Letter FROM OUR CO-FOUNDER

One way in which the private sector and civil society organizations differ is in their feedback loops. For better or for worse, private firms exist in a competitive environment where success and failure are very clear. If a strategy is working, a business is rewarded by financial success, if it isn’t, then it goes bankrupt. Nonprofit organizations face different incentives, and the relationship between success in our mission and our core resources is often, unfortunately, not as clear. In establishing and supporting OEF, it has been important for me that we bring over the same clear feedback loop that allows us to identify success and invest more deeply in what’s working that I have seen in my private work.

Establishing this in One Earth Future has meant developing both formal systems, in our ILA department, for measuring and reporting on our success and learning, and also a habit of strategic review. Our executive team spends a lot of our time on questions about success: what does it look like, how can we know whether things are working, and how can we continue to invest more and more deeply in the work that we’re doing well and iterate away from work that’s not achieving the impacts that we want.

This focus on evidence and iteration has meant a continued development of our strategy and focus. We have for the past several years operated in part as an incubator of novel projects. With projects such as our Stable Seas program, or xNI programs, we’ve helped to create new teams and strategies working outside of OEF for impact. In our strategic review this year, we’ve decided that our impact and learning suggest it may be better to move away from this incubation strategy to one more focused on core competencies. What we have learned over the years is that there are some things we think we do particularly well; well enough, in fact, that we want to nurture them as core aspects of our work rather than spin off new programs. I’m happy to report here that this annual report lays out this vision, a move towards a deepening and focusing of our core strategic capacities in the interest of increased impact.

In keeping with our overall focus on evidence-based learning, this 5-year strategy is not necessarily our permanent strategy. We will continue to learn, and to question ourselves, and it’s possible that in the future we’ll evolve again in a new direction. But for now, we believe that this approach will be a foundation for impact in 2024 and beyond.

Marcel Arsenault Co-Founder/Board Chair

Vision

We envision a future where humanity chooses peaceful solutions over armed conflict.

Mission Values

We Strive for Excellence

Dedicated, long-term resources support our work. We will honor these resources by constantly adding value and becoming the best in the world.

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We Are Stewards of the Long Term

We act today to benefit humanity in the year 2100. Nevertheless, we hold ourselves accountable for achieving short-term, measurable goals of narrow focus.

One Earth

We Are Relentlessly Empirical

While solutions may be visualized, real progress is confirmed by evidence of success. We innovate and iterate.

We Solve Problems By Engaging Stakeholders

We provide the information, the forum, and the structure. Sustainable governance is generated from inclusion, collaboration, and sign-off by engaged parties.