Gates shares lessons learned in annual letter

By: 

Cheryl Chapman

Managing Editor, Philanthropy UK

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has released his second annual letter— a personal appraisal of the foundation’s efforts to date, with a focus on innovation as a key driver of the foundation's priorities.

Gates is optimistic that, despite the tough economy, a combination of scientific innovations and strong partners working on behalf of the world’s poorest people will continue to improve the human condition.

“Although innovation is unpredictable,” says Gates, “there is a lot that governments, private companies, and foundations can do to accelerate it. Rich governments need to spend more on research and development, for instance, and we need better measurement systems in health and education to determine what works.”

Throughout his letter, Gates highlights innovations that are saving or improving lives and expanding opportunity. In the developing world, he says, vaccines are thwarting preventable disease in children, new tools are aiding in the fight against malaria and HIV, and improved seeds and farming techniques are increasing agricultural productivity. In the United States, innovations are helping educators improve teaching and learning so that high school students graduate ready for success and are prepared to earn postsecondary degrees, says Gates.

In the letter, Gates defines the unique role of foundations as investors in innovations that would otherwise go unfunded—including some that may ultimately fail. He discusses the foundation’s support of a range of innovations—from low to high risk, some with time-frames as long as 15 years—aimed at combating disease, hunger, and poverty in the developing world and improving education in the United States.

He says, “Foundations provide something unique when they work on behalf of the poor, who have no market power, or when they work in areas like health or education, where the market doesn’t naturally work toward the right goals and where the innovation requires long-term investments. These investments are high-risk and high-reward. But the reward isn’t measured by financial gain, it’s measured by the number of lives saved or people lifted out of poverty.”

But he said foundations are “not a panacea” in that a “lack of a natural feedback loop means that we as a foundation have to be even more careful in picking our goals and being honest with ourselves when we are not achieving them.”

Since its inception in 1994, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed more than $21 bn (£12.9bn) in grants. As of September 30, 2009 the foundation’s endowment was valued at $34.17 bn (£21 bn).

Gates also launched himself on twitter this week, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers in his first few days. His tweets have a characteristic focus on the dissemination of information about his foundation's work and sharing learning with others in the non-profit world.