In our 3 step plan to solve poverty, we acknowledge that nothing will actually change ‘on the ground’ unless the recognised fixers do their fixing. But what actually motivates them to do so? We want to introduce the notion of ‘closeness’ in driving action towards solving poverty. We use it deliberately, as a term that most people can relate to and feel they understand, without requiring a dictionary definition of the term.

Closeness is a ‘feeling-based’ summary of one’s overall attitude towards another. Although technically speaking, ‘closeness’ is meant to be a measure of physical proximity, we habitually use it to give a sense of how ‘unified with’, or ‘separated from’ another individual we think we are. It is a simple way of describing and summarising the complex way we may actually feel. We believe that the relative presence or absence of this feeling of closeness, materially affects how we collectively respond to the needs of the poorest billion people on the planet. To find out more about how this materially affects the focus of our 7 key fixers, read the full article here.