Strategy Review 2019-2020

After years of carefully nurturing our programs in Hong Kong and China, we came upon a crossroads in 2018, spurred on by questions that loomed large. What was the true impact of our philanthropy as a whole? How could we better align ourselves for greater focus and take our work to new heights? What did the future hold?

 

In 2019 these conversations came to a head, as we embarked on what became a year-long strategic review process. With the help of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, we took a step back to take stock of our work, listen to the stakeholders around us, and conduct rigorous strategy discussions with our team and Grants Committee to determine the way forward.

 

These conversations framed a clear intention to affect change at the systems level in education, beyond any single or set of programs that we might support. We then followed this with in-depth research into global best practices in education, and corresponding research to uncover potential system gaps that we could address.

The steps in this journey include:

Stakeholder Interviews & Organizational Review

Exploring stakeholder views and expectations of YFP along with YFP’s strengths, internal processes and programs

Mission Statement Update & Landscape Scan

Updating YFP’s mission statement to reflect new direction while conducting research on specific education issue areas

Set Program Areas & Conduct In-depth Research

Determining new HK & China Program Areas, researching global best practices and local system gaps in education

We've now emerged with a new mission statement: "Collaborating to reimagine learning systems for the development of youth potential". This reflects the understanding that our work cannot be done in isolation, and a renewal of our commitment to develop partnerships and networks to collectively create change at scale.

In Hong Kong, the focus of our 5-year strategy is Social Emotional Learning: to enable learners of different ages, along with the people around them, to be better aware of their emotions and build trusting relationships for a more successful, fulfilled life.

In China, our 5-year strategy revolves around early childhood, to provide the conditions necessary for young learners to achieve healthy growth and a promising head start.

There is still much to learn. But we are encouraged by the new alliances we have forged, and the changes we've seen that have already taken root in our beneficiaries, our partners and ourselves.