4GLOBAL PLC’s Post

VERY RELEVANT... As we have highlighted extensively during the last 2 years in several forums and events across the world, there is a growing demand globally, for policy makers, practitioners, and academics to measure the broad benefits of sport and physical activity at the individual, community, and population level. And whilst some benefits of physical activity and sport have been evidenced through research, often these benefits have focused on physical health, with limited high-quality evidence on the wellbeing and social benefits quantified at scale. This is due to significant research gaps but also due to a lack of global consistency of what benefits to assess and a lack of robust tools and methods to accurately measure associated outcomes. In response to the growing need to advocate for the broad benefits of Sport and Physical Activity, we urgently need to understand the social benefits and value of participation. As a result, we established back in October 2022 a "SROI Modeling Task Force" focused on delivering an International Consensus using Delphi methodology... In the "dream team" for this unique challenge: Professor Larissa Davies Dr Lindsey Reece Xián Mayo Dr. Ines Nieto (Senior Research Fellow), plus Dr. Andreia Santos (health economist) from WHO Physical Activity & Health Unit serving as external observer. And the first step on this challenging project was to complete a (massive) systematic review to inform the Delphi study. Delphi is now completed (and paper under review), and the 1st key main output from our SROI modelling project is finally published!!! If you are interested in understanding the social and economic impact of physical activity and sports participation (an active life) and its contribution to society in the different domains included in the SROI, please access the paper and enjoy the reading... (including the almost 200 pages of supplementary material). Thank you very much to EuropeActive President´s Council for Operators to support the project with the required funding thorough THiNK Active Research Unit, and to Andreas Paulsen for his unique vision and leadership, EA team and former Board members... GO fit Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Fundación España Activa alfonso arroyo Lorenzo Juan Maria Fernandez Carnicer David Stalker FCIMSPA ukactive David Pozos European Commission UNESCO International Olympic Committee – IOC World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) Emma P. (Mason) Zwiebler Kai Troll Martin Sheppard FCIMPSA, MSAPIA Human Kinetics 4GLOBAL PLC Steven Ward Steve Mann

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺: 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗣. 𝗔𝗴𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴? At the Innovation Office University of Basel we care that our ways are based on global best practices in innovation. Thus, I have recently attended an inspiring lecture by Professor Philippe Aghion, hosted by the Center for International Economics and Business (CIEB) at the University of Basel. Aghion, a leading French economist, is renowned for his work on economic growth and innovation, particularly through the "Schumpeterian paradigm," as detailed in his book: "The Power of Creative Destruction.". The focus of the lecture, and my main takeaways, are based on the conflict between being most innovative (like the US vs. Europe) or having a strong social system (like Europe vs. the US). 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥? 𝗬𝗲𝘀! ⛑ 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 🥅 Countries like DK and CH show how strong social systems can coexist with dynamic labor markets. Individuals who lose jobs receive retraining and placement support while maintaining a significant portion of their last salary, thereby reducing the negative impacts on health and social stability. 👩🏫 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹 🧒 Finland’s education system, reformed in the 1970s, equips all children, regardless of background, with the skills necessary for innovation and awareness of its importance. This approach minimizes the loss of potential innovators and ensures a broader base of future talent. 🔝 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 📈 Large firms may inhibit competition through undue influence on government policies. Aghion emphasizes the role of civil society in pressuring governments to maintain fair competition, which is crucial for fostering innovation. Effective industry policies can stimulate competition without falling into protectionism, e.g. with strategic public investments. 🏛 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🏭 A lively Q&A highlighted differing views on the state's role in industrial policy. Aghion argued for a proactive state role, citing Europe's efforts for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, while Severin Schwan, Roche's Chairman, credited the private sector. Can well-designed policies balance state intervention and private sector competition, essential for tackling large-scale challenges like climate change? Do we have other options? A huge thank you for organizing to CIEB Universität Basel Christian Dragan Rolf Weder 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝘷𝘴. 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦'𝑠 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒? #InnovationLeadership #FutureOfCapitalism #EconomicGrowth #StartupEcosystem

💡 WHO GIVES TO FOOD BANKS? European Research Network On Philanthropy published a new edition of Research Notes. Among many useful articles, you can find my piece of paper about work done by Professor Roger Bennett, Dr Rita Kottasz, and Rohini Vijaygopa. This study helps us understand why some people donate to food banks and why others do not. It is valuable for food bank managers who want to create effective promotional campaigns. The authors suggested that people’s own beliefs and their perception of food bank users are the key factors in deciding whether to donate. 📄 The full article: https://lnkd.in/dcCipTWP For those who may be concerned: European Food Banks Federation - FEBA Banka hrane Vojvodina Banka hrane Beograd - Food Bank Belgrade Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation Catalyst Balkans Trag fondacija Smart Kolektiv Mozaik Foundation Hastor Foundation Mreža mira

A fascinating article popped into my feed yesterday - "Is Society caught up in a Death Spiral?", by Michaela Schippers, et al. Here it is - https://lnkd.in/gSAMEvEY It discusses historical, structural and behavioral frameworks around the “death spiral” concept, and presents factors that influence the appearance of upward-spirals (the opposite of a death spiral). Why does it matter on LinkedIn? Among the examples of death-spirals the authors use are well-known conditions and traits of Corporate and Corporate Management death spirals. Here’s the abstract…definitely worth a read! Abstract Just like an army of ants caught in an ant mill, individuals, groups and even whole societies are sometimes caught up in a death spiral, a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behavior characterized by continuous flawed decision making, myopic single-minded focus on one (set of) solution(s), denial, distrust, micromanagement, dogmatic thinking and learned helplessness. We propose the term Death Spiral Effect to describe this difficult to break downward spiral of societal decline. Specifically, in the current theory-building review we aim to: (1) more clearly define and describe the death spiral effect; (2) model the downward spiral of societal decline as well as an upwardspiral; (3) describe how and why individuals, groups and even society at large might be caught up in a death spiral; and (4) offer a positive way forward in terms of evidence-based solutions to escape the death spiral effect. Management theory hints on the occurrence of this phenomenon and offers turn-around leadership as solution. On a societal level strengthening of democracy may be important. Prior research indicates that historically, two key factors trigger this type of societal decline: (1) rising inequalities creating an upper layer of elites and a lower layer of masses, and (2) dwindling (access to) resources. Important issues that we aim to shed light on are the behavioral underpinnings of decline, as well as the question if and how societal decline can be reversed. We explore the extension of these theories from the company/organization level to the society level, and make use of insights from both micro-, meso-, and macro-level theories (e.g., collapsology, the study of the risks of collapse of industrial civilization) to explain this process of societal demise. Our review draws on theories such as Social Safety Theory, Conservation of Resources Theory, and management theories that describe the decline and fall of groups, companies and societies, as well as offer ways to reverse this trend. PS - if you haven’t already, sign up for the early-bird notice of my book The Tech Sales Panacea here - https://lnkd.in/gFq_8u5V

“System orchestrators play a critical role in bringing about transformational social change by knitting together actors and institutions, providing backbone infrastructure, and mobilizing collective change efforts across ecosystems, sectors, and geographies. Along the way, they shape new paradigms, leverage system-wide resources, and navigate complexity, all to create forward momentum and progress at societal scale.”

O**Associations & Institutions: Two Powerful Operating Systems for Social and Economic Change** Associations and Institutionsare two distinct systems for achieving societal wellbeing, each with its own operating principles: *Associations: In contrast to institutions, associations prioritize care and mutuality among their members. They thrive on a smaller, localized scale, where strong interpersonal relationships and trust form the foundation of their operating system. Associations rely on the active contributions of their members, rather than viewing them as passive consumers. *Institutions: These are characterized by their focus on producing goods and services with a high degree of quality control. They operate on a large scale and rely on money as the primary mechanism for maintaining cohesion and ensuring their services reach consumers consistently and impartially. I believe many societal problems arise from applying the wrong "operating system" to a given issue. This is akin to what psychologist Abraham Maslow called the "law of instrument," often paraphrased as: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Applying this to the context of institutions and associations, relying solely on institutions with their service-oriented approach might lead to viewing every societal problem as a deficit requiring an institutional solution. Many social and economic policies fail because they are portraying challenges like Hollywood movies, with institutions as the “Knights in shining armour” and associations as the “damsels in distress”. Nothing could be further from the truth. We need to flip the script and to realign the relationship between institutions and associations, because Institutions that support enduring change act like good guests, not heroes. And Associations that support enduring change shift the narrative from: “We’re needy, to we’re needed.” The ideal alignment between both happens when institutions take a supplementary role to associations and when associations discover, connect and mobilise their asset for the good of all human and beyond human. There is a lot of work to be done to shift institutional systems from traditional heroic roles to becoming more community-centered and en tandem building associational life. Thankfully a growing number of associational leaders and civic professionals have started to flip the script in this direction. Together they are cocreating an ecology of care in local contexts. They are the folks I’m listening to cheering on.

This really excites me. A groundbreaking advancement in our industry was just announced at Almedalen: the launch of the SINDI - Social Index for Improvement – an open-source real estate index with the ambition to set a new standard for social value measurement. For too long, measuring social improvements has been a challenge due to the lack of standardized metrics. But now, we can measure and address hyper-local (500m precision) social needs and challenges with extreme accuracy. Also on stage, SEB highlights the struggle to link sustainability impact to their funds, with only 3 out of 10 making the mark. The potential of this new index to convert that shortage is immense. At Adapteo, addressing societal needs is our everyday mission. We are dedicated to proving that every square meter of our spaces adds value to society. The introduction of SINDI is the right direction towards achieving this goal. Thank you for a great panel, Aina Rundgren, Atusa Rezai, Björn Nyman, Robin Svensén, Lovisa Vildö, Filip Gustavsson. Adapteo Group ---- A bit on how it works: SINDI combines granular data with evidence-based research on social development, allowing for the creation of targeted roadmaps and focus areas. The SINDI score then helps you measure the impact of your plans. This transparency and the emphasis on partnerships align perfectly with the CSRD’s social aspects, ensuring that we can create significant effects in local contexts. You can learn more at: https://lnkd.in/dfthSHA2

I am sharing an insightful article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review that highlights the critical role of system orchestrators. Foundations spotlighted in the article are investing in organizations like Health Care Without Harm, that build eco-systems of actors to move a broader systems change strategy. As the world's problems grow more complex and inter-related, solving them requires strategies that address multiple issues simultaneously and move entire sectors of society to greater sustainability and equity. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/ed7Y66yG

A big thank you to Don Gips, Tulaine M., Rohini Nilekani, and Cristiane Sultani for co-authoring a powerful argument for supporting those of us around the world working as bridge builders and systems orchestrators. I couldn't agree more with you all that "It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the big, audacious goals of society can be achieved without system orchestrators. If philanthropy provides them the wraparound, long-term support they deserve, we may never have to." That's one of the reasons I opted to leave my role with a grantmaker to cultivate financial support for systems orchestrator Health Care Without Harm. We are an organization that's been working for 30 years on a very long-game vision of transforming the health sector and, in doing so, the broader economy. (You can read more about us in the article shared here.) I heartily encourage those of you new to funding systems orchestrators to take some action and make some bets. Those of you already convinced of their merit, consider deepening your support. If not now, when? What are on earth are you waiting for?

I can’t agree more with the value of investing in “system orchestrators” to help address complex issues that no one agency or organization can solve on their own. It’s critical to work across sectors and scales of government to develop approaches that come at an issue from all sides and vantage points. System orchestrators help create an environment where everyone feels respected and included - even those people and organizations without big bucks! - and can meaningfully contribute to collaborative problem solving. These roles are critically important, if not always recognized and appreciated (speaking for a friend!)