Jacobs Foundation

The Jacobs Foundation seeks to benefit future generations by providing children and young people with better opportunities for development, so that they can become productive and socially responsible members of society. Mission: By 2020, they aim to have become the key organization linking excellent research with improving, globally, the development of children and young people under the age of 12. That means focussing their efforts on effective implementation, dialogue and advocacy. As a research-informed organization, they will base their funding decisions on solid evidence and will use comprehensive approaches to secure systemic change. They are focussing on three big themes. Their first priority, “Science of Learning”, is to fund new research into how individual children can learn better. Their second priority theme is “Early Childhood Education and Care”. This focusses on developing exemplary best practice in the northern hemisphere, in Switzerland and Germany, with the learning disseminated to other European countries. Their third theme looks to the southern hemisphere where they will support improvements in “Rural Livelihoods” in Ivory Coast, whose benefits will be shared with other West African countries. Worldwide network: They have established a worldwide network of the most talented people in child and youth development. Linking researchers, journalists, practitioners, social entrepreneurs and politicians will strengthen their alumni activities. Strategic partnerships with institutions from the private and public sector will help them to increase the effectiveness of their programs. Leveraging impact: Furthermore, they aim to leverage their impact and their core funding by encouraging co-investments, by using impact investment finance and by harnessing all their skills to provide services. They will use their highly regarded reputation to target communications in ways that help key people to make the most of learning from their projects and initiatives.