ActionAid, The Wealth Creation Framework & International Values Chains Work: An International Workshop

ActionAid is an international organization, working with over 15 million people in 45 countries for a world free from poverty and injustice. After hearing about the wealth creation approach, ActionAid approached the Ford Foundation to learn more. In response, Shanna Ratner and Barbara Wyckoff developed and facilitated a three day workshop to: (1) provide training to participants on the wealth creation framework; and (2) “road test” that framework against the reality in several developing countries to assess its applicability and to explore possible collaboration. The workshop, held in September 2012 at the Ford Foundation in New York City, brought together ActionAid staff and partners from Bangladesh, Brazil, Senegal, Tanzania, the USA and the international secretariat; Ford Foundation grantees working on value chain projects from Mozambique and South Africa; Ford Foundation domestic grantees from Arkansas, Georgia, and a former domestic grantee now living and working in Costa Rica; and representatives of the Ford Foundation and the McKnight Foundation. The workshop was highly interactive and gave everyone a chance to learn about each other’s work.