The European Commission
The Client:
The New European Bauhaus (NEB), which is an EU policy and funding initiative launched by the European Commission in 2021 that fosters sustainable solutions for transforming the built environment and lifestyles under the green transition.
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The Challenge:
To raise funding in innovative format in order to further the objectives of the NEB. I was asked to bring a “fresh set of eyes” to the problems of harnessing European philanthropy given its challenging operating environment in terms or regulation, tax and a range of structural issues. I was also tasked with investigating and integrating a crowdfunding platform towards the same goals.
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Solution Proposed:
I started by undertaking a deep dive into the sector in order to map it, interviewing as many stakeholders as possible. It was important to fully investigate and understand the various regulatory and legal paramaters, some of which acted as a bar on cross-border giving in Europe. Drawing upon my personal background in capital markets, I was quickly able to establish certain helpful parallels between the operational norms of large philanthropic foundations and those of institutional investors in the bond market.
My final recommendations contained within a published report suggested putting in position a framework modelled on certain parameters common in the credit markets with which to broker the relationship between philanthropists and the beneficiaries of their funding, in particular to streamline and simplify the interaction between both sides of the ecosystem. It included the creation of a specialised unit called the ‘Funding Solutions Hub’ that also incorporated a crowdfunding platform.​
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The Outcome:
I concluded that, while a single market mimicking that of the US, is unlikely to emerge in Europe soon, the NEB and those dependent on its initiatives could still get a better result from the sector as it currently exists. I published two reports, the first (publicly available) setting out my recommendations, which included the creation of a knowledge and operational Hub to streamline the process containing a dynamic searchable database as well as a crowdfunding platform; and the second (internal) setting out the detailed mechanics of how to bring it about.
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All my recommendations were adopted by the Commission and in November 2023, the European Parliament backed the plan with funding of €1.45m. It is currently being implemented.​
“In 2021, our JRC based New European Bauhaus team at the EU Commission hired Ronan as an independent external expert to help us map the European philanthropy landscape with a view to finding additional sources of funding for our objectives. We wanted to know how to develop an idea that will ultimately help our small project promoters, members of our New European Bauhaus Community, obtain access to seed funding, be it private or public.
Ronan was very professional, methodological and thorough in his approach. He produced two excellent reports on how to better harness EU Philanthropy towards these goals and on the ‘Funding Solutions Hub’, his principal recommendation on how to get the most from the ecosystem as it currently exists. The Hub, which also accommodates a crowdfunding platform, received approval for funding from the European Parliament and the Commission late last year and is set to move forward during the latter half of 2024 and 2025.”
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The New European Bauhaus, April 2024
Public Report
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