investing directly in innovations for closer to 5 years than 15 years. 3) Partnering for greater leverage and accountability. Our solutions are developed in true partnership, of honesty and mutual accountability, with entrepreneurs, governments, businesses or organizations closest to the change we seek. These innovations may be absorbed and spread through our partners or spun-off as independent ventures.
\ and Beliefs Our Values
EWB Vision 2020 Our Purpose Fulfilling Our Purpose Our Values and Beliefs
EWB Vision 2020 Our Purpose Fulfilling Our Purpose The problem we’re solving
Our bottom line: Dorothy
Our principles: Search, learn and be independent
Our approach: Incubating systemic innovations
Our Values and Beliefs