02 Our story, our principles

In early 2007, a difficult situation became an exciting opportunity for the Shuttleworth Foundation. Helen Turvey was running a short-term project, tasked with investigating the best way to benchmark work being done on the ground. The findings were uninspiring, with many projects held back by bloat and bureaucracy. None had any lasting effects after the funding ran dry, and it was becoming apparent the organisation lacked leadership that could consider a different approach. Change had to happen.

Soon after, Helen was appointed the new executive director, and Karien Bezuidenhout and Jason Hudson – who were previously working closely together on open source projects for the Foundation – joined her as directors.

Mark Shuttleworth, technology entrepreneur and second-ever space tourist, had established the Foundation in South Africa in 2001. Known for pushing boundaries in every sphere he became involved in, he requested the Foundation be re-modelled with the same premise.

It was a huge opportunity: reimagine philanthropy.

We were given the challenge based on what we had learnt the year before. The philosophy of open source resonated with us beyond software. Open knowledge, policies and practices had the potential to stimulate change and broaden horizons.

Helen had known Mark socially for years while working in the traditional philanthropic sector. Karien had seen him give a talk to school children in a shopping mall soon after he came back from space. Jason had volunteered with the Foundation, installing Linux computer labs in schools. Each entry point was different, but the attraction was the same. We had a genuine sense of opportunity: to use levers for change differently, to make the world better, and to do so systemically.

Anything was possible.

For two weeks, we locked ourselves in a small room in the Cape Town office and came up with a plan. We reconfigured the Foundation and its work around openness and innovation, and rebooted its entire model based on these principles:

• The world changes quickly – we must be nimble and flexible.
• Openness resists boundaries – we must work internationally.
• Individuals make change – we must support people, not projects.

This sparked a process of gradual but deliberate change. By 2010, the new structures were in place, and our guiding principles had taken a more detailed shape:

• Support ideas where they work best, rather than relocate fellows to South Africa.
• Focus on action-based initiatives to test theories in the real world.
• Encourage bold moves, and learn collectively from failures.
• Seek true innovators who apply existing technologies or ideas in unexpected ways: adding value incrementally effects more change than new inventions.
• Discard thematic funding areas to solve more real-world problems.
• Make bets on inspired brilliance to enable creative problem-solving from the left field, rather than reward past successes.
• Offer fellowship grants covering a reasonable salary to free up 100% of a person’s time and attention, and accelerate the research and development process.
• Incentivise fellows to co-invest in their projects, and ensure any resulting intellectual property remains with them, encouraging a deeper sense of ownership.
• Give fellows access to additional project funding to amplify their own investment and move their ideas as far forward as possible.
• Support fellows by investing through the vehicle most fit for purpose, be it for-profit, non-profit or as an individual. Levers for positive social change in society do not come in a standard package. Market forces, charities, governments, universities and many other types of institutions have a role to play.
• Provide a legal, financial, administrative and technical home for the fellows to remove burdens, and allow them to concentrate fully on their objectives. The best ideas rarely come from those with experience of building institutions.

The evolution of our model and philosophy continues as we learn. A decade later, there are 46 Shuttleworth fellows, each bringing their own unique value to the group. Themes include education, health, government, science, social justice and the arts. New fellows are added regularly, or not, as the right fit on both sides is found.

The Foundation is also a fellowship in itself. We all – Helen, Jason, Karien and the fellows – build, rebuild and co-create the evolving iterations. Sometimes the changes are incremental; sometimes moments push us forward in larger leaps. Our first fellows may not recognise the mechanics at play today but would still feel at home, as our values hold true. It is a journey – one we all travel together.