Build the Shared Future

Creating the next chapter of global cooperation together

For too long, the global institutions and initiatives tasked with saving lives and advancing human well-being have fallen short. From humanitarian assistance to food security to global health, the world is using systems built in the 20th century to tackle 21st-century threats. The world’s most vulnerable people deserve better.

Today, at a moment of profound geopolitical and technological disruption, we have an opportunity to re-imagine the way individuals, institutions, and even nations work together. The data is clear: around the world, people support global cooperation against shared threats — but only if it delivers results.

Build the Shared Future is an effort to answer this urgent call. These initiatives, launched in September 2025, seek to inspire and inform global cooperation that’s equal to the challenges of the 21st century. The Rockefeller Foundation will partner with innovative thinkers and leaders around the world to challenge the status quo, advance creative solutions, and harness new technology to confront today’s common threats. Together, we seek to build the future so it’s healthier, better nourished, wealthier, more stable and secure.

international collaboration

Amid the erosion of multilateral cooperation and deterioration of existing institutions and agreements, this project is working to identify areas for continued international cooperation among world leaders and to identify ways in which civil society can support these efforts. The project invites a broad, bottom-up approach to revisit many of the underlying concepts that were incorporated into the foundation of existing agreements and institutions and will seek to reimagine what needs to come next.

roup of men in suits standing together during a formal international event, with flags and a large audience visible in the background.
a man and woman stand in a garden exchanging freshly picked cucumbers, surrounded by green plants and raised garden beds.
Humanitarian Food Systems

The number of people living in extreme hunger is rising, yet the public resources to address these challenges are diminishing. The project will improve data systems so local stakeholders can better predict food crises and take anticipatory action to prevent the worst outcomes. Projects in highly vulnerable situations will demonstrate the benefits of these strengthened data systems to help local food systems become more productive and resilient and allow scarce public funds to be used more efficiently and effectively.

Global Health

The global health system is at a critical inflection point. Persistent challenges — including funding shortfalls, systemic fragmentation, and deep-rooted inequities — continue to disproportionately impact the world’s most vulnerable communities. We are supporting country leaders in building a new paradigm for global health in which domestic institutions set priorities, allocate resources, and drive solutions, while external support strengthens rather than supplants national capacity.

a healthcare worker wearing gloves checks a young boy’s hand in a clinic, with a health poster about safe water on the wall behind them.

Why it Matters

  •  
    0%%

    of people across 34 countries agree their nation should cooperate on global challenges, even if it means compromising on some national interests

  •  
    0%%

    of people worldwide say they would support international cooperation if it proves effective in solving global problems

  •  
    $0BillionBillion

    the amount of international aid projected to be cut this year for vulnerable populations worldwide

How We Will Build the Shared Future

With: Newly adopted principles to guide international cooperation
For: More prosperous and secure lives

 

With: Local leaders coming together to show the way
For: Self-sufficient health systems that save lives

 

With: Collaborative Predictive Data Systems
For: Hungry people around the world

 

  • Report

    Demanding Results: Global Views on International Cooperation

    A new survey of more than 36,000 people from across 34 countries shows that while people believe in global cooperation, they are hungry for more effective systems. In fact, 75% of people would support their country working with others if it's proven to solve global problems. Read the latest survey for more.
    Download PDF

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