Maintaining a constructive dialogue around public policy is an important component of GE's Citizenship efforts. A significant portion of the company's work in this arena comes directly from GE people and their expertise — but one company cannot shape policy alone. So an ongoing series of grants from GE Foundation is dedicated to helping fund the policy work being done by a variety of outside organizations.
The company's interest in key policy issues is not merely an abstract one. Certain economic and social conditions are favorable to the prospect of solving the world's biggest challenges in general — and of supporting GE's growth in particular. GE Foundation engages organizations that take significant action across four priority areas: globalization, human rights, climate change and rule of law.
GE Foundation's support of the U.S.-Vietnam Education Foundation offers one example, making a positive impact on both globalization issues and rule of law. The one-year grant is assisting in the integration of Vietnam into the global economy by funding efforts to make its legal system more responsive, transparent and effective. GE's long-term support of the U.S.-China Legal Cooperation Fund has similar aims in that country.
Grants supporting the United Nations Global Compact impact a number of GE's priority areas. As the world's largest corporate citizenship initiative, the organization provides a framework for businesses committed to aligning with principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. GE Foundation support focuses specifically on researching human rights dilemmas for multinational corporations in emerging and developing countries.
Just as public policy challenges differ in their geography and scope, so do the grants that GE Foundation makes in this area. Recipients of recent support have included both seasoned global organizations and smaller, more domestic-oriented institutes. The outputs of these grants vary as well, ranging from the generation of best practices and case studies to fellowships, training, seminars and research.
Along with targeted short-term engagements, sustainable programs in public policy also play an important role. In cooperation with GE Foundation, Partners for Democratic Change recently built a new global model for establishing and scaling up national centers dedicated to governance, rule of law and civil society development. The program, Partners for Sustainable Leadership, emphasizes the importance of conflict and change management. As 10 national centers are built through 2011, the effort will help address a global demand for leadership and change management skills.
As with many GE Citizenship endeavors, public policy work often intersects with educational efforts. In one such example, the Lawyers in the Classroom Program, volunteer attorneys have engaged with thousands of Chicago-area students to deepen their understanding of rights and responsibilities under U.S. law. In 2009, the program received the Bill of Rights in Action Award from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago.
Because GE Foundation focuses its public policy support on priorities that align with the world's most pressing issues, these grants serve the needs of both global markets and their populations. As such, the benefit of this work can be measured in both social and economic impact. As GE continues to be a strong and provocative voice in the public policy discussions of our times, the company will continue to support the work of like-minded partners to augment these efforts worldwide.