The Programme

In recent years societies have undergone significant changes with relevant social and economic impacts. Examples of these shifts are demographic trends that point to a marked ageing of populations due to increased life expectancy and declining birth rates; the movements of populations due to economic constraints, human rights or climate change; the enduring vulnerability of some population groups, namely children; increased poverty and inequality; the  gradual urbanisation of populations and the growth of megacities.

These phenomena – with their complexity, assuming different forms and paces of change - generate new and growing social needs. In present times the available resources - including public ones - are becoming increasingly scarcer.

We are then faced with the challenge of doing more and better with less and this requires organisations and social responses to adapt to the real needs of populations.

It is important to promote creativity and innovative capacity to generate new models of service responses to major social challenges.

These models should consider new "geometries" in partnerships, the involvement of service users in their design, training of staff and managers of organisations, the mobilisation and management of shared resources, the enhancement of networking, and common mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating social impact.

Within this framework of a paradigm shift, civil society plays a key role. Under this belief the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation created the Gulbenkian Human Development Programme to last from 2009 to 2013, through which - in the social field and within the framework of priorities – it aims at: investing in anticipating the problems that deeply mark our society, promoting informed debate on these challenges; local experimentation of new solutions to those problems: mediating the dialogue between social organisations and various sectors of society; enhancing the performance capacity of organisations and mobilising partnerships, and the dissemination of best practices.