Intent

A shift is underway in the global development landscape. Former aid-dependent regions are increasingly charting their own path, challenging the presumption that external models hold the answers. The cracks in the one-size-fits-all SDG framework reveal something deeper: when approaches aren’t systemic, they risk worsening the very crises they aim to solve.

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Philanthropy at a Crossroads

Philanthropy, long tasked with filling the gaps left by governments and markets, faces its own reckoning. Outdated governance, an obsession with economic metrics, and a growing trust deficit limit its ability to respond to today’s complexity. Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation underscores the choice before us: philanthropy can either unlock new futures or shut them down. Addressing trust, rethinking governance, and redefining success beyond financial outputs will determine whether the sector serves humanity—or simply sustains itself.

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Creating the Future, Not Just Funding It

For over two decades, TSF has invested in unlocking human potential—learning, adapting, and walking alongside those driving meaningful change. This isn’t just about charity. It’s about transformation. To stay relevant, philanthropy must:

• Repair structural trust deficits

• Adopt governance fit for today’s realities

• Redefine success in human, not just financial, terms
   

A Systems Lens

In the information age, knowledge isn’t about collecting more—it’s about connecting better. General systems theory shows how natural systems evolve with coherence and resilience. Biomatrix theory and methodology (introduced in the YouTube clips above) takes this further, applying systems thinking to human-made structures like politics, economics, and education—structures we can redesign.

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Our Approach

Developed at the University of Cape Town, Biomatrix theory brings together insights from engineering, physics, biology, business management, futurism, and social development. The methodology guides how we gather diverse perspectives from the development sector to co-design a new philanthropic system. Our focus starts with Africa—amplifying the voices most impacted by systemic failure. Where the sector often produces endless dialogue but little structural change, this initiative focuses on follow-through:
 

• Identify: Collect insights on philanthropy’s toughest challenges through a series of stakeholder iterations

• Redesign: Translate the solutions gathered into a coherent system model (ideal design), refined through stakeholder engagement

• Implement: Test, adapt, and distil the redesign into practical action 
   

Local learnings will be shared with global partners—inviting them to adapt the design and shift their own systems.

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A New Way of Thinking

This is more than incremental reform. It’s a structural transformation—one that requires participants to shift logic, connect across boundaries, and imagine new possibilities together.

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The Call

Philanthropy can cling to outdated models that perpetuate dependency—or step forward as an architect of systemic renewal. Through Biomatrix theory, this initiative shows that man-made systems aren’t fixed. They can be redesigned to match the complexity of the world they serve.

The task is clear: reclaim philanthropy’s relevance as a catalyst for resilience, regeneration, and shared human flourishing.

What we hope to learn

Philanthropic Foundations & Funders

• How to move beyond conventional charity models and redesign internal operating systems around regeneration, trust, and futures thinking.

• How to become catalysts for systemic change by embodying the principles they aim to fund.

• How to invest in high-leverage nodes rather than high-visibility metrics.

• Pinpoint the five core problems out of 20 that unlock resolution of the other fifteen—dissolving ambivalence and creating clarity about where investment matters most.

Policy Leaders

• How philanthropic influence can support education reform, trust rebuilding, and institutional resilience.

• How to integrate values-based funding logic into public-private partnerships.

NGOs & Community Organisations

• How to reposition themselves not as beneficiaries but as co-designers of systemic solutions.

• How to interface with funders in new relational ways that prioritise mutual learning and co-creation.

Learning & Research Partners

• How to facilitate cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange that feeds into redesigning governance models.

• How to map systemic feedback loops and use complexity science in real-time decision-making.