Frequently Asked Questions

In January 2008, we initiated a process to define the Ford Foundation's work for the next generation. This renewal of our programs has been a collective endeavor, involving all of our program staff around the world and more than 2,000 partners in the fields in which we work, from nonprofits and academia to government and business.

Our goal was to build on the mission and values of the foundation while ensuring that our programs today are geared to a changed and changing world. We looked closely at the issues that have been at the core of Ford's work—the rights of marginalized people, economic opportunity for all and access to quality education, among others—and examined how best to focus our efforts to help our grantees achieve greater impact over time.

We asked ourselves tough questions intended to help identify areas of pressing need where there was an absence of leadership and where we could bring our resources to bear to make a sustainable, systemic difference.

After nearly one year of thorough and collaborative deliberation, program officers and directors made recommendations intended to allow us to do more, for more people, with limited resources. We conclude this yearlong process with renewed clarity and vision; what has emerged is a refined set of issues and strategies that will guide our program going forward.

Working on core issues in multiple places around the world is central to the global mission and purpose of the Ford Foundation. Our effort to ensure that our work is geared to the challenges of the next decade involved our expert staff in each of the regions in which we work.

Working in teams made up of program officers from all parts of the organization, our broad issues and specific lines of work were developed with an understanding of the varying contexts in which our grantees and partners work. Our lines of work reflect this diverse input and experience.

To ensure that our offices are focused on issues most relevant to their unique settings, each is finalizing a regional strategy that takes into account local challenges and opportunities. Based on these regional strategies, each office will implement four to six lines of work. In most cases, this work will continue to reflect longstanding areas of investment by the foundation. In some cases, it will mean exploring new issues and approaches.

The Ford Foundation has always strived for its grant making strategies to reflect the dynamism and evolution of the fields in which we work and the changing world around us. The regular transition of our program officers and representatives is one reflection of our commitment to this spirit of renewal, by creating opportunities to continually cycle fresh approaches, ideas and emphases into our work.

Traditionally, we have managed transition with thoughtfulness and respect for those with whom we work. That remains our commitment now, as we prepare for the implementation of our refocused lines of work in October, when our 2010 fiscal year begins. We have been in touch with most grantees to help them plan, and we look forward to continuing to work with all our partners throughout 2009 to ensure that the focus of our efforts going forward is clear and understood.

This renewal effort has not changed Ford's social justice mission or the fundamental approach we bring to our work—a commitment to creating positive change over the long term by supporting those closest to the problems. Where we are shifting strategies, it is with the conviction that doing so enables us to do more with limited resources.

The foundation will continue to strengthen the rigorous grant-making evaluation that is integral to the success of our work. Our focused strategies call for continual assessment to gauge progress and make needed adjustments to our grant making. Our aim is to help our grantees achieve greater scale and impact over time.

We regard impact assessment as key to supporting a culture of learning and accountability. Not only does it make our own strategies and practices more self-critical, transparent and successful, but it also will help our grantees become more effective by adding to knowledge in their fields and contributing to wider discussions on impact and accountability in the philanthropic sector as a whole.

To help drive our commitment in this area, we have created a new leadership position at the foundation. Rick McGahey, who formerly served as a program officer in economic development, is now director of Impact Assessment. This is an area of new exploration and growth for the foundation, and Rick will bring to the job his expertise in qualitative and quantitative tools, and day-to-day work with grantees. Rick will lead us in defining this important source of knowledge.