Conversation Themes
Using investments to change social/political/cultural systems. Conversations about systems change have long been happening in philanthropy, but investment capital for systems change is a newer conversation—and even more so as it relates to social/cultural systems. In this session, we will discuss questions such as how capital markets interact with these systems and how shifts in these systems impact different types of investments.
Transforming finance as a system that itself needs to be more just. Finance is best understood as a system of power in which norms, biases, and privilege inform the movement and allocation of capital. As a system historically built and maintained by those in power, finance has often done harm to those who do not have a say in how it operates. This session will look at what it means to make finance more just, both in terms of its inner workings and its outcomes. In that context, what does it mean to make finance more just?
Market systems that investments operate in, are dependent on and can influence. Market systems approaches apply a systemic lens to examining where and how to intervene to achieve certain outcomes in any given market. This analysis is growing in prominence in economics and development approaches, and this session will look at what a more systemic market analysis would look like in investment contexts.
Systemic inequities as a material (systematic/ubiquitous) risk in investments. Issues such as gender and racial inequity, gender-based violence, and LGBTIQ+ discrimination, to name a few, tend to be part of impact or “social” conversations within finance. But there is plenty of research showing that inequity and violence in society impacts countries, sectors, and markets. This conversation will look at how finance defines systematic risk and how certain factors become accepted as systematic risk where others don’t.
Addressing power dynamics in the work of systems change in and around investments. Conversations about systems change often focus on the tactics and strategies that can be effective in evolving or changing systems. Yet one element that often gets left out is analyzing power. Systems tend to be built and maintained by those who have power; changing them requires understanding the possibilities and consequences of disrupting those dynamics. In this session, participants will discuss how to do power analysis in the context of systems change.
Ecosystems that create or sustain change for actors in and around investments. Individuals and organizations have power to create change within finance, but changing a huge, high-stakes system in sustained ways is difficult. What kinds of ecosystems outside of individual organizations exist to support systemic change? This conversation will examine what kinds of ecosystems support other kinds of systems change and what can help actors in finance to do the same.
Organizational systems that create or sustain change in and around investments. Individuals and organizations have power to create change within finance, but changing a huge, high-stakes system in sustained ways is difficult. While the previous conversation looks at ecosystems outside of or around organizations, this one looks at what systems within organizations exist to support systemic change. Participants will look at what works within and outside of finance and how those lessons can shape the practices of finance actors and organizations.
Systems of thought that make sense of complexity in and around investments. Having information is one thing; how one analyzes it is another. Systems of thought can encompass both mental processes of cognition as well as defined, learned frameworks of how to process information. Systems of thought are influenced by cultural as well as cognitive factors. This conversation will look examine what it means to bring a formal system of thought to systems change in finance and what kinds of cultural and cognitive factors influence how systems of finance are constructed.
To ensure Convergence remains accessible to everyone, we offer a range of ticket prices including free tickets. We request participants with the means to purchase a non-free ticket consider doing so, as the proceeds will go towards organizing Convergence XX, which is resource intensive.
