The FT Magazine has a very interesting article by Andrew Jack on former US president Bill Clinton’s work fighting aids. The Clinton Foundation, it seems, could have an important lesson for other non-governmental organisations:

Joe Cashion, the foundation's chief of staff, is typical. A Canadian with a background in journalism, he tells me: "I'm no political junkie, but I admired Clinton. I don't have a public-health background, and nor do many of our country heads. They have business experience and political skills. They know how to get things done."

Foundation staff keep making that same unique selling point, with their focus on practical skills as distinct from the long-standing development expertise of the traditional international aid community.

Here at the GI we’ve been saying that there is a need to inject greater business understanding into non-governmental organisations. Too often the enthusiasm of NGO workers is not backed by management experience, and there is a failure to understand the role of the role of business in promoting social goals. So hats off to the Clinton Foundation. Now we need to bring in greater business expertise across the NGO sector as a whole.