Sciences Po aims to raise 100 million euros by 2022

Without sponsors, Sciences Po would not exist. Neither would the renowned Equal Opportunity Programme (CEP). For many years, the commitment of donors has allowed various projects to come to life, particularly with regards to social innovation. Sciences Po has now launched its most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history, with a goal to raise 100 million euros by 2022, the university’s 150th anniversary.

Sciences Po 2022: A university open onto the world that educates a responsible generation

This fundraising campaign, entitled "Sciences Po 2022" aims to raise 100 million euros over the period 2018-2022. A "silent" phase has already secured 47 million euros from companies and donors. Chaired by Alexandre Bompard (CEO of Carrefour, Class of 1994), it will culminate with the inauguration of the new Paris campus at the Artillery and the 150th anniversary celebration of the institution.

"Sciences Po 2022 is a project of renewal, building on 150 years of innovation to reestablish an open, international and innovative university. Our ambition is to embody a unique form of excellence and responsibility in a globalized world of higher education and research”, explains Frédéric Mion, Director of Sciences Po.

The Sciences Po 2022 campaign, or the 150th Anniversary Campaign, will finance a huge number of projects organised around five strategic axes:

The building of a new urban campus on the historic site of the Artillerie: this new iconic site, which is to be both sustainable and fully accessible, will gather together researchers and students in innovative spaces at the heart of the city, providing the setting for a new and reinvented Sciences Po.
Reaffirming Sciences Po’s commitment to welcoming the most diverse talents: funds raised will help Sciences Po continue to develop its policy of equal opportunity, first begun over 15 years ago with the widening of the university’s access to audiences previously excluded from it (high school students from disadvantaged areas of France, disabled students, and refugees). Today more than 30% of Sciences Po students benefit from financial aid. The institution is also firmly engaged in issues of gender equality, implementing initiatives such as a recently appointed Women in Business Chair.
Broadening the field of disciplines at Sciences Po by linking our expertise in the humanities and social sciences to the study of life sciences and hard science, so as to provide a comprehensive understanding of the most complex questions facing the contemporary world. New teaching programmes are to be created in partnership with other leading institutions across all scientific domains, as well as new research and teaching chairs.
Expanding Sciences Po’s global presence, with a focus on Africa, particularly through the provision of an ambitious programme of academic scholarships and mobility grants. Further plans to develop additional strategic partnerships with leading universities and new dual degrees are in process.
Educating a responsible generation, via a multiplicity of engagement opportunities, such as the Civic Learning Programme, launched in April 2018, which makes commitment to a civic or charitable initiative a compulsory component of the Bachelor’s degree.

A long tradition of sponsorship

In making this fundraising bid, Sciences Po is building on a long tradition of sponsorship. It was ultimately thanks to the contributions of a circle of patrons and funders that Émile Boutmy was able to found in 1872 l’École libre des sciences politiques, which would become Sciences Po. It was with the help of a donation from the Duchess of Galliera that the university purchased its first building located at 27 rue Saint-Guillaume, in 1879.

Sciences Po began forging partnerships and actively fundraising in the 2000s, establishing networks with both Great Britain and the United States. Over the period from 2008-2013, the university’s first fundraising campaign drew 40 million euros, of which 10 million came from international donations.

Sciences Po relies on the development of its personal resources: today, public donations represent 37% of the institution’s funds. Sponsorship plays an essential role in assisting the university to fund its projects and strategies; in 2018, 9% of its budget was contributed by sponsors. The Sciences Po 2022 campaign is thus a further diversification of the institution’s economic model, which will allow Sciences Po to reaffirm the support of its existing sponsors, while extending its network still further, particularly towards individual donors.

Supporters of this exceptional fundraising bid will be invited to play an active part within the Sciences Po 2022 project: as well as the naming of spaces on the Artillerie site, they will have the opportunity to be involved in key moments of academic and student life, and to share their experiences with a new generation.

More information

(credits: Caroline Maufroid / Sciences Po)