What does it feel like to become a funder when you’ve spent your career as a researcher? And what does it reveal about philanthropy when the person holding the chequebook doesn’t look the part?
In this special episode of OTT Talks, Enrique Mendizabal speaks with Christopher Chibwana (Hewlett Foundation) and Savior Mwambwa (Open Society Foundations) — two African-born former think tankers now leading programmes at major US-based foundations.
Chris reflects on being read through visual and cultural cues inside institutions that weren’t built with him in mind — and on being positioned as an explainer of the Global South rather than a shaper of how foundations engage with it. Savior contrasts OSF’s history of regional hiring with a predominantly white US office culture, and examines how program officer authority quietly determines who gets funded, how much risk a portfolio can absorb, and whether smaller or less formal actors ever get a look in.
Why do foundations find it so hard to shift resources toward proximate organisations, even when the case is widely accepted? How are geopolitical pressures reshaping what funders can say, fund, and stand behind? And what does contested language around “the global” reveal about where power actually sits in international philanthropy? Tune in to find out — from two people who have now seen both sides of the table.
Read more in Chris Chibwana’s Substack.
About OTT Talks:
OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. Learn more.
About On Think Tanks:
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all. Learn more & support us.