*Open questions* When the Open Society Foundations announced a significant, multiphase restructuring in 2021, it made headlines in the philanthropy world and beyond. Now, *its dramatic transformation is complete*, and it has fully “stepped into a new operating model,” <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POquLMWQDCK6SR9GxRixA_IlRzYWV_ckRYRXt-p_Zow15dBnJeXounobMvlYJJ8AYQm0K_orRiHfI-UwrLEoJ1L3rWCPImO1T7sntiOy-oO_SaZjtbn-AJ4E0fm0S7t8Dku_hiB_kORoDqZHUKkks5kwMOVEYn-R6N8MbQWDjCVXNLnZLqv7pOxXfaD5aNgyvtXIKmfnbBG56QGP4X-d8HZNujiIJPh0StNc31yWGvjWkLj6z8Ld1S2Hl1l4UWBrwVg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> its president, Binaifer Nowrojee, says, admitting that the decision to reduce staff and offices was a “difficult” one.
While OSF <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecvSVyNEwKSY7dVBIv8VDa42Buqy0TMBAj3Y1W5iDL2-86bvPOFa5S5UCQryYwcQjvnw=> had already been *moving toward a leaner structure*, the foundation has now finalized that transition — cutting staff <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkpr086FbTPNGengllvEop_ad9b-oKk00Y5PFcI8BF1LUb-bHX6ULrICVejYtldAuZdwmX_Tw7AYbkCEuhihjiL4dxU2dNMqz7Tcd9pvsXj5frSvYykeMuzOCgBz-s6HM8y3f6pZr0zJvCLvitWA3DB3x7B3GnAnTG4OxrtE__I4aEBUhSwye1-J3N6VoVDBP8wpAyuuFAU6B1BZ7U_DRXlR2VW-mjZoG0ipWpt8DB1_0Ow6gPRwCKyITjb5fCV7CA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> from around 2,000 to 500 and reducing its global footprint from about 40 offices to 13, my colleague Ayenat Mersie writes. The new operating model also includes *sweeping changes to OSF’s grantmaking*. The foundation has simplified its internal processes to make it easier for partners to access funding, enabled multiyear commitments, and expanded core support for organizations in the global south. “We’re trying to make it better and easier for grantees and partners to access funds,” says Nowrojee. Previously, “every grant, regardless of the risk level or the renewal number of years, would go through 40 touch points and a very strong application process that actually was adding uncompensated complexity to the process,” she adds. One thing it’s not doing though? Filling the void left by USAID. “We got *a lot of requests to fill the gap left behind by USAID*,” Nowrojee says. “We could have taken our whole budget this year and filled the gap. At the end of the year, we’d be back where we started — and we’d have diverted all our funds away from our mandate.” Instead, the foundation is *using its advocacy to push for the restoration of U.S. assistance* and encourage other donors to step in. Nowrojee also described this moment as one of reckoning for the broader development sector. “There’s always been a lot of talk about aid dependence,” she says. “And so here is the moment now that nobody wanted to actually address: What happens when aid is switched off?” *Read more:* OSF’s new strategy bets on longer-term, more flexible funding <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POquLMWQDCK6SR9GxRixA_IlRzYWV_ckRYRXt-p_Zow15dBnJeXounobMvlYJJ8AYQm0K_orRiHfI-UwrLEoJ1L3rWCPImO1T7sntiOy-oO_SaZjtbn-AJ4E0fm0S7t8Dku_hiB_kORoDqZHUKkks5kwMOVEYn-R6N8MbQWDjCVXNLnZLqv7pOxXfaD5aNgyvtXIKmfnbBG56QGP4X-d8HZNujiIJPh0StNc31yWGvjWkszJHGlx_NVdLVkMWrUjVqw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=>
