The Rockefeller Foundation has launched a $50 million ‘Build the Shared Future’ initiative after a sweeping new global poll revealed that public backing for international cooperation remains strong but vulnerable to political headwinds.
The 112-year-old philanthropic organisation says the programme will generate practical solutions to major global challenges, breaking down barriers between the development and humanitarian sectors while fostering more resilient systems. The initiative aims to ‘develop solutions that more effectively respond to crises and promote a healthier, more prosperous, and secure future for all’.
Global poll shows cautious optimism
The announcement coincided with the release of an ambitious survey that canvassed 36,405 adults across 34 countries between August 8 and September 10, 2025. Conducted by research firm FocalData, the poll highlights that even amid rising nationalism and aid cuts, most people still believe that nations must work together to address common threats.
Key findings show that 54 percent of respondents say their lives are affected by events abroad, while 55 percent agree their country should cooperate on global challenges even if it means compromising on national interests. Crucially, 75 percent would back international cooperation if it demonstrably solved global problems and 76 percent if it improved conditions in their own country. Yet only 42 percent believe such cooperation directly benefits them today.
Support for joint action was particularly high on core issues: 93 percent cited food and water security, 91 percent global health, and 90 percent trade, economic development and poverty reduction. Trust in leading multilateral institutions, however, was more muted—58 percent for the United Nations, 60 percent for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and just 44 percent for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Three-pronged expert leadership
To drive tangible change, the foundation has enlisted three renowned specialists:
- Wally Adeyemo, former US Deputy Treasury Secretary, will design a new framework for international cooperation.
- Dr Mark Dybul, a key architect of the US President’s Plan for AIDS Relief, will lead efforts to restructure global health systems.
- Dr Simon Winter, Executive Director of Sustainable Agriculture Foundations’ International Association, will focus on reimagining humanitarian food systems.
‘International cooperation is critical to building an economy that works for everyone, protecting democratic values, and enabling us to address the world’s most pressing challenges,’ Adeyemo said.
Dybul stressed that the initiative will back locally driven health models, while Winter highlighted the need for data-driven food systems that anticipate crises rather than merely respond to them.
Broad global resonance
Board member and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the data show that people worldwide ‘want a system that’s more compassionate, more just, and more capable of delivering results’. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, a fellow board member and President of the ONE Campaign, added that the foundation is uniquely positioned to ‘bring people together from across the world and across political divides to test new ideas and catalyse innovative solutions’.
Regional Rockefeller leaders echoed those sentiments. William Asiko emphasised the chance to shift Africa’s development narrative from aid to partnership, while Deepali Khanna pointed to Asia’s potential to lead new models of cooperation. Lyana Latorre underscored Latin America’s local initiatives as a base for effective global partnerships.
Building on a century of innovation
The initiative extends a long Rockefeller tradition of bold action. In its early decades, the foundation helped establish the field of public health, fought hookworm in the United States and played a pivotal role in combating the 1918 influenza pandemic. Its International Health Division inspired the founding of the World Health Organisation and its support helped create the Children’s Vaccine Initiative, precursor to today’s Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Current efforts span food, health, energy and finance, including work to expand the balance sheets of multilateral development banks to boost climate and development lending.
Foundation President Dr Rajiv J Shah said the moment calls for ‘forging new partnerships and leveraging new technologies to deliver results for the world’s most vulnerable people’. He argued that the institutions which once advanced human progress are struggling to meet 21st-century challenges, making this an opportunity to rethink cooperation for a more resilient future.
