In this uplifting presentation as part of the TED Talks series, Monitor's Katherine Fulton sketches the new future of philanthropy -- one where collaboration and innovation allow regular people to do big things, even when money is scarce. Giving five practical examples of crowd-driven philanthropy, she calls for a new generation of citizen leaders.

In their quest for innovation-led growth, executives are apt to approach technology investments with a conservative risk-averse mindset. This paper explains how taking an active approach to technology risk management, using three common portfolio management techniques, can reduce uncertainty and increase a company's opportunity for growth.

The global financial crisis offers executives in the Middle East "a tremendous opportunity to drive change more effectively than in the good times, so that businesses are well-positioned for the future," writes Kristina Rogers, a leader of Monitor's Middle East and North Africa practice, in Emirates Business 24-7 based in the United Arab Emirates. Rogers explains how businesses can navigate these uncertain times "by incorporating uncertainty into business strategies and exploring a range of potential future scenarios to uncover new opportunities."

A new report from Monitor Group, an in-depth profile of 13 sovereign wealth funds based in the Middle East and North Africa, finds the variation in performance is greater than expected "and indicates that the more mature funds have better risk management systems and organizational architecture better attuned to rapidly changing circumstances," said Monitor's CEO, Mark B. Fuller, who is speaking about the report at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East. 

"It is no surprise that risks have increased worldwide over the last year, as the latest release of the Opacity Index shows." So write Joel Kurtzman, a member of the Monitor Talent network, and Glenn Yago, in their report for the Milken Institute, "Opacity Index 2009: Measuring Global Risks."

To explore creatively the nature of work in the 21st century, we must challenge many of our deeply held assumptions, beliefs and perspectives. In this article from People & Strategy, Eamonn Kelly, a Monitor partner and the firm's global head of thought leadership and networking, argues that there are six fundamental shifts in mindset leaders have to make about work in order to be competitive at the corporate and national levels.

Nearly half of the world lives on less than $2 a day. The persistence of massive global poverty cries out for new approaches to improving the lives of people living at the base of the income pyramid. Monitor Group released this first-of-its-kind report based on comparative research in 20 countries that explores financially sustainable and scalable enterprises that succeed in low-income markets and highlights their promise to accelerate genuine social change.

Why do organizations get blindsided by market transformations that could have been anticipated?  This article from Strategy & Leadership guides you through a systematic process for incorporating plausible but challenging future scenarios into your organization’s learning processes, to help mitigate risk and decrease the likelihood of being unprepared for discontinuities.

A growing group of investors around the world is seeking to make investments that generate social and environmental value as well as financial return. This emerging industry of impact investing has the potential to become a potent force for addressing global challenges. But how might it succeed or fail? Will it take the next five to 10 years? 25 years? Or will it not happen at all?

This report, by Monitor Institute's Jessica Freireich and Katherine Fulton, examines impact investing and how leaders could accelerate the industry's evolution and increase its ultimate impact in the world. It explores how impact investing has emerged and how it might evolve, including profiles of a wide range of impact investors. The report also provides a blueprint of initiatives to catalyze the industry.

“Paths to Prosperity; Promoting Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century,” a new Monitor Group study, interviewed entrepreneurs in 22 countries to determine attitudes and critical policies required for entrepreneurship to thrive in different regions around the world, including the importance of a society's fostering of entrepreneurial skills and tax policies that encourage R&D.