The Conference Board Middle East and North Africa Briefs

As part of a research project on board-shareholder engagement practices, The Conference Board and Rutgers Law School are conducting a confidential survey of corporate secretaries, general counsel, and chief legal officers.

Policymakers returned home from last month’s spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF with a clear message. The current short-term outlook provides no guarantee for sustained economic growth in the medium-term. Not surprisingly the word “productivity” therefore appears many times in this edition of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook. Productivity growth will be one of the most effective ways to prevent the recent upswing in global growth from slowing down prematurely.

At the spring meeting of The Conference Board’s Global CSR & Philanthropy Council, the group closely considered their next steps with regard to the SDGs. Members had provocative discussions stimulated by various guest speakers from organizations such as the United Nations Foundation, US-ASEAN Business Council, The Conference Board, and Palladium.

Employees who serve on nonprofit boards play a vital role in helping to achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, many companies do not include nonprofit board service in reports of volunteering for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Companies need to recognize the valuable participation by their employees in advancing nonprofits and the SDGs through board service.

Jeff Gramm is co-founder and portfolio manager at the hedge fund Bandera Partners. Gramm, who co-founded the hedge fund with Greg Bylinsky in 2006, also serves as a director on the boards of two companies. He shared his thoughts about the corporate director job with Gary Larkin, Governance Center Blog editor.

Immigration has long been a political battleground, but in recent years it has taken on even more significance. Stronger rhetoric from the White House and leanings in favor of a stricter immigration policy have caused concern among immigrant populations around the country. In opposition to the federal stance, many cities have sought out programs to protect immigrants from deportation and to support their transition into American society. And companies have lent their support to these efforts.

This year, more than 100,000 volunteers will celebrate service during Comcast Cares Day by participating in volunteer projects all over the world. Making a positive impact in the communities where Comcast NBCUniversal employees live and work is a value the company embraces all year long. Businesses can ensure that the impact of service days like these lasts well beyond one day by linking their service projects to city priorities and ongoing initiatives.

Nonprofits are like teenagers—they have difficult years, but with the right support, they can thrive and achieve great things in “adulthood.” The international nonprofit I co-founded, mothers2mothers (m2m), is now 16 years old, an awkward age for nonprofits, at least in the eyes of many donors. m2m employs HIV-positive women as community health workers.