Build Change CEO Discusses Power of Government Partnerships During UN General Assembly Week

scaling pathways

Dr. Elizabeth Hausler Highlights Build Change’s Experience Working with Governments on Three Continents to Build Safe, Sustainable Housing

Build Change CEO Dr. Elizabeth Hausler joined an esteemed group of social entrepreneurs, policymakers and donors in a panel discussion to explore how best to harness the power of partnerships between nonprofits and government agencies.

The Sept. 26 event marked the launch of the new Scaling Pathways initiative, a partnership of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Skoll Foundation, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Mercy Corps and Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE). Scaling Pathways published a new report, “Leveraging Government Partnerships for Scaled Impact,” as part of the event.

The two-hour panel program, “Scaling Impact Through Government Partnerships,” took place at the WEF’s US headquarters in New York as part of the events planned around the opening of the 73rd annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Joining Dr. Hausler in conversation were Emily Bancroft, President of the health care access organization VillageReach, Gonzalo Muñoz, CEO of the Chilean waste reduction and recycling group Triciclos, and Diane Gashumba, Rwanda’s Health Minister. The panel was moderated by Erin Worsham, Executive Director of the CASE program at Duke.

Build Change has wide experience partnering with governments, other non-profits, as well as the private sector to deliver safe, sustainable housing to regions of the developing world affected by hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Since its founding in 2004, Build Change, in partnership with national, regional and local governments in Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Nepal, has rebuilt and retrofitted thousands of homes to modern, resilient standards designed to survive the next disaster event.

These efforts have saved lives, property, and helped put the issue of resilient reconstruction and retrofitting on the radar of the global development community. On October 3, Build Change and the World Bank are launching the Global Program for Resilient Housing in Washington, D.C., just one example of the impact the  organization has achieved to raise awareness of the dangers posed by substandard housing in disaster prone regions.