One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seem further out of reach, it is clear that the need to find, fund and support transformative solutions for the challenges we are facing has grown more urgent.

In January 2020, Ashoka and McKinsey, together with Echoing Green, Schwab Foundation, Skoll Foundation and Co-Impact joined forces with systemic social entrepreneurs, united under the Catalyst 2030 banner, to produce a report that framed their endeavours: Embracing Complexity: towards a shared understanding of funding systems change.

Building on that foundation, the New Allies report explores how governments can benefit from collaborating with systemic social entrepreneurs, and the measures they can take to foster that collaboration.

The need for this report is undeniable. With multiple compounding crises to navigate simultaneously, governments across the world are coming under increased pressure to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. It is equally clear that governments will find it increasingly challenging to realise the structural changes to existing societal systems that are urgently required without the support of systemic social entrepreneurs.

Systemic social entrepreneurs develop participative, people-centric solutions and deliver innovative approaches which can be a great complement to the macro-level perspectives of governments. Systemic social entrepreneurs can be defined as transformation guides for society. They are driven not by economic profit but by the desire to make a positive impact on the world and to find innovative solutions to unsolved challenges.

Below, watch a video of Nicolas Schmit, the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, endorsing the report.

Watch a recording of the New Allies report launch to hear Catalyst 2030 partners discuss the new research and report insights.

Governments can act in five areas to create supportive ecosystems that unlock the potential of systems social entrepreneurs

For each of these areas, this report outlines concrete recommendations and provides real-life examples of changes that governments around the world have implemented.

Principle 1:

Leverage the power of information by sharing and co-creating data.

Principle 2:

Build capabilities among civil servants and systems social entrepreneurs to enable mutual understanding and collaboration.

Principle 3:

Develop funding models that recognise the characteristics of systems social entrepreneurs.

Principle 4:

Promote collaboration between public sector organisations and between the public, private and social sectors.

Principle 5:

Foster institutionalisation by co-creating or adopting successful innovations.

Ashoka Staff Contacts

Please contact Konstanze Frischen for inquires within the United States.

Please contact Odin Muehlenbein for inquires within Europe.