Global Development

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“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”

– Nelson Mandela

We recognize the importance of collective development as a society and a planet that acknowledges the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental goals.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has tried to capture the commitment of the global community to achieve sustainable development through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals represent both a shared ambition and a shared responsibility of all nations to care for people and planet through our investments, policies and actions.

We believe that all of our work should be grounded in the principles of sustainable, inclusive development.

Our work connects and reinforces many aspects of sustainable development. We focus on education, gender equality and meeting the basic needs of vulnerable populations. We recognise that livelihoods and economic opportunity are closely linked to health outcomes and the potential for communities to thrive.

In addition, we partner with organisations that have a deep connection with the places and communities where they work. We see our role as providing skills, knowledge-sharing and capacity to supplement locally embedded knowledge and expertise. We learn as we go, and use this understanding to support our partners to ask the right questions to guide their work.

Examples of questions we have addressed or are thinking about include:

What are the key links between global public health and global development, and how can foundations, non-profits and change-makers work with vulnerable communities to help them to meet multiple needs?
How can Chinese investment in industry and agriculture support localised benefits in Sub-Saharan Africa?
What is the role of the private sector in partnering with philanthropy to grow key agricultural sectors?

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We are working with GIA on developing a comprehensive strategy to engage high quality companies in the development of vaccines for developing countries. GIA has played an invaluable role in synthesizing the team’s iterative, creative brainstorming process and aspirational goals into a succinct set of strategic objectives and execution plan. Amy and her team are skilled in listening, probing and facilitating to guide teams towards coherent strategic alignment. They are also able to leverage deep experience and relationships in the international development sector. I would strongly recommend engaging GIA to develop or clarify global development program goals and implementation plans.

- VIDA VASU-DEVAN
Program Investment Officer, Program-Related Investments, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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I have worked with the GIA team on two projects exploring exciting early-stage opportunities: assessing the implementation sciences landscape in academic global health and helping to launch a new multi-sector global health alliance for the Bay Area. In both endeavors, GIA was an excellent partner, bringing the right team with a depth of expertise in global health, challenging our assumptions, and helping us think through what it takes to move from an early idea into something practical with a solid value proposition. GIA’s collaborative approach was especially helpful in guiding our efforts around governance and membership for the Bay Area Alliance, and the firm has continued to stay involved in the alliance as it evolves into a more mature organization.

- Colin Boyle, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Examples of our work include:

Private-sector ‘playbook’

GIA partnered with a global philanthropy to develop a ‘playbook’ of models for collaborating with the private sector to tackle global health and development challenges. The case studies created were based on a broad range of past projects and demonstrated how a variety of cross-sector engagement structures could be applied in practice.