Comments on: Let’s Get Some Credible Critique of the Gates Foundation http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/ infusing everyday life with the love of humanity Mon, 28 May 2012 17:41:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Business http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-4773 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:47:12 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-4773 Business…

[...]Let’s Get Some Credible Critique of the Gates Foundation « The Philanthropic Family[...]…

]]> By: Learn French now http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-4764 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:39:35 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-4764 Learn French now…

[...]Let’s Get Some Credible Critique of the Gates Foundation « The Philanthropic Family[...]…

]]> By: married illicit affairs http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-4574 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:35:57 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-4574 married illicit affairs…

[...]Let’s Get Some Credible Critique of the Gates Foundation « The Philanthropic Family[...]…

]]> By: Gates Keepers http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-3250 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:47:58 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-3250 http://www.thelancet.com Vol 373 May 9, 2009 1645 or http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2809%2960571-7/fulltext

GK

]]> By: SonyaRatty http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-3246 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 15:24:39 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-3246 Hello, please could you link to the Lancet article or give the full title? The current one does not work and I would be interested in reading it. Thanks.

]]> By: Colorado Medical Health Insurance http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-1414 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 02:56:37 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-1414 Very Helpful Info! I really believe this site is very interesting. Much Appreciated. Leilani Jenson

]]> By: Philippe http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-1190 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:35:59 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-1190 10 months later (from may 2009 to February 2010) what has changed at the Gates Foundation? Bill just opened a personal website that’s not really a blog and is on twitter. Jeff Raikes said to the Chronicle of Philanthropy he is considering an ombusdsman. They have a new communication director. I think my suggestions still stand but is anybody listening? It is impossible to know. They should really have a feedback department…

]]> By: Gates Keepers http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-840 Sun, 17 May 2009 13:11:37 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-840 Thank you, Sharon, for the comment on the Gates Keepers blog.

snip

“Criticism of what most observers seem to think is a shoddy study is “backlash” against those who criticize Gates? I don’t think you are well-served in your mission to hold Gates accountable by embracing everyone that happens to share your negative outlook of the Gates Foundation. Don’t accept the study as valid just because you like their conclusions. Have some standards, man.”

snip

We expect there to be a backlash against any criticism of the Foundation and we will continue to contribute to a critical analysis of their activities. If you look for positive postings about the Foundation’s activities on Gates Keepers you will find them.

The study was valid enough to be peer reviewed and published in the world’s leading medical journal. That is good enough for us. More importantly, the Lancet editorial outlining suggestions for the Foundation carries the weight of a very critical editorial staff. We are proud to amplify their anonymous voices.

And we agree the more transparency the better.

Gates Keepers

http://gateskeepers.civiblog.org/blog/_archives/2009/5/15/4187087.html#comments

]]> By: Sharon Schneider http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-838 Sat, 16 May 2009 14:35:31 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-838 Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions, Phillipe. Even though I find a lot of fault with the Lancet study, if this publicity causes the foundation to be more transparent, that can only be a good thing.

]]> By: Philippe http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2009/05/09/lets-get-some-credible-critique-of-the-gates-foundation/#comment-837 Sat, 16 May 2009 07:25:30 +0000 http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/?p=596#comment-837 it seems to me there is a strong reluctance from the Gates Foundation (and from many others) to be more transparent. As you write maybe they don’t see what benefits (if any) they would get out of it and there is certainly the will to control any bit of information that is released.
I think the transparency requirement applies as much to the grantees (that are themselves big organizations): they should be transparent about what they do with the funds they receive.
From my own limited experience (see below), they don’t.
It would be easy for the Gates Foundation to require them to be transparent and blogs provide a very effective tool. How do you explain there is not one blog linked to the Gates Foundation but for the critical Gates Keepers? Why are they so totally blogophobic?

Gates Foundation: The challenge of communicating about $3.8 billion programs. The blog solution.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to invest $3.8 billion in 2009.
They have invested $3.3 billion in 2008.
As far as communication goes they have one traditional website (plus one facebook account) and… that’s it.
They apparently don’t require that their grantees report on line about how they use the grant they have received.
Let us take the example of a project I have worked on, the $5 million grant (grant 49.295) awarded in January 2008 to the Canadian crown corporation IDRC to promote tobacco control in Africa, a project Bill has said to be personally concerned about (along with Mike Bloomberg).

$5 million (over two years) is -by far- the biggest grant ever attributed to tobacco control in sub-Sahara Africa but when compared to the cumulative budget of the Gates Foundation for 2008/09 it is hardly 0,07% of $7.1 billion (over two years).

How to communicate in a substantial and meaningful way about a $5 million grant when it represents 0,07% of your global budget? The solution is to rely on the grantees to provide this information.

In the case of IDRC, they devote a few pages on their website to this grant: one for the general presentation, a few about the process to select African grantees, one for the list of the selected grantees where each one is very shortly mentioned. There are also two issues of a very short newsletter in a pdf format (not very userfriendly on the web but they did make the effort to produce both an english and french version).

Is that enough reporting for a $5 million grant that is -by far- the biggest grant ever attributed to tobacco control in Africa?

Each African grantee could communicate via a blog that could be edited by an advocate or a local journalist for a very small budget as demonstrated by many ongoing blog projects in Africa. The managers could also blog to share information on a regular basis about what they are doing and the evolution of the project.

If the Gates Foundation was requiring such blog-reporting by its grantees it would largely reduce its own information deficit and generate a new galaxy of blogs.

]]>