Harvard economist Dani Rodrik’s latest book, Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World, argues that improving the quality of jobs in the services sector should be a priority for developing and advanced economies alike. As one reviewer wrote: “Rodrik is most convincing when he identifies a misguided fixation on manufacturing jobs as a costly mistake, in…(Read more)
Tag: social responsibility
Book Launch: Lessons in Philanthropy Honouring an Ottawa Champion
On September 15, 2025, at the Ottawa Art Gallery, a new book was launched: Lessons in Philanthropy, a compilation of stories and lessons in doing community-based philanthropy effectively, with purpose and humanity. The book is a tribute to the legacy of Barb McInnes, longtime president of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, who passed away in…(Read more)
What Should Canada Do to Support Bangladesh?
Canada was one of the first countries to recognize the newly independent Bangladesh in 1971. Writing on the McLeod Group site, Canadian scholar-practitioners Dr. Lilly Nicholls and Dr. Syed Sajjadur Rahman discuss policy options for Canada to support Bangladesh as the South Asian country of 170 million navigates a complex process of national, political and…(Read more)
Relaunching Development Financing from Seville
In July 2025, in the wake of major aid cuts by the United States and Europe, the United Nations hosted the fourth conference on financing for development in Seville, Spain. The meeting produced an outcome document, the Seville Commitment, that called for a pause on the debt of developing countries, a debt swap hub, a…(Read more)
New Report Published on Community-Based Research
The Unesco Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education held jointly by Budd Hall at the University of Victoria, Canada, and Rajesh Tandon at PRIA in New Delhi, has published its annual report for 2024-2025. Through its DECODE project, the Chair and its partners produced six case studies “exploring how communities are…(Read more)
Company Boards Should Focus on Substance, Not Signaling
Impact strategists Rosemary Addis and Laurie Spengler write in Forbes that, in this moment of turbulence and partisanship, corporate boards should put substance over signaling on issues of sustainability and equity. The key questions Board members should ask themselves include: “
Preparing for What Comes After the Old Aid Paradigm
Georgetown University’s Professor Ken Opalo has published a blog arguing that the trend of rich countries, notably but not only the US, could be an opportunity for African countries. “Everyone must be clear-eyed about the fact that this might be the end of the long-established aid model. And it’s imperative to prepare for what comes…(Read more)
US Department of Agriculture Prioritizes Worker-Driven Social Responsibility
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its new Farm Labor Stabilization and Protections (FLSP) Pilot Program to address human rights violations against migrant farmworkers and to maintain a stable agricultural workforce. Under this pilot, employers that improve conditions in their supply chain through the protections of a worker-driven social responsibility program—like the Fair Food…(Read more)