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Contributor Guidelines

Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.

Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.

You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.

If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.

Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.


Social Sector Leadership and Succession Planning

Waldron and the UW Evans School of Public Affairs, both Global Washington members, recently released their second annual Social Sector CEO Trends report after surveying senior executives at U.S. NGOs, nonprofits and charitable foundations.

As the number of organizations in the social sector grows and leaders reach retirement age, the sector is expected to face a scarcity of leadership. The survey examines if and how organizations are planning for these changes and how CEOs’ perceptions compare to Leadership Team perceptions.

Some of the top survey findings include:

  • 90% of CEOs perceive their organizations provide next generation leaders with access to development opportunities compared to only 52% of Leadership Team members.
  • 87% of CEOs state that succession planning is very important, yet less than 30% have a planned transition policy in place.
  • 62% of Leadership Team members aspire to become CEO, but only 27% report they feel ready to take that role today.

Click here to access the full report in Waldron’s Knowledge Center.

Megatrends And Their Impact On Our World

PwCIn a world where information constantly bombards us, where there is always something “trending,” the concept of megatrends is something that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is looking at closely. PwC opens Global Washington’s 6th Annual Conference on Wednesday, December 3 with a presentation of their recent study outlining five megatrends.

PwC defines megatrends as “macroeconomic forces that are shaping the world” and states that they are “factual and often backed by verifiable data.” The five megatrends include society’s biggest challenges and opportunities, and are as follows:[1]

  1. Accelerating Urbanization
  2. Climate Change and Resource Scarcity
  3. Demographic Shifts
  4. Shift in Global Economic Power
  5. Technological Breakthroughs

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GlobalWA On the Ground: SE Asia Children’s Foundation

This is the second in a series of articles written by the Adventure in Focus team. While traveling throughout Southeast Asia, AIF is documenting the projects of several GlobalWA member organizations that are working on the ground in the region. Jesse submitted this article from Thailand, while working with Bill Taylor of SE Asia Children’s Foundation.

Bill Taylor, the energetic and affable founder of SE Asia Children’s Foundation, is retired. You wouldn’t know it by spending time with him, though. He spends three to four months each year in Southeast Asia, visiting the projects he works year-round to fund. His foundation, a long-time Global Washington member, is helping children – especially girls – break the cycle of poverty into which they were born and from which they are not likely to escape without outside assistance. Bill’s positivity is infectious and his love for his work is present in everything he does. A former management consultant, he uses the knowledge and skills that he’s accumulated throughout his career to help build capacity, train leaders and strategize for organizations in Southeast Asia that are helping at-risk children obtain a stable and nurturing environment. Continue Reading