The Institute activates signature research and thought leadership that will shape the design of our hands-on, educational initiatives, infuse our undergraduate and graduate curricula with the latest insights, and spark approaches and actions that create a better world. Our signature domestic and global research efforts will address key gaps in the existing knowledge on philanthropy and address important questions essential to the future:
- What kinds of skills are needed in nonprofit, NGO, and social change efforts, and how can we best prepare leaders for these roles?
- Why do people give, volunteer and help others as well as how can they be motivated to give, volunteer or leverage their resources in the most effective ways?
- How can transformational philanthropy advance public purposes in new ways with private and public sector actors?
- How can public, private and philanthropic players collaborate effectively to solve critical public challenges?
- How and why do these dynamics vary across national settings?
Along with our signature research, the Institute will drive a coordinated, cohesive set of complementary activities that include:
- Housing the Editor-in-Chief of the leading research journal in the world on philanthropy and nonprofits, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ), the journal of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). NVSQ focuses on five general areas, including organization and leadership, philanthropy, voluntarism, public policy and civil society. Our Endowed Associate Professor of Global Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Angela Bies became the Editor-In Chief of this top scholarly research journal in Summer 2016.
- Creating an international research award on Global Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership in partnership with the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) to recognize and encourage path-breaking research in the field of global philanthropy and/or nonprofit leadership. The award seeks to acknowledge and foster comparative, international research and theory building in this field. One award will be made annually.
- Serving as the co-institutional host for the 45th annual Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Conference on November 17-19, 2016 in Washington, DC focused on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Government: Policy and Partnerships in an Era of Change.