DOCUMENT FOR INTERNAL Our Strategic USE ONLY Framework 2025

APPROVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF MEMBERS 11/2019

by 2025

>>we have grown and >>people with and without >>we work together as demonstrated our impact disabilities from the North ONE skillful, entrepreneurial on the lives of people and South are jointly team and take evidence- with disabilities through steering our organisation. based decisions, supported systems change. by a future-ready set-up. How we see the world

We are in a moment of global transition We observe political and economic power and transformation. New technologies shifting eastwards and southwards, and there have accelerated globalisation. Digital is a growing convergence between the North innovations are rapidly changing the way and South at the level of economies, social people communicate, live and work. indicators and ideas.

Climate change is one of the major challenges Migration and nationalism trigger skepticism of our time. Our world is facing political pola- around human rights and development coope- risation and instability, and we are witnessing ration. We observe decreased trust and shrin- high levels of displacement. Poverty is conse- king spaces for civil society. These trends also quently becoming more concentrated in fragile lead to a changing communication and fundrai- and conflict-affected states. People with dis- sing landscape. We experience a push towards abilities are among the most marginalised in more evidence of the impact of interventions. any crisis or disaster-affected community. Big players dominate the civil society land- Population growth, aging populations, scape. Traditional fundraising channels are changing lifestyles, and urbanisation impact eroding. Growing competition leads to higher our work. is the fastest growing global costs in resource mobilisation. region. By 2050, over 80% of the world’s At the same time, disability inclusion is extreme poor will live in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving more attention in the development and the continent will have the largest number agenda, and the disability movement is playing of young people. Consequently, the demand for a pivotal role. education, medical and social services is rising.

Who we are

Light for the World is a global disability & development organisation, enabling eye health ser- vices and empowering people with disabilities in some of the poorest regions of the world.

We want to break down unjust barriers to unlock the biggest potential! We aim at systems change, because we want our impact to last. We work with partners, because together we are stronger. How we change lives and systems

GRETA 2 years old,

Greta was born with congenital cataracts. Her parents feared she would be blind for the rest of her life.

Together with the Ministry of Health, Light for the World set up a pilot initiative in Uganda with the aim of boosting human resources for eye health and providing locally adapted, high quality spectacles to children and poor people through government-run infrastructure.

The programme has been a real game-changer for refractive services in Uganda, which are now sustainably embedded throughout the national health system. Greta is one of the programme’s beneficiaries. BEATRIZ, After her surgery, Greta received new tailor- 16 years old, made glasses. She is now able to see; and her future looks much brighter! Beatriz was born with cerebral palsy. During Greta’s story is similar to many other children in her early years, she began to fall behind the Sub-Saharan countries, where less than 20% of other children; unable to sit, crawl or walk. people who require eye health services actually Our work on Disability Inclusion in Community receive them. Development (DICD) fosters the inclusion, empowerment and health of people - including young Beatriz.

Over the past years, we have encouraged the local government to adopt DICD as part of their social and development programmes. What’s more, now a DICD strategy will be rolled out throughout the entire country!

Through regular visits from rehabilitation workers, Beatriz has learned to walk, eat, drink and dress herself. Today, she is a self- confident teenager who goes to school and makes friends. A bright future is not just a dream to her anymore. Service Social delivery change Our programme Person- Address the specific Empower centered approach needs of the person interventions the person

Integrate We focus on the poorest and hardest to reach. Overcome inclusive Systemic all barriers We pay special attention to children, youth and services interventions to access women in underprivileged regions. By addres- in existing and inclusion sing the systemic roots of poverty and inequali- programmes ty, we strive to bring about lasting change.

With our local partners we implement sustai- We advocate and mobilise for the rights of nable programmes aiming at systems change. people with disabilities, acting as a cata- We are a convener, bringing diverse stakehol- lyst for change. Together with the disability ders together. Social change and sustainable movement, we engage with policy makers in development outcomes depend on the con- thematic initiatives and campaigns in order to tributions of diverse actors, and their ability to influence national and international frameworks respond to changing circumstances. We want and strategies. We partner with organisations to trigger systems change in our focus count- of persons with disabilities, mainstream civil ries – and globally – through innovative pilot society organisations, UN agencies, and net- initiatives and comprehensive programmes. works to amplify our advocacy messages.

We make change happen, sharing our expertise We encourage local authorities, civil society and the evidence of our interventions. We share and other community stakeholders to play what we learn with national governments in their an active role in promoting inclusion. In this efforts to strengthen systems and feed learnings way, we improve the quality of life of the most into national and international discussions. marginalised people and change attitudes in their communities for the better.

Levels of intervention MARKET > International level SYSTEM > National level > District and regional level > Community level

POLITICAL Interventions by Light for the World SYSTEM > Innovative pilot initiatives > Comprehensive programmes PERSONS WITH > Expertise, convening DISABILITIES AND SOCIAL > Advocacy, influencing, campaigning THEIR FAMILIES SYSTEM Key stakeholders HEALTH > Governments SYSTEM > Civil society organisations EDUCATION > Organisations of persons with disabilities SYSTEM > Businesses Our programmatic focus

Thematic focus Participation of organisations of persons with disabilities We enable eye health services and we work on disability inclusion. Within eye health, we We are committed to a structured dialogue focus on fostering access to comprehensive with representatives of the disability movement quality eye health services for all and contri- in the development of programme strategies buting to the elimination of trachoma and and planning in a consultative manner. onchocerciasis. Within disability inclusion, we concentrate on inclusive education and economic empowerment. Partnerships

Partnerships are the bedrock of our success. Our ability to contrib- EYE HEALTH EDUCATION WORK ute to systems change depends on our ability Geographic focus to collaborate. By building alliances with the disability Our priority region is Sub-Saharan Africa. movement, civil society organisations, In our ‘focus countries’ , , foundations, governments and businesses, Mozambique and Uganda we aim to implement we become agents of change for an inclusive programmes across all our areas of work to society and open up strategic funding trigger systems change on regional and opportunities. national level.

Furthermore, we work in Disaster preparedness ‘partner countries’ and response in Sub-Saharan Africa and : In our focus countries, we strengthen resilience , and disaster preparedness, and we support , disability-inclusive disaster response. The Demo- We explore strategic partnerships with cratic Republic mainstream emergency actors. of Congo, , North-East-India, , In our partner countries and beyond, we South and . In engage in case of an emergency depend- these countries we implement ing on the magnitude of the emergency, programmes with a more nar- our experience and network within the row and targeted thematic and countries, and requests by mainstream geographic scope. organisations to provide expertise. How we work together

We are an international disability and We ensure stronger meaningful development organisation rooted in the participation of people with disabilities North and South with an aligned approach on board, management and staff level. to governance, organisational development We increase the participation of people and human resources. from the South in decision making pro- Within the core organisation, we act as one cesses on governance and management organisation – with ONE team, ONE pro- level. We strengthen local planning, deci- gramme, ONE fundraising and ONE system. sion making and budgeting capacities in the South. We envisage an agile, flexible organisation with an entrepreneurial spirit and participa- Aiming at gender equality and women’s tory decision making. We will invest in talen- empowerment within our organisation, ted staff and the development of their skills. we take a gender-responsive approach to our structures and processes. Our innovative spirit is based on our core va- lues and our diversity. To implement our stra- We establish scouting, recruitment and devel- tegic framework in an effective and legitimate opment programmes to proactively increase the manner, we aim at increasing how inclusive engagement of talented women and men with our organisation is. disabilities and from the South.

IMPRINT: Editor and publisher: Light for the World International · Niederhofstraße 26 · 1120 , · Phone.: +43/1/810 13 00 www.light-for-the-world.org · [email protected] | Photo credits: Light for the World, Gregor Kuntscher, Ulrich Eigner, Maria Neumayr, KURIER/Gilbert Novy | Graphic-design: DER ROTE FADEN grafikdesign | Print: Druckerei Odysseus How we make our organisation fit for the future

We develop integrated internal systems, proces- Accountability ses and standards across all offices, functional and thematic areas. We will create synergies, We are accountable to the people we work further increase efficiency and effectiveness for and with. We have established transparent through virtual collaboration. and efficient procedures and harmonised stan- dards. Our accountability builds on reporting Our ambition is to enhance accessibility, stan- standards, internal control systems, risk ma- dardisation and flexibility, and allow better nagement and external audits. We monitor the decision making, based on solid data. We will compliance with our policies. develop a comprehensive management control system. Strategic Resource Planning Solid systems will form the foundation of our work: Business process management system; Our ambition is to grow our impact in a sus- information and knowledge management tainable manner. As this needs a solid financial system; programme & grant management basis, we want to grow our income by 5% per system; fundraising and customer relationship annum. We commit to investing over 70% of management; HR and IT-Systems. our income in our impact through programmes, advocacy, and campaigns. At the same time, Monitoring, Evaluation, we need to invest in resource mobilisation and Research, Learning and in internal systems. Adaptation

As a learning organisation, we develop MONITORING & results-focused monitoring, evaluation, EVALUATION (M&E) and increasingly applied research to inform continuous learning and adaptation Programmatic M&E data and for improving effectiveness of our invest- learning and adapting evidence gaps ments in all areas of our organisation lead to improved help frame applied M&E and AR research (AR) (MERLA). results questions

Evidence on the impact of our program- Learning ADAPTING mes will foster our credibility with strate- informs Results gic funders, strengthen our legitimacy in decision-making from M&E and in collaboration AR contribute APPLIED RESEARCH influencing policies, and encourage other with stakeholders to learning (AR) actors to adapt their work on the basis of our learnings - thus becoming a catalyst of change.

LEARNING Source: inspired by RTI international How we mobilise resources

We aim at a balanced income portfolio. We focus on key markets and invest in areas that generate the best long-term return.

In our core markets Austria, , Switzer- “I have experienced Light for the World land, South Tyrol, , and associate as authentic, unpretentious and lively. members and the Netherlands, we aim Their work for children with disabilities is at building a critical mass of supporters. We extremely important. That is why I have look at Germany as a major long-term growth made a bequest to them.” opportunity. The UK and USA offer partner- ship opportunities with consortia, institutional Marlene Binggeli, bequest donor funders and foundations.

In order to maximise the life-time value of our We will embrace the changing external commu- donors, we will develop a large base of com- nications and fundraising environment. We will mitted givers. We continue to draw upon our work on our storytelling so people know more strength in direct mail and we will unfold the about the impact we have and how they can tremendous potential of legacy fundraising. help.

Leadership giving, including philanthropic foun- Integration of communications, fundraising, dations and major donors, institutional funding programmes and advocacy is key. We will grow and alliances will grow. We actively manage our ability to drive thematic initiatives and cam- the dependencies on a few major institutional paigns, in order to support our advocacy targets funders. and increase our relevance.

We invest in new fundraising channels like We will invest in our capacity to mobilise and digital and face-to-face. We increase our ability influence target groups in our core markets, our to produce targeted content that excites and focus countries in Africa and on an international engages our audiences. We use digital media to level. We will strengthen our preparedness for engage new younger supporters. emergency fundraising.

“The inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education systems and schools stimulates unprecedented energies not only among children but also among adults, teachers and family members alike. My trips to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso exemplified this.“ Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein, Leadership Forum One Class for All