From a Government-Based Partnership to a Civic-Governed Paradigm

This article reports a pioneering qualitative research study that illuminates the way a global philanthropic partnership enabled the Israeli government to launch a national program which later evolved into a non-governmental initiative. It examines the model of an urban and social rehabilitation program through the prism of its funding partnership, citizen participation practice, and collaboration with municipalities; it also illustrates the way this government-based model was transformed into a new program, detached from governmental ties and shifted to focus on communal and international people-to-people connections and collaborations. The article traces the programmatic transformation that unfolded over four decades.