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Greening Philanthropy: Philea’s Guiding Role in Mobilizing Climate Action Across European Foundations and Philanthropic Organisations

Defoer, Morgane LU (2025) SIMZ11 20251
Graduate School
Abstract
As climate change presents a complex and urgent challenge, philanthropic actors are
recognised as ‘change agents’ in driving responses. This study explores how Philea, a
European network, guides its members' foundations and philanthropic organisations
towards greener transitions. Building on the theory of polycentric governance and the
concept of environmental philanthropy, this study addresses three research questions:
the strategies Philea employs to guide its members, the perceived effectiveness of
them and the challenges and opportunities arising for foundations and philanthropic
organisations in responding to the call for greener transitions. This research combines
a qualitative interview with survey data from 45 foundations.... (More)
As climate change presents a complex and urgent challenge, philanthropic actors are
recognised as ‘change agents’ in driving responses. This study explores how Philea, a
European network, guides its members' foundations and philanthropic organisations
towards greener transitions. Building on the theory of polycentric governance and the
concept of environmental philanthropy, this study addresses three research questions:
the strategies Philea employs to guide its members, the perceived effectiveness of
them and the challenges and opportunities arising for foundations and philanthropic
organisations in responding to the call for greener transitions. This research combines
a qualitative interview with survey data from 45 foundations. The findings show that
Philea employs several strategies, such as data making and knowledge resources,
communication, monitoring and evaluation tools, networking, peer learning and
collaboration, to guide the foundations towards greener transitions. While many
foundations perceive Philea as a valuable guide, gaps in communication,
implementation support and collaboration remain. Foundations also face challenges
in responding to Philea’s call for a greener transition, such as funding, organisational
and technical matters. However, opportunities exist to enhance collaboration towards
greener transitions. Overall, this study underscores the potential and complexity of a
polycentric governance system in environmental philanthropy and offers concrete
recommendations for Philea. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Defoer, Morgane LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ11 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Philanthropy, climate change, foundations, European Union, Polycentricity
language
English
id
9197218
date added to LUP
2025-06-27 12:45:09
date last changed
2025-06-27 12:45:09
@misc{9197218,
  abstract     = {{As climate change presents a complex and urgent challenge, philanthropic actors are
recognised as ‘change agents’ in driving responses. This study explores how Philea, a
European network, guides its members' foundations and philanthropic organisations
towards greener transitions. Building on the theory of polycentric governance and the
concept of environmental philanthropy, this study addresses three research questions:
the strategies Philea employs to guide its members, the perceived effectiveness of
them and the challenges and opportunities arising for foundations and philanthropic
organisations in responding to the call for greener transitions. This research combines
a qualitative interview with survey data from 45 foundations. The findings show that
Philea employs several strategies, such as data making and knowledge resources,
communication, monitoring and evaluation tools, networking, peer learning and
collaboration, to guide the foundations towards greener transitions. While many
foundations perceive Philea as a valuable guide, gaps in communication,
implementation support and collaboration remain. Foundations also face challenges
in responding to Philea’s call for a greener transition, such as funding, organisational
and technical matters. However, opportunities exist to enhance collaboration towards
greener transitions. Overall, this study underscores the potential and complexity of a
polycentric governance system in environmental philanthropy and offers concrete
recommendations for Philea.}},
  author       = {{Defoer, Morgane}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Greening Philanthropy: Philea’s Guiding Role in Mobilizing Climate Action Across European Foundations and Philanthropic Organisations}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}