Our Strategy

Strategic Priorities

Our work is guided by two strategic priorities. These priorities are designed to bring a strong, informed, and equipped bioethics to the table as decisions are being made – a bioethics that welcomes and reflects many voices and is a key partner in policy decisions affecting our health and well-being.

Priority 1: Shaping and supporting a broad, inclusive bioethics. The Foundation will support a “wide umbrella” of bioethics work, embracing diversity along several axes. We will continue to adopt a broad view of the disciplines that constitute bioethics scholarship and what constitutes a bioethics topic. By inviting and welcoming into bioethics those who have otherwise been excluded or might not self-identify with the field, we can broaden its impact and reach.

Priority 2: Increasing bioethics’ impact on policymaking. It is critical for bioethics to be at the table when public policy decisions are being made. The Foundation will fund critical research that informs policy and take steps to get actionable research in the hands of policymakers. We will highlight policy areas where bioethics can make a difference and serve as an essential resource of bioethics expertise for policymakers and other stakeholders.

You can read more about these priorities on our blog.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Bioethics affects us all, so it should reflect us all. At The Greenwall Foundation, we are committed to building a broad and inclusive bioethics that welcomes everyone, elevates many perspectives, asks a wide range of questions, and learns from diverse voices. The values of diversity, equity, and inclusion guide the grants we fund, the work we do, the investments we make, and the organizational culture we grow.

In 2022, the Foundation announced a strategic priority to shape and support a broad, inclusive bioethics. We recognize that the field has not consistently welcomed, listened, or responded to diverse voices, and we are working to better that. Through our actions and priorities, the Foundation continues to promote a “wide umbrella” of bioethics, embracing diversity along many axes. The field benefits not only from diverse scholarly voices, but also from the voices of those who have lived with the full range of experiences that bioethics confronts. By inviting and welcoming into bioethics those who have otherwise been excluded or might not see themselves as part of the bioethics conversation, we seek to grow the field – to create opportunity and broaden its impact and reach, uniting stakeholders through a commitment to improving decision-making in health care, policy, and research.

Our work will include (though will not be limited to) actions that:

Adopt a broad view of the disciplines that contribute to bioethics scholarship and what constitutes a bioethics topic;
Support and encourage grant applicants from underrepresented groups;
Amplify underrepresented voices in bioethics;
Foster respectful discourse that reflects a wide range of perspectives and helps to articulate and navigate differing values;
Elevate conversations in bioethics about justice, fairness, equity, and racism.

At The Greenwall Foundation, building a broad and inclusive bioethics is ongoing work that will continue to evolve. You can learn more about it here. We further invite you to contact us and share your thoughts on how bioethics could better reflect us all.