Solve It, Australia! A Groundbreaking Training and Funding Program to Help Solve Disadvantage
The Paul Ramsay Foundation, in collaboration with the Social Impact Hub and Philanthropy Australia, yesterday announced the launch of a groundbreaking $900,000 funding program that provides significant capacity building funds to five Australian organisations to develop solutions that address the root causes of disadvantage. The announcement was made at the Solve It, Australia masterclass in Sydney led by Rob McLean AM.
The funding program will enable ten organisations to participate in a two-day peer-focused collaborative development workshop this October. Organisations will work together to develop their proposed solutions. At the culmination of the workshop, the ten participating organisations will determine which five of the organisations will receive $150,000 each to further develop their solution.
An additional $150,000 will be available for pooled resources to support the projects. Further funding for implementation of an organisation’s proposed solution may be available following the development period.
Jo Taylor, General Manager, Paul Ramsay Foundation said “The Foundation and our partners are pioneering this peer-review evaluation process in Australia. The problems facing our society are complex, dynamic and evolving quickly. It isn’t just the problems that are messy, it’s also often the attempts to find solutions. Innovation can come from anywhere, and that’s why the Foundation is delighted to support this initiative. We believe it will help organisations to build the skills required to really make a difference.”
“It is very exciting to see Australia’s largest philanthropic funder embrace the democratisation of philanthropy in this innovative way. This participatory approach to funding shifts the dynamics and allows new perspectives to be heard, particularly from those with ‘lived experience,’” said Sarah Davies, CEO of Philanthropy Australia.
The Masterclass introduces complex problem solving skills and is led by Rob McLean AM, former McKinsey & Company managing director and co-author of the book Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything, published by Wiley in 2019.
“The World Economic Forum identified complex problem-solving as the key skill required of organisations in the 21st century. The Masterclass teaches the seven step Bulletproof Problem Solving framework, a systematic approach to problem solving that can be used by anyone to solve any problem, including the social and environmental problems that we need to tackle,” McLean says.
“It is often challenging for social sector leaders to access high-quality training and the capacity building funds they need to solve complex problems. It can be transformative when such training and funds are received. We’re proud to lead this collaboration as part of the Funding for Impact project to help not-for-profits and charities increasingly achieve impact and scale,” said Jessica Roth, Founder & Director of the Social Impact Hub.
To learn more about the funding program and register for the Masterclass, visit www.solveitaustralia.org. The funding program application will be available 27 May 2019.
Download the media release here and you can read a coverage of the announcement in The Australian here.