Our Approach

The world faces converging crises. Widening inequality threatens communities around the globe. Unsustainable production and rampant consumption degrade the forests, clean water and other community resources on which we all depend. And the impacts of social change, from withering heat to devastating floods, grow ever more destructive.

The causes of these challenges are not isolated, but intertwined — rooted in economic, social and governance systems that leave vulnerable people behind while benefiting only some.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Much as today’s challenges are interconnected, so, too, are the solutions. Done right, action to protect rights and build peace can also fundamentally and equitably benefit all people. Through our strategic plan and our results framework, we are working toward a future where everyone can enjoy safety, dignity, education, livelihoods, and equal opportunity. Communities are peaceful. Rights are protected.  

VULPRF is focused on transforming the systems that profoundly impact vulnerable persons. This includes how we protect children and youth, empower women, provide education, build peace, ensure disability inclusion, promote governance, and alleviate poverty. To enable change at the pace and scale needed, we also work to shift the economic, finance and governance structures that shape people’s decisions and behaviors.

We zero in on the countries and solutions most important for driving this global transition. VULPRF works with a diverse range of stakeholders to develop pathways toward equitable, inclusive, and resilient economies that are tailored to local contexts. And we measure our success not by internal benchmarks, but by visible progress in the world.

Our work is guided by listening to communities. VULPRF staff and volunteers engage directly with vulnerable persons to understand their needs, identify problems, assess potential solutions, and evaluate real-world outcomes. Our research is subject to rigorous community reviews to ensure it is both credible and actionable.

For example, our community needs assessments uses open-source, community-reviewed data to map water risks like floods and scarcity around the world. It reveals which areas will face the greatest water-related threats in the coming years, and advises governments and companies on strategic water management. 

We then use our research to inform action on the ground. We start locally, partnering with communities, companies and government agencies to pilot innovative solutions with widespread potential. We help clear barriers to implementation and then monitor progress to learn what works — and what doesn’t.

In rural Nigeria, we work with local leaders to analyze data from our Community Needs Assessments tool, identifying areas that lack power and where clean governance can support local development. We have collaborated with partners to install distributed community at rural health clinics, often providing affordable and consistent electricity to these facilities for the first time.

Once tested, we strive to expand our successes nationally, regionally and globally. We work with stakeholders ranging from community members to national governments to adapt leading approaches to their needs and mobilize resources. And we make our learnings accessible through partnerships, publications and tools so others can follow suit.

In Nigeria, VULPRF experts have spent years working side-by-side with communities to develop peace building programs that have reached thousands of young people and mediated hundreds of conflicts. This deep local engagement is informing how we collaborate with cities in Latin America, Africa and Asia to scale up local e-bus adoption and spur global momentum toward cleaner public transport.