Know­ledge for daily work

What moti­va­ted you to take the DAS Stra­te­gic and Opera­tio­nal Phil­an­thropy at the Univer­sity of Geneva?

I have always wanted to work for non-profit orga­ni­sa­ti­ons and make a posi­tive impact through my career. This DAS was important for me to conso­li­date my skills lear­ned on the job and gain new perspec­ti­ves. I was also looking for an execu­tive programme that would be compa­ti­ble with my work sche­dule, and the DAS allo­wed me to conti­nue to work while lear­ning new trends and skills.

What parti­cu­larly convin­ced you about the DAS?

I was looking for a diploma that covered both the gran­tee side and provi­ded an under­stan­ding of the dona­tion mecha­nism and decis­ion-making – e.g., why donate to this cause vs another. After looking at what was offe­red at diffe­rent schools, the DAS seemed to be the most complete option, cove­ring the opera­tio­nal side of phil­an­thropy with prac­ti­cal aspects such as budget manage­ment and analy­sis, the legal aspect of charity, as well as broa­der stra­te­gic thin­king (e.g., how to define a stra­te­gic coher­ent phil­an­thro­pic plan, how to select a project vs another, and what elements to consider). Through the various cour­ses, we could address all the above ques­ti­ons and exch­ange with class­ma­tes and profes­sors on real-work cases, chal­lenges, and best practices.

Was there know­ledge and input that you can apply directly in your daily work?

Yes. Thanks to the real-work cases we worked on, I was perso­nally able to gather inputs from class­ma­tes and experts to directly help on a speci­fic situa­tion. In addi­tion, I also lear­ned new skills, such as draf­ting a theory of change or analy­sing a grantee’s budget.  I was able to apply these skills in my daily work. Over­all, the various readings and discus­sions throug­hout the years allo­wed me to gain more confi­dence in my know­ledge of phil­an­thropy and more respon­si­bi­li­ties within my organisation.

Coor­di­na­tion and coope­ra­tion amongst the diffe­rent phil­an­thro­pic orga­ni­sa­ti­ons seem important to tack­ling social chal­lenges from diffe­rent perspec­ti­ves as they are often interlinked.

Sarah Van Beers

Has the DAS chan­ged your job at Gavi?

Sure! The DAS enab­led me to get a deeper under­stan­ding of the theo­ries and prac­ti­ces of phil­an­thropy and deve­lop prac­ti­cal skills such as defi­ning the theory of change, buil­ding a coher­ent stra­te­gic plan, and over­all buil­ding better criti­cal thin­king on phil­an­thropy matters. I believe that the various cour­ses and skills lear­ned allo­wed me to posi­tively impact my current role and take on addi­tio­nal oppor­tu­ni­ties and responsibilities.

How is the cont­act with fellow students after comple­ting the DAS?

Throug­hout the year, we had great exch­an­ges with my class­ma­tes, and we were not ready for it to stop. We ther­e­fore crea­ted an asso­cia­tion – Le cercle de la phil­an­thro­pie – where we can stay connec­ted and enga­ged. We orga­nise networ­king events, work­shops, and social events for all the asso­cia­tion members to exch­ange best prac­ti­ces, access career resour­ces, and stay up to date on the latest deve­lo­p­ments and trends in philanthropy.

The profes­sio­na­li­sa­tion of phil­an­thro­pic insti­tu­ti­ons is an issue: Are there any further trai­ning oppor­tu­ni­ties you feel are lacking?

As phil­an­thro­pic insti­tu­ti­ons become more profes­sio­nal, we could empha­sise leader­ship and manage­ment trai­ning expli­citly focu­sed on phil­an­thro­pic orga­ni­sa­ti­ons natio­nally and inter­na­tio­nally. MBAs focus more on gene­ral or speci­fic indus­try manage­ment, e.g., health, inno­va­tion. Still, I will be inte­res­ted to see more MBAs speci­fi­cally focu­sed on phil­an­thropy needs that are, in my opinion, bridging private sector and public sector skill sets.

In which direc­tion does phil­an­thropy need to develop?

I do believe that colla­bo­ra­tion and inclu­si­ve­ness are essen­tial. Indeed, coor­di­na­tion and coope­ra­tion amongst the diffe­rent phil­an­thro­pic orga­ni­sa­ti­ons seem important to tack­ling social chal­lenges from diffe­rent perspec­ti­ves as they are often interlinked.

Inclu­si­ve­ness is also important to broa­den perspec­ti­ves, gene­rate inno­va­tive ideas and ensure the projects consider the needs and chal­lenges of the populations/group orga­ni­sa­ti­ons they are trying to serve. 

DAS Stra­te­gic and Opera­tio­nal Phil­an­thropy, Univer­sity of Geneva