Last year, on the recommendation of the staff and the Board of the Sauvé Scholars Foundation, the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation decided that it would be using the year ahead as a “Sauvé Year” – a timely opportunity to step back in order to step up – just like the opportunity we afford our own Scholars: a period of reflection, planning, and reengagement. Our goal is to make sure that the Foundation continues to evolve while also remaining true to the values and mission espoused by the Right Honourable Jeanne Sauvé.

We are pleased to announce that we have now completed our Strategic Planning Process. We are grateful to the Foundation’s dedicated Staff and Senior Fellows as well as our fellow Board Members, whose talents and hard work were essential to our success. In particular, we’d like to highlight the leadership of Sauvé Board members Tim Brodhead and Donat Taddeo.

Many partners, advisors and friends of the Foundation have helped us to see more clearly where the strengths and potential of our Foundation lie. We are also grateful to Claude Généreux, a Director with McKinsey & Company, who provided invaluable guidance throughout our strategic planning process.

Thanks to a survey designed and administered by our resident experts in youth engagement, Apathy is Boring, over 80 Sauvé Scholars Program Alumni, representing all 10 program cohorts and over 30 countries, reported on the Program’s impact on their lives as well as their impact, in turn, on the world. Twenty alumni also participated in in-depth interviews with us, helping us to further refine our understanding of our impact. Their experiences were as diverse as the alumni themselves, but the overall picture informed our efforts going forward.

Building on this, we undertook an environmental scan and benchmarking exercise and two sets of consultations with stakeholders and other experts.

Read more in our 2013 online Newsletter