On October 15-16, 2026, with support from the International Development Research Centre and the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa, the Group of 78 hosted its annual policy conference on the theme of Reinventing the Architecture for Peace. Powered by three outstanding keynote speakers—Peggy Mason, Dan Smith and Lloyd Axworthy—and important…(Read more)
Tag: social responsibility
2X Global Summit in Montreal
From September 15 to September 17, 2026, the 2X Global network that mobilizes financing for women’s businesses in developing economies held its annual summit in Montreal. With support from Global Affairs Canada and FinDev Canada and the active involvement of the International Development Research Centre, the conference explored how gender lens investing can, even facing…(Read more)
Four Factors Driving Gender Lens Investing Outcomes
On July 7, 2026, on the NextBillion platform, Katie Turner, a Senior Associate with Jackson and Associates, and Jenny Holden published “What Drives Positive Outcomes in Gender-Lens Investing? DFI Portfolio Evaluations Reveal Four Key Factors.” Examining 81 investments across four development finance institutions, the authors found that the best gender outcomes were generated by investments…(Read more)
Improving Job Quality in the Services Sector
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)
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)