In the past decade, more and more voices across the globe have been calling for a recalibration of the ‘social contract’. The COVID-19 crisis has only amplified these. This is not just about the relationship between state and citizens, but also about the changing role that businesses, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and philanthropic organisations might play alongside government in building thriving communities. The impetus for shifting power closer to people and places, and for more cross-sector partnerships, may be obvious. What is less clear is how these relationships can work effectively in practice.

Join two world-leading thinkers – Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, and Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor of Management at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University – who will draw on their decades-long work to explore these themes, offer pragmatic solutions and examples of best practice, and share their own vision for how to build and nurture inclusive communities, where no one is left behind.

The discussion will be moderated by Mara Airoldi, Director of the Government Outcomes Lab at the Blavatnik School of Government.

This public talk is hosted by the Government Outcomes Lab, as part of the fifth edition of the Social Outcomes Conference.

Please note: This event will take place online via Zoom. Please register using the form below and you will be emailed a link with joining instructions nearer the time. You do not need to register here if you have already registered for the Social Outcomes Conference.

The event will also be available to watch live on our YouTube channel, where it will be archived afterwards.

About the speakers

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and a Professorial Fellow of St Antony’s College. From 1998–2003 he took Public Service leave, during which he was Director of the Research Development Department of the World Bank. He is currently a Professeur invité at Sciences Po and a Director of the International Growth Centre.

Paul's research covers the causes and consequences of civil war; the effects of aid and the problems of democracy in low-income and natural resources-rich societies; urbanisation in low-income countries; private investment in African infrastructure; and changing organisational cultures. His books include The Bottom Billion (Oxford University Press, 2007), which in 2008 won the Lionel Gelber, Arthur Ross and Corine prizes and in May 2009 was the joint winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book prize; Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places (Vintage Books, 2009); The Plundered Planet: How to reconcile prosperity with nature (Oxford University Press, 2010); and Exodus: How migration is changing our world (Oxford University Press, 2013). His latest book is The Future of Capitalism: Facing The New Anxieties (2018).

In 2014, Paul received a knighthood for services to promoting research and policy change in Africa.

Alnoor Ebrahim is a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His current research addresses two core dilemmas of accountability facing social enterprises, nonprofit organisations and public agencies: 1) how should they measure and improve their performance?; and 2) how should they address competing demands for accountability from diverse stakeholders? These questions are addressed in his new book, Measuring Social Change: Performance & Accountability in a Complex World (Stanford University Press, 2019). He is also author of the award-winning book, NGOs and Organizational Change: Discourse, Reporting, and Learning, and is co-editor of Global Accountabilities: Participation, Pluralism, and Public Ethics (both Cambridge University Press).

Alnoor serves on advisory boards to the Global Impact Investing Network and Acumen Fund on the topic of impact measurement, and he previously served on a working group established by the G8 to create global guidelines on social impact measurement. He has also worked with the NGO Leaders Forum, an annual gathering of CEOs of the largest humanitarian development organisations based in the US. His previous research on accountability mechanisms within the World Bank led to a congressional testimony on improving the Bank’s information disclosure policy. Alnoor teaches courses on leadership and strategy, and also co-chairs an executive education program at the Harvard Kennedy School for the Schwab Foundation’s social entrepreneurs.