Strategic Advisory
We are trusted strategic advisors to institutions tackling some of the world’s most complex global challenges. Working with philanthropies, governments, multilateral organisations, academic institutions and the private sector, we help partners build and strengthen the institutions, the financing and the storytelling required to tackle health security, climate change, conflict and inequality.
Our Work
Through our work we have:
Built new institutions and global networks to tackle pandemics and food insecurity.
Delivered partnerships that have mobilized over $4 billion for international development.
Supported major global institutions to reframe their narrative and built a range of advocacy campaign strategies.
Facilitated high-level convenings of global leaders and prepared board-level briefings for major institutions.
Learn about our projects
While much of our work is confidential, a few examples of strategic advisory projects are provided to showcase the value of our services to our partners.
Building Institutions and Governance
We help partners design and strengthen the institutions, networks and governance they need to tackle their most complex challenges – from fighting pandemics to addressing the threat of extreme heat.
Project: Strengthening Global Pandemic Preparedness
Since 2022, Global Nation has been a strategic partner for the establishment of a new global hub for pandemic preparedness, helping to define its strategy and operating model, build partnerships, and support its growth as a leading global initiative.
Created in the aftermath of COVID-19, the hub was established to strengthen the world’s ability to anticipate, detect and respond to emerging health threats through more timely, actionable and equitable public health intelligence. Achieving this ambition required technical expertise alongside effective stakeholder engagement, international collaboration and sustained political and financial support.
We supported the development of its inaugural strategy, helped launch major initiatives, particularly focused on genomicdisease surveillance and the use of AI to identify health threats among massive unstructured public data sets. Our work has included designing technical products as well as convening global networks of governments, philanthropic organisations, academic institutions and international partners to drive forward these priorities.
We have also built the partnerships and resource base needed to support long-term impact and sustainability. This included helping the organization to secure over $30 million in additional funding.
Photo by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Project: Building Governance Systems for Extreme Heat Risk
Global Nation was funded by a major philanthropic organisation to build a multi-agency response across UN Agencies and Multilateral Development Banks to Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ Call to Action on Extreme Heat. This resulted in us co-authoring the UN’s Extreme Heat Risk Governance Framework and Toolkit.
Working closely with global experts, United Nations agencies, government representatives and technical partners, we heldconsultations, synthesised evidence and facilitated stakeholder engagement to identify the essential components of effective governance. We translated complex technical, policy and operational considerations into a structured framework that could be applied across different national and institutional contexts.
The resulting governance framework provided decision makers with practical tools to assess institutional maturity, strengthen cross-sector coordination, improve information-sharing, and support the development of effective heat action plans. It was designed to help organisations move from fragmented responses towards more coordinated, accountable and sustainable approaches to managing extreme heat risks.
Financing and Resource Mobilisation
We help governments and major institutions design and strengthen the strategic partnerships needed to mobilise finance, expertise and political commitment at scale.
Project: Designing a US$200 Million Climate and Food Security Partnership
Global Nation supported a leading philanthropic foundation to design and structure a major partnership with a national government that secured US$200 million in joint commitments, announced at a COP Climate Summit.
The partnership was created to accelerate innovation in climate-resilient agriculture, helping smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia adapt to climate change and strengthen food security.
Working alongside senior foundation leadership, Global Nation helped shape the strategic vision, partnership architectureand investment proposition. We brought together complex policy, scientific and financing priorities into a coherent framework that could secure high-level political support and significant financial commitments.
The final partnership included investments in agricultural research, food systems innovation, climate adaptation technologies, and a new artificial intelligence hub focused on climate-resilient food systems.
The initiative also established mechanisms to increase access to climate innovations for farmers in low- and middle-income countries. Early priorities include improving weather forecasting and decision-support tools, helping farming communities respond more effectively to increasingly volatile climate conditions.
Project: Building a Long-Term Partnership to Mobilise US$1 Billion for Development
Global Nation supported a major philanthropic foundation to establish and grow a long-term strategic partnership with a national government that has mobilised more than US$1 billion in commitments for global health and development. What began as a shared ambition to deepen collaboration evolved into a multi-sector partnership spanning global health, humanitarian response, economic development, innovation and social impact.
Building a relationship of this scale involved aligning the priorities of government ministries, international organisations, philanthropic leaders and technical partners around a shared vision for long-term collaboration.
Global Nation worked alongside senior leaders throughout the partnership’s development, helping to create the strategy, governance and relationships needed to translate political ambition into funding and practical delivery.
Our role spanned the full partnership lifecycle. We developed the overall partnership strategy, negotiated agreements between the parties, drafted memoranda of understanding and governance frameworks, and managed relationships with ministers, senior officials and institutional leaders. We also supported high-profile launches, coordinated engagement across multiple stakeholders, and continued to advise both partners after signature to ensure implementation, maintainmomentum and identify new opportunities for collaboration.
Photo by Jonathan Ramalho
Storytelling and Advocacy
We help partners shape narratives and design advocacy strategies that influence decision makers, mobilise action, and build the enabling public environment for change.
Project: Repositioning a major UN agency for a New Era
Global Nation supported a leading international institution at a pivotal moment in its history, helping it develop a new institutional narrative to strengthen trust, clarify its role and position it for the future.
Operating in an increasingly contested global environment, the organisation needed a clearer and more compelling way to explain its purpose, demonstrate its value and strengthen engagement with member states, partners and the public. Global Nation worked closely with teams across the organisation to challenge assumptions, gather insights and identify the themes that resonated most strongly with internal and external audiences.
Drawing on these insights, we developed a new strategic narrative that repositioned the organisation from a distant bureaucracy to a trusted partner working alongside countries and communities to address shared challenges. We also created a practical narrative framework and messaging architecture that could be embedded across the organisation. In parallel, we supported a flagship programme to strengthen its positioning and communications to support partnership engagement.
By combining strategy, stakeholder engagement and storytelling, Global Nation helped equip a major international institution with the narrative foundations needed to strengthen trust, demonstrate relevance and build support for its mission.
Project: Designing a multi-market advocacy strategy for defending ODA
Global Nation supported a major philanthropic foundation to develop an effective advocacy strategy for defending Official Development Assistance (ODA) across Europe in a challenging political context. The focus was how to deploy a significant portfolio of new advocacy funding to maximise political influence, strengthen public support and build a more resilient enabling environment for international cooperation.
Working closely with policy, communications and programme teams, we developed the strategic framework that guided the approach across multiple priority markets. Built around four interconnected elements – Markets, Messengers, Messages and Methods – the framework ensured the advocacy strategy was tailored to different political contexts, mobilised the most influential voices, and deployed the narratives and tactics most likely to drive impact.
We also applied a concept of influence spanning Power, Ideas and Culture to identify how political leaders, academics, think tanks and influential cultural voices could form effective coalitions for change. To put this into practice, we designed an ODA Advocacy Brains Trust, bringing together a diverse community of experts and ‘unusual suspects’ to test assumptions, identify opportunities and shape new approaches to defending ODA.
The resulting strategy provided a clear roadmap for future advocacy investments, helping the foundation target resources where they could have the greatest long-term impact.
Photo by Rasmus Gundorff-Saederup
Get in touch
Interested in collaborating or exploring how we can support your work? We’d love to hear from you.
Please get in touch with Cara Lew, Principal Advisor at Global Nation: contact@globalnation.world