Hierarchies and Decision Making in Funder Collaboration

Dealing with hierarchies can be complicated when foundations in Europe work together. “I think in Europe more than in the U.S., hierarchy is an issue. If you want to address people, you have to know at which layer within the foundation you need to enter and at which level you can discuss what. It’s not like you can easily reach people. Also connecting with the people that are at a higher level can be difficult. I think maybe in the States people are more approachable, while in Europe it really depends on the culture in the different countries, for example, in Germany it is very hierarchical.”

Adopting communication processes that are appropriate to the internal foundation hierarchies embedded within your collaboration is essential. The rule is that — at least formally — executives talk with other executives, but initiatives can break away from this lineage. “In our group we can make decisions very quickly. We have close contact to the decision makers in our organisations. So when there is a problem with a project, we can easily and quickly find out how we’re going to react. That is something quite unique”.

In Europe people would rather not discuss money among strangers, but however sensitive the topic, money talks and should be talked about because if not, misunderstandings and power politics can come into play.