Following New Philanthropy by Network Ethnography: How Did the Varkey Foundation Land and Expand in Latin America?

Abstract

New philanthropy develops new forms of policy “problem-solving” through the influx of private actors’ money and ideas. It adopts singular configurations across different policy spaces, with implications for education governance. We address this phenomenon by analyzing the Varkey Foundation's (VF) “landing” and “expansion” in Latin America. VF is a global philanthropic organization registered in the United Kingdom in 2011 with a main hub in Argentina, where it landed in 2017. We use network ethnography to examine the influence of new philanthropy on education governance as this phenomenon demands new methods to grasp the “realities” of governing beyond conventional ways and understanding policy mobilities. Results indicate how VF “landed” in a little pro-market space via productive uses of policy networks. The second phase of data collection and analysis presents further consolidation of VF in Argentina, its expansion into Latin America, and its establishment as a legitimate education policy actor. This study provides new evidence and insights into how policy networks enable new philanthropy to land and consolidate within national boundaries and, later, across the region as a legitimate actor in education.