The Globalizer offers Thought Partners a great opportunity to broaden connections and learn from a huge diversity of thought. It is an amazing opportunity to both give back in some small way whilst learning a huge amount about topics I might never have worked on.
ASHOKA GLOBALIZER:
BECOME A THOUGHT PARTNER
Would you like to work with a team of diverse changemakers, learn about creating change and use your skills to contribute to a better world? Support a Social Entrepreneur in developing an effective systems change strategy!
If this interests you, and you can prioritize 3-4 hours per week from February-June 2023, please apply before EOD on 25th November. You will then be considered to participate in a 3-4 volunteer Thought Partner team working alongside a leading social entrepreneur (an Ashoka Fellow) to maximize their social impact.

Role Description

Using a Globalizer template for spreading impact and systems change as a guide, along with the rest of the Thought Partner team, you will:
- Immerse yourself in a new perspective and methodology;
- Serve as a thinking partner and a sounding board to help the social entrepreneur develop a robust system changing social impact strategy;
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Learn by doing, applying your skills and focusing them towards social impact;
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Review and comment on content prepared by the social entrepreneur and their team.
Time commitment
3-4 hours/week for a period of 16 weeks. Generally, 1.5 hours is spent on a weekly team video conference call and the other time is spent reviewing materials, commenting and preparing for the next call.
Thought Partners will be selected and matched with the Social Entrepreneurs to be their sounding boards in their systems change strategy development process, based on:
1) their strategic thinking expertise- to contribute with knowledge, questions and critical thinking to the development and or refinement of the system change strategy, pushing on feasibility and consistency;
2) geographical location (to match the geographical diversity of the participating social entrepreneurs;
3) their competence and background to support with one of these functions.

Strategy Keeping
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Facilitating and structuring an organizational planning process to implement a system change strategy;
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Helping think through and creating content for the Systems Change Strategy document to be used at the Summit.
Ideal Background: a Senior executive or entrepreneur

Research & Deck Designing
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Helping with research and analysis, harvesting and organizing important information through the process and preparing it for subsequent rounds of discussion;
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Working closely with the social entrepreneur on preparing the Strategy Document and 7-minute Presentation to be used for the Summit.
Ideal Background: Associate, Business Analyst or MBA candidate

Process Management
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Facilitating the process by hosting meetings and managing work plan for the team with timeline and goals to achieve by the Summit;
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Offering analytical support to projections and content prepared by social entrepreneur’s team;
Ideal Background: an Engagement Manager or Senior Associate

Topical Expertise
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Contributing to the social entrepreneur’s strategy development by sharing insights based on research and your background in systems change or the topic of work of the social entrepreneur;
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Helping sustain the alignment of the strategy with what is happening in the system.
Ideal Background: Systems Change practitioner or an expert in the field of work of the Social Entrepreneur
Our Program
The Ashoka Globalizer Program helps you unlock your changemaking potential by becoming a Thought Partner for Systems Change.
The 16-week accelerator encourages Social Entrepreneurs working on addressing different complex challenges to focus on their vision for systemic change, by activating the brightest minds from the business world as co-leaders for a world in which systems change is possible - an Everyone A Changemaker World.
Rather than merely expanding operations, through the Globalizer process, the social entrepreneurs are challenged to further refine their leading social innovations consider how to open up access to their ideas so that they can become the new norm in society and have the most efficient, longest lasting systemic impact.
Throughout this intense process, they are supported by experts from the Globalizer team, working alongside 3-4 experienced Thought Partners from consulting firms, partner organizations and the Ashoka Support Network of business leaders and experts committed to social change.

Here is an outline of what the program design looks like:
💡 Phase 1: Developing the System Change Story
Using a range of systems change tools and methodologies, Ashoka Staff work with social entrepreneurs to analyze the problem they aim to tackle, identify the systemic conditions that keep it in place, set goals to change it and outline a targeted systems change strategy.
During this phase the Thought Partner team gets to develop a shared understanding of the big problem, the social entrepreneur’s work, the Globalizer process and Ashoka’s System Thinking Perspective.
⚡ Phase 2: Building the Organizational Strategy
This is where the changemaking potential of the Thought Partner team gets even more activated.
Equipped with a systemic goal and some key milestones for how to get there, Thought Partners apply their skills and expertise to develop an organizational strategy with the social entrepreneur in order to achieve the Targeted System Change goal.
🔥 Summit
Social entrepreneurs present their strategies to Strategy Thought Partners- high level entrepreneurs, executives and experts from companies, international organizations, foundations, and NGOs who will engage in a 1 on 1 conversations to help social entrepreneurs strengthen their strategies, open doors to key contacts and potentially provide support to implement them.
By accompanying a social entrepreneur in developing their systems change strategy as a Thought Partner, you will familiarize yourself with the system thinking perspective and develop the ability to apply your professional skills for changemaking.
Our Cohort
APPLY TO BE A THOUGHT PARTNER
If the time commitment works for you, and you are interested in being considered to be a part of the Thought Partner team and support a leading social entrepreneur (an Ashoka Fellow), kindly register by clicking the below button and we will be in touch as soon as possible to review possibilities.
WE CANNOT GUARANTEE SPOTS FOR ANYONE YET, as we need to juggle many factors while matching, but we look forward to exploring ways we might engage you in this round.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
Our Approach
Ashoka Fellows aim to reach system and frame change with their social innovations.
Scaling is not just about serving more and more people via one’s own organization, but about influencing many others to promote and adopt the new model. In this way, the idea is no longer dependent upon one social entrepreneur or one organization, but can continue to grow through and with others, until it becomes the new norm in society.
Systems change often requires indirect as well as direct impact.

It takes many changemakers to change a System...
The world is rapidly changing and sometimes not in the right direction. To be able to make sure the world develops for the good of all, Ashoka supports changemakers and encourages everyone to be one. Ashoka Fellows are selected for their potential to change systems to tackle specific social problems.
However, in order to do so, they need allies –Thought Partners who are willing to connect and unlock their own changemaking potential and explore what it takes to change a system and improve social conditions.
Learn more about our approach & impact here
