Center for Social Innovation

Earth May Be Approaching 'Tipping Point,' Stanford Scientist Says

The planet may be nearing a critical threshold, beyond which environmental changes will be rapid and unpredictable, according to a study co-authored by Stanford Professor Elizabeth Hadly.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development

Big Business in Bhutan: How the Humble Hazelnut Could Help Bhutan

Mountain Hazelnut of Bhutan has set its sights on a triple bottom line: financial gain for investors, alleviating poverty among farm families, and restoration of an eroded, hilly landscape.

Resource: News Article

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Solar Power's Bright Future

A conversation with Stefan Reichelstein on the economics of solar power.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Government

Q&A: Stanford Economist John Shoven on Social Security

It's true: 65 really is the new 55. Stanford economist John Shoven gives practical advice on how to save for retirement during a struggling economy, low interest rates and longer life spans.

Resource: News Article

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Arts, Culture, and Religion

The Power of Potential

Why mere potential can be more impressive than actual achievement.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Earth May Be Approaching 'Tipping Point,' Stanford Scientist Says

The planet may be nearing a critical threshold, beyond which environmental changes will be rapid and unpredictable, according to a study co-authored by Stanford Professor Elizabeth Hadly.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Solar Power's Bright Future

A conversation with Stefan Reichelstein on the economics of solar power.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Stanford Researchers Help Predict the Oceans of the Future with a Mini-Lab

[photo - Predict the Oceans of the Future]

Scientists from Stanford and elsewhere joined to create a mini-lab in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The device can simulate predicted future ocean conditions – such as rising carbon dioxide levels – and their effects on ecosystems such as coral.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Philanthropic Practices

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

DO MORE THAN GIVE: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World by Leslie R. Crutchfield, John V. Kania, & Mark R. Kramer

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development

Crowdsourcing Microfinance

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

The Grameen Foundation’s Bankers Without Borders initiative applies skills-based volunteering to poverty alleviation.

Government, Social Entrepreneurship

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Social Innovation in Washington, D.C.

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

A look at what’s needed next to create the right policy environment for innovation and results.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Research: Doctor in Your Pocket

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

New and valuable mHealth apps are coming out all the time. What sort of open architecture can support this wave of innovation?

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

What’s Next: Matchmaking for Philanthropists

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

Foundation Source Access, the new eHarmony for family foundations, gives smaller donors access to a wide variety of innovative funding opportunities.

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Education, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

It is a recession, and it could be a restructuring

The opportunity has come to reframe, rethink, re-set, and re-build some of the things we take most for granted.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Nonprofit Management

Dissecting the Network Approach

Having an effective online presence goes beyond simply having a Web site.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Selling Vs. Selling Out

The author warns that selling a company or organization should not mean selling out as social missions will prove to contribute to long term success.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Nonprofit Management

Creating the Safe Space to Talk About Race in the Nonprofit Sector

Just because we now have a Black President does not mean we should take the topic of diversity off of our agenda.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion

Swarms

Group-think extends to swarms of social activism.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Service Innovation

[photo - Experts at the 2011 Healthcare Summit]

Innovation in any sector is not for the faint of heart, and that's even more the case in the world of healthcare delivery. In this panel discussion, four intrepid professionals talk about how they have plunged forward in the world of healthcare innovation and made substantial progress. The discussion was part of the 2011 Healthcare Summit, held at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Healthcare

2011 Stanford Healthcare Summit

How do we get individuals to practice healthier habits and influence positive behavior change? The "Behavior Wizard" offers technology-based solutions in this audio lecture from the 2011 Stanford Graduate School of Business Healthcare Summit. B.J. Fogg, Director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University, bring his insights from the tech world. In decades studying how computers and mobile apps can be used to bring about behavior change, Fogg found new applications for the health sector in promoting positive habits.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Education, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Philanthropy and the Free Market in Education

What can the for-profit market bring to K-12 education reform, and how can philanthropy help such efforts? In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, Gisèle Huff, executive director of the Jaquelin Hume Foundation, discusses the foundation's investment strategy in this regard. She touches on lessons the organization has learned, and what the average citizen can do to raise American education standards.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship

Solving Infant Mortality with Social Entrepreneurship

Of the twenty million premature or underweight babies born every year, four million will die in their first month of life. In this audio lecture from the 2011 Women in Management banquet at Stanford, Jane Chen discusses her recent efforts to change these numbers, and the personal journey that took her there. Chen is the co-founder and CEO of Embrace, a nonprofit company that has developed a new low-cost, portable incubator for use in India and other parts of the developing world.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Government

Food Industry and Global Health

Why have American eating habits changed so drastically for the worse in the last half century? What is the appropriate role of government in mitigating these changes? Who can we hold responsible? In this audio lecture, author and former FDA Commissioner David Kessler discusses the marketing strategies of multinational food companies, the scientific realities behind these current trends, and what we might do to change them.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Education

We Don't Know What Makes Us Happy (But We Think We Do)

What makes us happy? Turns out, the ten dollars to a nonprofit is often more meaningful than the graduate degree.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Going Green, Seeing Red: Environmental Activism and Corporate Social Responsibility

Activist movements should be analyzed against not only state but also the corporate realm, says Professor Sarah Soule.

Resource: Video

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Using Social Media as a Marketing Tool

Missions of social impact and profit do not need to be opposed, say social entrepreneurs. In fact, bringing the two together in a double bottom line can create dynamic new opportunities.

Resource: Video

Topic:

How can social media be leveraged as a powerful marketing tool?

Resource: Video

Topic:

Leadership, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Investing in Green Tech

Kleiner Perkins is greening its portfolio with an alternative energy fund.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Using Entrepreneurial Approaches to Solve the Problems of Global Poverty

In turbulent times like ours, we need “hard-edged hope,” says Jacqueline Novogratz, the much-celebrated founder of the Acumen Fund. Affirming that the world is indeed a better place now than it was 40 years ago, she traces her own journey from a childhood witnessing racial inequities all around her in Detroit to a career leading the field of social impact investing. Novogratz rallies the community of Stanford business graduates to be part of the new generation of innovative problem solvers.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Education

2011 Roundtable at Stanford: Education Nation 2.0

Redefining K-12 education in America: how can we improve our troubled school system and provide a better future for our nation's greatest resource, our kids?

Resource: Video

Topic:

Conversations in Global Health with Chid Liberty

Liberty and Justice, a for-profit, socially minded company, is creating jobs and improving health care for Liberian women

Resource: Video

Topic:

Education

How to Cultivate the Best Teachers

Teaching is one of the most demanding and rewarding callings there is. So agree teachers and teacher advancement experts in this panel discussion. Speaking at the GS|SU Global Education Conference at Stanford, panelists talk about what their organizations are doing to support teachers, and the most successful efforts and investments aimed at recruiting, strengthening, and retaining our teacher corps.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Capital for Early Stage Innovation

The United States has been a global leader to medical technology innovation, however a changing investment environment and tougher regulatory requirements prove unique challenges for early stage innovators. From the 2011 Stanford Graduate School of Business Healthcare Summit, Stefanos Zenios, director of Stanford's GSB Program in Healthcare Innovation convenes a panel of health care investors who give those entrepreneurs starting out a full picture of the product development cycle and how to successfully raise capital.

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Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

Topics:

Nonprofit Management

Breaking New Ground: Using the Internet to Scale

Commissioned by KaBOOM! and authored by Katherine Fulton and alumna Heather McLeod Grant of the Monitor Institute, this case study looks at the challenges KaBOOM! faced and lessons the organization learned while pioneering an online strategy to scale its impact. This strategy involves giving away the nonprofit model online for free to empower others to act on KaBoom's behalf.

Resource: Practitioner Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights

Dr. Frances Conley (A): The Resignation, (B): The Return

In 1991, Frances Conley, the first female, tenured full professor of neurosurgery in the United States, resigned from her position at Stanford Medical School over the appointment of a new department chair who was known for sexual harassment. As she becomes thrust into the media limelight, she wonders what she should do next.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Anatomy of a Corporate Campaign: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (C)

In 2000, the Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign to get Citigroup to stop financing destructive activities in endangered ecosystems. This third case describes how activists try to gain access to Citigroup's top management.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Note on Employer-Provided Health Insurance

This note provides an overview of the role of employers, carriers, and consumers in the U.S. private health insurance market. It covers the history of employer-based coverage, employer decisions on health insurance, insurance pricing, and other topics.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Nonmarket Environment of McDonald's

This case describes several nonmarket issues that could significantly impact McDonald’s business. Issues include rising obesity rates, legislation, media attention, and others.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Visa Sponsorship Marketing

Visa’s executive vice president of international marketing, partnerships, and sponsorship played a key role in convincing Visa’s six regional boards and its international board to allow Visa to extend its Olympics and Paralympics sponsorship. His team planned to discuss the current corporate strategy and use it to refine the existing sponsorship strategy.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Anatomy of a Corporate Campaign: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (B)

In 2000, the Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign to get Citigroup to stop financing destructive activities in endangered ecosystems. This second case relates the opportunistic revival of the campaign two years after it started.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Education, Nonprofit Management

Mount Pleasant School: Achieving Excellence with Limited Resources

The director of a successful school in Botswana was planning her retirement. How could she institutionalize processes she had personally overseen that had led to the school's excellence?

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Stone Yamashita Partners and PBS (A), (B), (C)

PBS had asked for the strategy group Stone Yamashita Partners for help with branding. These cases detail PBS’s challenges and the organization’s need to transform its longstanding structure and change-averse culture.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Anatomy of a Corporate Campaign: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (A)

In 2000, the Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign to get Citigroup to stop financing destructive activities in endangered ecosystems. Three cases trace the development of that campaign starting with the initial launch and tentative negotiations.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Government

Angola's Mislaid Billions

This case focuses on corruption in Angola surrounding oil production. It discusses the involvement of nongovernmental organizations, oil companies, and internal organizations, as well as the Angolan response.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management

Entrepreneurs Foundation

This strategy case discusses a number of challenges facing nonprofit managers. These include establishing a sustainable and self-supporting operating model, generating corporate-sector support, and managing through a financial crisis.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Rural Development Institute (A): Should It Tackle the Problem of the Landless Poor in India?

The Rural Development Institute was established in the 1970s to alleviate poverty by securing land rights for the world’s rural poor. The organization was considering whether to enter India to work for land reform.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management

Rural Development Institute (B): Success in India

In 2000, the Rural Development Institute entered India. The organization had to modify its model to address the unique aspects of the situation in that country.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

SK-II China: Managing Public Relations

Procter & Gamble’s high-end skincare brand in China had the potential to be a star. However, after two major public relations debacles, P&G had to rebuild the brand image and regain consumers’ trust.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Unitus (A): Microfinance 2.0 - Reinventing and Industry

Unitus focuses on accelerating the growth of the microfinance industry. This first case describes the Unitus business model for microfinance and whether or not the company should expand the capital it provides to partners through a debt or equity fund.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

Topics:

The Effect of Medicare for the Disabled on Private Insurance

[photo - Photo: Silhouette of Woman in Wheelchair]

Does the removal of high-cost individuals from private insurance markets lead to greater coverage for individuals who are not as high cost? John Cogan, Glenn Hubbard, and Daniel Kessler find that the insurance coverage of individuals with a health condition that limited their ability to work increased significantly in states with high versus low rates of disability.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Who Supports Health Reform?

[photo - Photo: Prescription Drugs and Money]

The study surveys a large, national sample of American adults about their willingness to pay for health reform. David Brady and Daniel Kessler find that self-identified Republicans, older Americans, and high-income Americans are less supportive of reform.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Why Is Health Reform So Difficult?

[photo - Photo: Health Reform Newspaper Clippings]

Daniel Kessler and David Brady examine the possibilities for health care reform in the 111th Congress. Analyzing the failure of Congress to pass the Clinton health plan in 1993-94, they conclude that the factors that created gridlock in the 103rd Congress are likely to have a similar impact in the present.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Reform Incentives and Health System Reengineering

America needs a far more efficient health care financing and delivery system. According to Professor Alain Enthoven, this situation presents great opportunities for improvement in performance through a systems re-engineering, but will require a change in incentives so that everyone is cost conscious and accountable.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Environment, Government, Leadership

Would Boycotting BP Do Any Good?

[photo - gulf_oil_spill_source_la_times]

Consumer and environmental groups, angry over the spreading oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, are calling for a boycott of BP, the oil giant that owns the well gushing oil onto beaches and marshes. According to research by Phillip Leslie and Larry Chavis, boycotts do in fact work and they're something businesses should be concerned about.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

Topic :

Biodesign Innovation: OIT 581/3

The two-quarter Elective Course series provides lectures from a diverse group of faculty that expose students to the practical aspects of technology invention and development. The class features a presentation or discussion from one of the guest speakers or faculty. Students work in small project teams in the Biodesign prototyping lab or bench space, collaborating with the fellows of the program.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

The Power of Social Technology: GSBGEN 358

The goal of this seminar is to investigate how social technology (e.g., blogs, websites, podcasts, widgets, community groups, social network feeds) can change attitudes and behaviors in ways that cultivate social change. We study the strategies and tactics used by companies and causes that have successfully catalyzed social persuasion.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development

Strategic Thinking in Action - In Business and Beyond: STRAMGT 373

This seminar helps participants develop strategically informed action plans that are imaginative, inspiring, and workable in highly dynamic environments. Through informed debate and the writing and presentation of position papers, participants evaluate and hone their views on the seminar's critical themes.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :