Events across the globe could be added to the Skoll World Forum programme to make it more accessible to people who can't travel to Oxford, according to the Skoll Foundation's president and CEO Sally Osberg.
Talking to Social Enterprise, Osberg said the three-day forum would be staying in Oxford for the foreseeable future and that there were no plans to move it to the US or anywhere else.
Events elsewhere could be added, she said, but stressed that no plans were yet set in stone.
‘There's a challenge of figuring out how to expand the forum so that people from all over the world can make it,' Osberg said.
‘There may be regional meetings, but we haven't made that decision yet. We won't be moving as Pamela [Hartigan, Skoll Centre director] needs to find her sea legs first.'
However, there were changes afoot as the Skoll Foundation, Skoll Centre and Skoll World Forum deal with the current economic situation.
‘There's never been a greater imperative to do more,' said Osberg.
‘Everywhere is going to face the challenges of the economic situation, but the developing world is going to suffer the most, especially with climate change.'
Osberg said that it was inevitable that funding belts would be tightened, including the foundation's in terms of the organisation's structure and expansion, but that funding needed to be available to support innovation.
‘Funding will not be spread out, but will have to be focused, but we want to preserve scope for innovation. The danger is becoming too risk averse,' Osberg said.
‘It's something we are very aware of and we're worried about, and that's where the Skoll Centre comes in. We have the Skoll scholars and their courses are subsidised. They can then continue to form partnerships with organisations like Ashoka.
‘The funding is there for the seed social entrepreneurs, but the challenge is going to be funding the more mezzanine social entrepreneurs who are taking their ideas global to scale up. The funding will reduce slightly.'
