Just Transition Collaborative
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What is the Just Transition Collaborative?
EDGE’s Just Transition Collaborative (JTC) is a series of programs and activities that will strengthen philanthropy’s unique role in supporting systemic change.
From online offerings for a broad funder audience to an intensive global learning and strategy building group, the JTC will deepen practice toward social and economic transformation based on global justice and ecological principles, rooted in place, culture and community self-determination.
The JTC is a place to explore language, context and strategy among funders and academic, civil society and social movement partners, align across sectors, and develop collective and parallel strategies for funders to move resources to the frontlines of deep, systemic change.
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Who is the JTC for?
The JTC is designed for foundation staff, individual donors and foundation board members both experienced – and new – to systemic change concepts and work. Interwoven offerings designed in collaboration with social movement leaders, progressive funders and funder affinity groups will guide participants’ learnings about alternatives to the current political economic model. The JTC will help funders develop and strengthen strategies for systemic change, teasing out cross-cultural understandings of terminology and lifting examples of real-life work on the ground. Working across EDGE’s global alliances, the JTC will draw out underlying values of related concepts that resonate in different parts of the world, such as just transition, commoning, municipalism, agroecology, degrowth, ecofeminism, buen vivir, and more.
If you’ve ever wondered which nuances make these concepts distinct, how shared values can transcend borders and politics, how movements are building systemic alternatives and how philanthropy can organize to better support global equity, the JTC is for you!
What does the EDGE JTC mean by a “Just Transition?” Click here to find out.
JTC Programs
All JTC program components are interwoven but designed to be experienced independently, ranging from individual webinars providing new ways of seeing and understanding, to a more prolonged “deep dive” exploration through our Global Engagement Lab — and a lot in between:
An intimate group of funders from around the world, the JTC Global Engagement Lab dives into a six-month process of facilitated in-person and web-based co-learning, collaboration, practice and strategy building.
What distinguishes the JTC Global Engagement Lab from other funder education initiatives?
- Peer learning across borders
- Invaluable inside exploration of the most compelling concepts and strategies of our times
- Direct engagement with some of the world’s most impactful civil society and movement leaders, and most provocative scholars
- Experimentation with funding methods that meet the challenges of supporting systemic change
- Two retreats where the entire global cohort comes together in person, with dynamic virtual workshops and spaces in between
- A “living curriculum” design, co-created with the participants themselves so the subjects and tools offered are responsive to the unique needs and interests of each person in the group
- An opportunity to help shape and guide EDGE’s strategies and approaches for systemic change.
To learn more about the Global Engagement Lab details, click here.
The JTC webinar series deepens understanding of the theoretical principles of systemic change, while workshopping practical and strategic applications for grantmaking.
Our JTC Webinar Series is open to all EDGE members and interested funders. Designed in conjunction with the JTC Global Engagement Lab, this series will allow funders to deepen their political education, theoretical understanding and grounded practices inspired by just transition approaches across the globe.
27 June, 2017
Framing the System Change Debate
Speakers
Michael León Guerrero, Labor Network on Sustainability
Dr. Edouard Morena, Lecturer at University of London Institute in Paris
Marianne Elliot and Laura Rapira, Action Station
Samantha Harvey, Fellow on Just Transition at EDGE Funders Alliance
30 January, 2018
Progressive Philanthropy Needs to Spur System Change
Speakers:
Pablo Solón, Fundación Solón
Conniel Malek, True Costs Initiative,
Kiti Kajana, Open Society Foundations
Sofía Arroyo, Sacred Fire Foundation
Arianne Shaffer, Indie Philanthropy Initiative and EDGE Global Engagement Lab
20 February, 2018
Radical “Municipalism”: Resistance and Systemic Change from the Ground Up
Speakers:
Laura Roth, Barcelona en Comú
Romy Krämer, Guerrila Foundation
Jovanna García Soto, Grassroots International
Tin Gazivoda, Open Society Initiative for Europe
Arianne Shaffer, Indie Philanthropy Initiative and EDGE Global Engagement Lab
04 April, 2018
Integrating Gender Justice in Systemic Change Philanthropy
Speakers:
Gabriela Castillo, Calala Women’s Fund
Alexa Bradley, JASS – Just Associates
Danielle Hirsch, Both ENDS
Ursula Miniszewski, Global Greengrants Fund
Arianne Shaffer, Indie Philanthropy Initiative and EDGE Global Engagement Lab
Masum Momaya, EDGE Funders Alliance
What’s Coming from the JTC in 2018
Much of what we will learn about philanthropy’s role in systemic change during this first year of the JTC will provide a basis for the design of a guide for grantmakers, an education and outreach tool to share deeper understanding within the philanthropic community. Written with a broad funder audience in mind, this guide will seek both to deepen understanding in ways that are relevant across diverse geographies and areas of interest, and be useful to grantmakers in efforts to increase understanding among foundation colleagues and trustees.
Reshaping dominant cultural narratives are a critical part of systemic change. EDGE works with San Francisco-based Kontent Films to produce short films, some of which have been downloaded over 60,000 times. Drawing from over a hundred short interviews with funders and social movement partners highlighting examples of systemic change work, Kontent draws out compelling analysis of what’s needed to support transformative change. New film to launch in 2018, stay tuned!
