"Quarterbacking" Reform: The Role of Venture Capital in the Translation of National Agendas to Local Contexts

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: The Role of Philanthropy and Capitalism in Educational Policy

Abstract

As philanthropy and other extra-governmental agencies increasingly catalyze the education reform movement, the author presents a case study of how the portfolio management policy bundle was translated into a local context. The author argues that, in the case of Indianapolis Public Schools, funding from major, national-level philanthropic organizations was dispersed and re-contextualized by the nonprofit ‘venture capital’ organization The Mind Trust, which recruited nationally-reputed jurisdictional challengers, utilized lobbying and political funding organizations to elect a sympathetic school and facilitated the creation of new, local nonprofits that align with The Mind Trust vision. Through these practices, The Mind Trust has expanded the local advocacy network and molded the political environment to be amenable to the national portfolio management reform agenda.

Author

• Julie Fitz, The Ohio State University