The Avenir Suisse “Prosperity House” Patrik Schellenbauer
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2016 Annual Report Avenir Suisse is an independent think tank that works for the future of Switzerland by developing evidence-based, liberal, free- market ideas. This is at the heart of our mission. Contents 01 _ Foreword _ 08 02 _ Driving Prosperity _ 14 03 _ Avenir Jeunesse _ 30 04 _ French-speaking Switzerland _ 34 05 _ Communications _ 38 06 _ Corporate Governance _ 46 07 _ Support Group _ 50 08 _ Corporate Services _ 56 09 _ Team _ 60 Foreword 6 Avenir Suisse Committed to Switzerland’s Prosperity Peter Grünenfelder Politically speaking, the 2016 reporting year was the process, we were able to rely on well-founded shaped by the election of the new president in the work carried out under the aegis of my predeces- “An understanding of economic relationships must once USA and the Yes to Brexit in the UK. Both votes sor Gerhard Schwarz, who retired in the spring. again play an increasing role in the forming of public opinion.” gave rise to a plethora of questions and discussions With Generation 3.0, we will now be systematical- about their likely impact on future economic de- ly gearing our research, analysis, strategy develop- velopments – both globally and in Europe. Natu- ment, and communications work to the five pillars rally, these verdicts have a knock-on effect on our that we consider indispensable for Switzerland’s country, which is intricately bound up with the prosperity to grow. global economy. At the same time, in Switzerland, Reflecting this, one focus of our work is dedicat- proposals for a public vote have been and continue ed to foreign trade issues. Arguing for more trade to be regularly submitted to the people, bringing rather than protectionism and a forward-looking issues such as the further opening up of the mar- 3-pillar foreign trade strategy, during the reporting ket and the extent of redistribution to the fore, or year we highlighted how Switzerland could per- paving the way for or against economic issues. manently safeguard its prosperity and increase it However, there is no guarantee of popular ma- in the medium term. At the same time, domestic Board of Trustees jorities in favour of a liberal economic system. infrastructures should be made more competitive. Although, in September 2016, the OASI Plus Ini- To trigger a shift towards free market thinking in tiative demanded by reformist left-wingers was the state-owned enterprise system that still domi- roundly defeated at the polls, with almost 60 % of nates in many sectors, we have presented a privati- Director votes being cast against it, barely six months later zation agenda designed to eliminate market distor- the electorate voted just as emphatically against tion. Our strategies for mobility pricing, which are the CTR III reform which, from a competition law now being widely debated at the federal level, are perspective, was equally significant. based on economic truths. Our socio-political strat- All of this suggests that economic contexts are egies on old-age care, an area in which new bench- Management Corporate Services gaining in importance and must once again be- marks must be set, are also now being discussed at Foundation Committees come a major factor in forming public opinion. federal level. Looking beyond our national borders, These economic contexts must, ultimately, be writ we drew on experiences in other countries large in the general public awareness. The liberal which – with the necessary political backing – economic system underpins the prosperity of wide would also present Switzerland with a way out of Avenir Jeunesse sections of the population and is critical to the so- the regulation jungle. And in the publication “An cial cohesion of our country. This being so, we endurance test for budgetary policy,” we explained must constantly address questions about the main the additional instruments needed to safeguard a prosperity-generating factors. And yet tentative balanced federal budget for the long term. moves to open up the market in the area of infra- The concrete free market and liberal strategies structure, a social system which is only partially presented by the Avenir Suisse team met with ex- Strategic Politics Programs Communications French-speaking prepared for an aging society, a general penchant ceptionally wide resonance among the general pub- Analysis and Research and Production Switzerland for introducing more and more government reg- lic and the media in 2016. They were the subject of ulation in order to contain complex social devel- intense discussion at a large number of sessions opments, and the disregard for federalist compe- with public policy makers. Our forward-thinking tition have, in recent years, increasingly created approaches to safeguarding Switzerland’s prosper- cracks in the pillars of Switzerland’s prosperity. ity for the long term sparked a great deal of discus- Given this situation and motivated by our dedica- sion and, in some instances, anger. Yet this is nec- tion to a free market and liberal principles, we devel- essary if we are to overturn traditional ways of oped the “Generation 3.0” strategy for 2017 – 2019 as thinking. part of a team effort during the reporting year. In 8 Avenir Suisse Annual Report 2016 9 Andreas Schmid Thomas Hammer Chair of the Board of Trustees Chair of the Support Foundation of Avenir Suisse Avenir Suisse Is Now More Necessary than Ever Exceptionally Broad Support for Avenir Suisse’s Work The appointment of Peter Grünenfelder as successor to Gerhard The activities of Avenir Suisse are only possible thanks to a diverse Schwarz, who retired in the spring of 2016, successfully ushered in group of donors and the support of numerous companies, private a new generation. It very quickly became apparent that the new individuals, and foundations. They represent all sectors and re- director would not disappoint our high expectations: within the gions of Switzerland. This support enables us to independently first few months in his new role, Peter Grünenfelder displayed a conduct research and develop ideas. It underpins the Avenir Suisse dogged zeal for reform and began introducing progressive liberal team’s impressive commitment to devising solution-focused stra- strategies. tegic concepts. Under his leadership, the team at Avenir Suisse overhauled the In 2016, another major step was taken toward safeguarding the think tank’s strategic focus and identified the relevant prosperity funding of the foundation’s activities for the long term. Funds to- drivers: Open Switzerland, Effective infrastructure and markets, talling around 4.2 million Swiss francs were raised in 2016. Thirty Sustainable welfare state, Smart government, and Equal opportu- donors whose commitments were due to expire renewed them. In nity society are the five pillars of the Avenir Suisse “prosperity addition, we gained 13 new donors. In the 2016 reporting year, with house.” Along with the cross-sectoral topics of Innovation, Digiti- 140 institutions and people, Avenir Suisse had a record number of zation, Demographics, and Distribution, they provide the strategic donors in its still short history. vision for the operational direction of their daily work. This success was made possible by the high credibility and pro- Avenir Suisse’s reach grew significantly during the reporting fessionalism of the work done by Avenir Suisse and the strong com- year: numerous studies and publications, as well as many contri- mitment of the CEO of the support foundation. These activities butions to discussions at events, on the radio and television, in for the support foundation were decisively strengthened with the newspapers, magazines, on the website and on social media met involvement of Peter Naegeli. Furthermore, the new director, who with a wide response. This was made possible in no small measure has been in charge since April 2016, is committed to active dialog by an increase in staff and technical facilities for PR work. with the donors and companies, but also supports the chairman The importance of Avenir Suisse is also underlined by an increas- in a practical way with efforts to gain new members. ingly large group of supporters. Despite the challenging economic During the reporting year, further steps were taken toward environment, we were able to gain more than a dozen new donors. achieving an even broader support base for Avenir Suisse through- Perhaps this success is not despite, but rather because of, the com- out the country. The “Generation 3.0” strategy for 2017 – 2019, which plex economic and political situation. Never has an opinion-form- has been adopted by the board of trustees, makes the focus clear: ing liberal think tank, which engages constructively with econom- Avenir Suisse wants to further expand its national and regional ic, social, and socio-political issues, been more valuable than it is network. As well as strengthening its presence in French-speaking today. Switzerland and federal Bern, Ticino is now earmarked as a new priority for regional activities. To this end, as well as proven formats such as the exclusive annual dinner, the regional chapters in Basel and French-speaking Switzerland, more regional and sector-specific round tables were held, which are already proving a success. 10 Avenir Suisse Annual Report 2016 11 12 Avenir SuisseAvenir Driving Prosperity The Avenir Suisse “Prosperity House” Patrik Schellenbauer We gear our studies and activities towards the Avenir Suisse “Pros- “History teaches us that if the economy stops growing, perity House.” Its pillars are the five policy areas which we con- society becomes trapped in unproductive resource allocation sider as critical to prosperity, both now and in future. An open conflicts. Therefore further growth is necessary, not only Switzerland and an effective infrastructure form the foundation to finance growing age-related burdens, but also from a of the model for success.