Nicoletta Gopsill-Piccolrovazzi, Chair of Trustees at Chance for Childhood, explains why it’s time for a change in leadership

For many years I kept this quote by Artist Willem de Kooning pinned to my computer: “I have to change to stay the same.”, to remind me that I am part of a complex dynamic system and must adapt according to the cycle of life and the changing rhythm of the system I am part of.

Change is upon us, not just at Chance for Childhood, but across the entire humanitarian and development sector. The shift is not only driven by recent global announcements but by the realisation that some of the traditional approaches have not been successful. Today the sector faces much criticism, from the over-reliance on a few institutional donors to the propagation of historic inequalities that are not in the long-term interest of communities.

At Chance for Childhood one of our core values is to be ‘critically conscious’. We pride ourselves for continuously striving to improve our service delivery and accountability. We are at the forefront of positive transformation, championing lasting change to systems over short-term solutions.

Our OverExposed campaign is a prime example of our leadership. By moving away from using images of children’s faces in our storytelling, we challenged ourselves and others to think differently, engaging donors in our cause while centering dignity in our stories.

Now, as we transition to an Africa-based CEO, we take another stride in aligning our leadership with our core values and strategy. This bold move turns commitment into action and sets a precedent ahead of many of our peers.

Addressing a complex reality

The challenges faced by the people we support are increasingly complex and interconnected. Children with disabilities experience multiple forms of discrimination and marginalisation as their disabilities intersect with factors relating to poverty, exposure to environmental risks, gender and ethnicity.

The intersectionality of poverty and disability experienced by children and communities requires multi-facetted interventions that cannot be developed from afar. They must be rooted in local realities and emerge from the communities themselves. In our work we are peeling back, layer after layer, these barriers and challenges faced by children every day.

A new model of leadership

Many initiatives to address complex social and environmental issues fall short because they fail to involve all stakeholders or centre the voices of those most impacted. Long gone is the belief that command-and-control leadership can solve complex problems in the long-term. Instead, we need to embrace a distributed leadership model that ensures all stakeholders are included and play their part so that change can arise from within the system.

This is why at Chance for Childhood the time has come for a new kind of leadership. Our transition to an Africa-based CEO is not simply a matter of shifting control; it is a commitment to a partnership-driven approach to change.

This transition is not about creating winners and losers. Moving operational and strategic oversight closer to the communities we support can better align accountability and impact.

Our Africa-based CEO is best positioned to navigate the increasing complexities of the local environment, ensuring programmes are effective and managers and partners are held accountable. Our global team continues to build the funding and infrastructure to support these efforts. This partnership approach ensures that our strategy and execution are rooted in lived experience while also benefiting from global resources and shared expertise. We all win when the long-term impact of our funding is maximised.

Valuing our stakeholders

As trustees, we fully support this transformation and remain committed to meeting and exceeding our donors’ expectations by demonstrating bold leadership and working to maximise our impact.

In these times of change, close dialogue with our donors is a priority for trustees, our CEO and our teams. We want to listen and proactively share our learnings. We thank our donors for their continued support and trust and for holding us accountable.

Chance for Childhood employees are proud to be part of this transition and ready to contribute their expertise and leadership as one team, to represent our values and advance our mission.

We look forward to this new chapter and to working with all our partners, supporters, children and communities to create lasting change for children threatened by violence, neglect and conflict.

The time for change is now—and we are ready to embrace it.