What Is Structural Innovation and Why Now?
Opening Session | Hosted by Jacob Harold, Chris Proulx, Sean McDonald & Jailan Adly
The world is shifting fast — and the social sector must shift with it.
Donor priorities are evolving, resources are tightening, and global challenges are becoming more complex. Yet many of our institutions still rely on structures designed for a different time. Without bold adaptation, we risk falling short at the moment we’re needed most.
This provocative opening session will frame the urgent need for structural innovation — the redesign of how we organize, govern, collaborate, and grow in a rapidly changing world.
Featuring:
Jacob Harold, former CEO of GuideStar and co-architect of its merger with the Foundation Center to create Candid, will ground the conversation with examples of bold structural shifts across the sector — from organizational mergers to shared infrastructure and adaptive networks.
Then, alongside Chris Proulx, Sean McDonald, and Jailan Adly, we’ll unpack:
What structural innovation looks like in practice
The risks of maintaining outdated models
What it will take to scale reimagined approaches across ecosystems
This session is a call to reimagine the systems behind our solutions — and a space for funders, practitioners, and ecosystem builders to reflect, exchange ideas, and spark collaboration around the future of social impact infrastructure.