About the Author: Kris Balderston is the Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the Global Partnership Initiative in the Office of the Secretary of State. Lala Faiz is the Senior Partnerships Advisor in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnership Initiatives, where she leads the Investing With Impact initiative and manages other economic growth partnerships.

Today at the State Department in Washington, D.C., we are convening leaders across sectors and continents to discuss how we can work together to contribute to an impact economy by developing and deploying cutting-edge business and financial models that generate financial returns and positive social and environmental change. During our travels around the world, we have seen different institutions trying to address the same issue through disconnected programs — be it lack of skilled workers, sustainable supply chains, infrastructure, or the rising cost of natural resources. We know that government alone cannot solve these challenges — not in the best of times and certainly not in austere times; nor can business or civil society. We need to leverage and align the assets… more »