Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 4 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 4(2023)

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the success of donor organizations, which includes both private foundations and socially responsible companies, is directly linked to their human and intellectual capital. Knowledge stands as the cornerstone of effective philanthropy. It enables a strategic choice of funding priorities and investments in the most effective strategies for social change, while reducing administrative overheads and ensuring sustainability of the changes achieved. Over the years, these organizations have amassed extensive databases detailing various problem-solving approaches. However, experience shows that merely possessing data does not equate to gaining knowledge. For instance, one can spend years conducting grant competitions, training recipients, and collecting project reports, without ever being able to glean the key insights in the vast sea of data that could be instrumental in timely transforming grant programs, refining their priorities, and altering the ways of engaging with grant applicants and recipients.

What does it take to transform data into knowledge? Firstly, it involves learning how to collect and process data, incorporating it into the context of one’s activities, making it accessible, encouraging its exchange, and training staff in all these aspects. This necessitates establishing processes that allow an organization to accumulate and effectively manage its intellectual capital. Comprehensive knowledge management, both within individual organizations and across the sector, continues to be one of the major challenges for the donor community. Despite being a topic of discussion for many years, recent geopolitical and technological shifts have heightened its relevance and revealed new perspectives.

KNOWLEDGE AS A UNIVERSAL VALUE: THE VISIONARIES’ PERSPECTIVE

In a quest to understand knowledge management, explore a range of possible solutions, and find approaches that are compatible with the donor organizations’ corporate culture while addressing the nuances of our current reality, the Donors Forum chose “Knowledge as a Development Resource” as the theme for the donor community’s annual conference.

This unconventional topic called for innovative approaches. Therefore, instead of the traditional plenary session, the conference kicked off with a visionary discussion.[108] Experts from various fields, including science, spiritual development, and education, were invited to participate. They deliberated on how the value of knowledge changes in times of instability, how the donor community can meet new challenges and adapt to the pace of change without losing its sense. Drawing on their experiences, each speaker endeavored to reveal the multifaceted nature of this topic.

Sudha Rani Gupta, head of the Interregional Public Organization “Center for Spiritual Development” in Moscow, opines, “A time of crisis can be a period of grace. To face it calmly, one needs an understanding of the world’s history, its dramas, and the global spectacle… Today, there are numerous schools and teachers, but profound ignorance also exists, because people are unaware of their true selves. This ignorance is the root of conflicts and wars. The much-needed knowledge now is the kind that liberates individuals from vices and enables them to adopt values and virtues that truly humanize their lives.”

Comprehensive knowledge management, both within individual organizations and across the sector, continues to be one of the major challenges for the donor community.

Lyubov Dukhanina, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, and Chair of the Council for Professional Qualifications in Education, is convinced that the true value of knowledge lies not in the knowledge itself but in how it impacts our understanding of the world. “My role is to help children acquire knowledge and recognize its significance at the cultural code level. In an era rife with geopolitical and technological challenges, the speed of learning has never been more crucial. In this context, mentorship emerges as one of the fastest methods of knowledge transfer and acquisition. However, what we need is not just people replicating existing models, but creating new ones. It is therefore particularly valuable when a child or young adult has a mentor from the realms of science and the arts — an individual capable of teaching the creation of new knowledge,” Dukhanina says.