Stiftung Mercator, Germany

Based in Essen, Germany, Stiftung Mercator is organized into three ‘competence centres’ – Education; Research and higher education; and International relations. Its grantmaking budget for 2009 is approximately €32 million, an increase of 50 per cent over last year. This planned long-term growth will continue despite the financial crisis as the founding family has stood by its decision to significantly increase its philanthropic investment.

Bernhard Lorentz, President

Since I took over as president of Stiftung Mercator in March 2008, we have embarked on a strategic rethink, prompted by the fact that the foundation was growing. When the financial crisis led to the rapid deterioration of the general economic situation, we felt – though not affected directly by the crisis – obliged to accelerate and to deepen our strategic process, because of the consequences to the philanthropic sector. As there would be fewer resources available generally, it was even more important to invest strategically and to achieve the maximum impact. Since then, the focus of our three competence centres has sharpened and we have defined three new interdisciplinary clusters of issues to further broaden our profile over the next few years: integration, climate change and cultural education. Our aim is at all times to combine advocacy with practical work.

As step two of our strategic process, we are in the process of translating this broad-ranging policy line into clear individual targets and concrete projects. I believe that this strategic process, combined with our fortunate financial position, means we are well prepared for the changed economic conditions.

Since the financial crisis, we are receiving more enquiries: from partners in existing projects, from private and public sector institutions and organizations with whom we have not yet worked, and also from other foundations. In reaching decisions about new projects, our new strategy gives us essential orientation. In terms of content, we are concentrating increasingly on our interdisciplinary clusters of integration, climate change and cultural education. We select new projects in line with the long-term objectives of social change, and we see ourselves as a socio-political actor. This involves more than just financial commitment – we also contribute our networks, our knowledge and our reputation. We want to make sure that our work is also always perceived and understood as a long-term investment in the processes of social reform. Foundations have more than financial resources to draw on, and in time of financial crisis we need to make more creative use of these other resources.

The economic crisis should also be seen as an opportunity: while radical cuts are and will be made in many areas, it is possible at the same time to push for fundamental political and social reforms and to form new coalitions. I believe the crisis will stimulate, for instance, greater use of private-public partnerships and cooperation agreements – means that we at Mercator already employ – more generally in the sector.

Let me give a few examples of new strategic investments in the area of climate change. Earlier this year, we brought together the various strands of the social debate on climate change at the international conference ‘The Great Transformation – Climate Change as Cultural Change’, which we ran jointly with the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen and in cooperation with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. The results, we hope, will provide a new impetus to the Copenhagen climate negotiations in December 2009. In addition, we are promoting an international research project to model future energy systems to highlight the options for political action on the basis of scientifically sound concepts. At the same time, we have launched school projects designed to introduce young people who are socially and educationally disadvantaged to the issue of climate change, and to promote intercultural exchange in this area between young people of similar age.

When financial resources are scarce, we believe we have a special responsibility to ensure that our funding is deployed to produce the greatest possible impact. We aim to achieve our objectives by making strategic investments and entering into new partnerships. If the work of foundations is important in good times, it is even more so in bad times, particularly in the current economic crisis.

For more information
Contact Bernhard Lorentz at bernhard.lorentz@stiftung-mercator.de or visit www.stiftung-mercator.de