Research By Topic : Center for Social Innovation (CSI)

Articles : All | News Articles | Stanford Social Innovation Review Articles | Blog Posts

Topic :

Global Issues

Radically Small Thinking

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011

POOR ECONOMICS: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Global Issues

Research: Undisclosed Pharma Contributions

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011

Most health advocacy organizations do not report industry funding.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Global Issues

What’s Next: It Takes a General Contractor

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011

Nuru International identifies proven poverty-reduction programs and aims to take them to scale.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Education

The Missing Link in School Reform

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011

In trying to improve American public schools, educators, policymakers, and philanthropists are overselling the role of the highly skilled individual teacher and undervaluing the benefits that come from teacher collaborations.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Social Innovations, Environment

Networking for Sustainable Transport

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011

EMBARQ, a network of sustainable transportation experts, has grown quickly, thanks to impressive fundraising and the design of a model program.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Cause Marketing, Online Giving, Philanthropy, Philanthropy & Responsible Investing, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Those with Less Give More

In this Spring 2011 Prosocial Behavior Research Column, Frank Flynn explores research showing that the most generous, trusting, and helpful people are not those with more money, but, rather, those with less. Individuals in lower socio-economic classes tend to act in a more prosocial fashion because of a greater commitment to egalitarian values and heightened feelings of compassion for others. Put simply, the life stressors and challenges faced by those who struggle economically often spur greater social cooperation. Might the "haves" take a lesson from the altruism of the "have nots?"

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Education

Adding It Up: Research Shows How Early Math Lessons Change Children's Brains

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have demonstrated that a single year of math lessons is associated with unexpectedly big changes in the brain's approach to problem solving and that these changes can be seen in the brain scans of second- and third-graders.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government

Costa Rica Strives for a High Tech Future Says President Chinchilla

Costa Rica now exports 4,000 products and is working to attract more technology companies President Laura Chinchilla told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience as the nation broadens its economic base from the focus on eco-tourism.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Allison Tells Grads to Follow Personal Compass

"Live by your own personal compass and speak honestly and openly. If you do that, you'll be fine." That was the simple advice offered by Herb Allison at this year's Graduate School of Business commencement ceremony on June 11.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Embracing a Way to Change the World

Jane Chen, MBA '08, is co-founder and CEO of Embrace, a nonprofit company dedicated to creating low-cost portable incubators to save the lives of low birthweight babies in developing countries. The Embrace infant warmer was launched in India in the spring of 2011 she told the annual Women in Management banquet at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Philanthropy

What Civil Society Needs

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

Headline-grabbing problems like global warming and extreme poverty garner most of philanthropy’s money and energy, while less visible but no less important problems like the decline of the news media—one of the foundations of civil society—are often ignored. Without a healthy civil society, however, it becomes difficult if not impossible to solve the other, more readily apparent problems.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Business, Nonprofits, Social Enterprises, Socially Responsible Business, Social Entrepreneurship

Big Business Matters

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

Social intrapreneurs—change agents already working deep within business—are the answer for business’s woes.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Business, Nonprofits, Nonprofit Management

Freeing the Social Entrepreneur

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

Social entrepreneurs are often reluctant to relinquish control and create strong leadership teams. Unless they make this important transition, the organizations entrepreneurs worked hard to create are unlikely to scale or have the desired impact.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Business, Global Issues, Socially Responsible Business, Environment

This Old Green House

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

Clean Energy Works Portland gets consumers—and the workforce—energized about weatherization.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Business, Nonprofits, Social Enterprises, Social Entrepreneurship

Monk, Architect, Diplomat

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

Three types of leadership are needed to build a successful organization.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Time for Foundations to Dig Deeper

The economic crisis should spur nonprofits to focus on their mission and foundations to give more.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Nonprofit Management

Breaking the News

The recession poses an opportunity for nonprofits to tell their stories using social media as a means of fundraising.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Paul Brest Has a Blog

The Hewlett Foundation president joins the legions of bloggers.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Asking and Giving Critical in Tough Times

Heisman is cautiously optimistic about charitable giving in the recession.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Nonprofit Management

People-Powered Content: It’s Driving the Web and Could Drive Your Community!

Citizen-created content benefits nonprofits in myriad ways.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Environmental Sustainability for Small Businesses

When does a house painter learn about low VOC paint? Are high-efficiency lightbulbs always better? How can you reduce package waste and still meet client expectations? How can a small business owner keep up with sustainability issues? Now Intuit and eBay have sites where small businesses share their green knowledge. Amy Skoczlas Cole, who runs eBayGreenTeam, and Rupesh Shah of IntuitGreen talk about small business and green.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Business, Nonprofits, Government

The Emerging Social Impact Market

Cross-sector collaborations are increasingly being seen as a means to foster innovation and solve entrenched social problems. In this audio lecture, Andrew Wolk, CEO of Root Cause, argues that the time has come for what he calls social impact markets. They would focus on single issues within specific geographic areas, and foster ties among government institutions, nonprofits, and businesses.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Applying Design Thinking to Healthcare

How can "design thinking" enhance healthcare in the developing world? In this audio interview Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari talks with Joel Sadler, CEO of re:motion designs, about the company's innovative artificial knee joint, which is giving new mobility to amputees in impoverished areas of the globe. Sadler discusses prototyping, funding, partnering, and the kinds of things enterprising design and engineering students should be thinking about.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Philanthropy, Nonprofit Management

If You Need Something, Just Ask

How likely are people to say "yes" to a request? We grossly underestimate how helpful people will be. We're also poor predictors of how many people will ask us for help. In this Stanford Center for Social Innovation audio lecture, Francis Flynn explores why we are consistently bad at predicting cooperative behavior. He offers his counter-intuitive results from laboratory and fund-raising situations. Does it matter if you are reasonable? How much will it affect success if you first ask: "Will you do me a favor?"

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Name Your Price!

Giving things away for the prize people are willing to pay sounds like corporate suicide. In this audio lecture sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Leif Nelson shows it's a pathway to corporate citizenship, increased revenue, and an enhanced company image. He walks us through field experiments he conducted at major theme parks manipulating various aspects of the purchasing experience for souvenir action photos.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Community Foundations

Community foundations have become an increasingly common outlet for charitable giving in the United States. In this panel discussion, led by Julie Juergens, the director of the Center for Social Innovation, community foundation leaders discuss innovative models for foundations as well as challenges faced by this sector.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Corporate Environmental Footprint

Corporations are beginning to recognize environmental stewardship as an essential part of corporate social responsibility. This panel discussion explores some of the leading corporate initiatives toward environmental sustainability.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility Panel

A key to assessing and expanding a company's corporate social responsibility agenda is developing appropriate reporting mechanisms both inside and outside the firm. Panelists from The Coca-Cola Co., United Technologies Corp., McDonald's Corporation, and KPMG share best practices.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Value Creation

The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Jed Emerson argues that value is nondivisible, whole, and blended. He invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Living Your Values

Changing the status quo in major organizations may seem overwhelming. Debra Meyerson offers strategies to effect change from within through tempered radicalism, drawing on research findings and bottom-up approaches.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Environment

Environmental Sustainability Through Adaptation

[photo - Photo: Professor Matthew E. Kahn]

Increasing energy consumption poses a serious threat to environmental sustainability. In this university podcast, delivered at the Stanford Climate Policy Instruments in the Real World conference, UCLA professor Matt Kahn reflects on what heat waves and increased natural disaster risk may do to households, landowners, and the general economic climate.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Government, Healthcare

DC2VC Panel Discussion

Government representatives and venture capitalists came together to hear Stanford student teams speak about the barriers that routinely prevent healthcare innovations from getting to market.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Healthcare

Reducing Inefficiencies in Hospitals: Jay Deady

Resource: Video

Topic:

Healthcare

What Healthcare Needs is Systems Engineering: Dr. John D. Evans

"No one has ever really designed the Intensive Care Unit," argues Dr. John D. Evans. Efficient technologies within the ICU are only half of the puzzle.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Healthcare

Biotechnology, Diagnostics, and Genomics: Panel Discussion

What are five individuals in biotechnology doing to make the sector more efficient?

Resource: Video

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:

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Shea Value Chain Reinforcement Initiative in Ghana

In 2009, software giant SAP funded an initiative that aims to reinforce the shea nut and butter value chain in Ghana. The program, which also involves microfinance organizations PlaNet Finance, Grameen Ghana and Maata-N-Tudu, uses microfinance, education, and information technology to improve the conditions of shea women. Since enrolling in the program, women have seen significant improvements in income. This case study examines program progress to date and makes recommendations for program improvements using a value chain development framework.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Health Care, Economic Development

Can Oil Filters Improve Health Care?

For millions of people across Africa, motorcycles can be a key to effective health care. A well-maintained fleet of vehicles and motorcycles to connect patients, medical expertise, and medicine is sometimes the most vital link in the health delivery supply chain. A new case written for the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum describes one successful program.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Social Entrepreneurship

Kiva.org and the Power of Storytelling

This case details the founding story of Kiva, with particular focus on the way that Jessica Jackley and Matt Flannery have stayed true to the original mission by telling authentic stories about entrepreneurs in East Africa, and how those stories have influenced lenders and fellows.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Education

The "Tipping Point" and Green Dot Public Schools

Green Dot is charter management organization that is bringing high-performance to Los Angeles, an area traditionally plagued by dismal graduating case. This case explores Green Dots the advantages and disadvantages of transformative strategy to reach a 'tipping point' in Los Angeles' educational community.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Social Entrepreneurship

The Siebel Foundation and the Meth Project

This case details the innovative work of business executive Tom Siebel, who launched the Meth Project in 2005 to 'unsell' meth to first time users in Montana. The program used an innovative research-based marketing campaign and has since scaled to other states.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Healthcare

Canary Fund and the San Jose Grand Prix (B): Results of the First Race

The Canary Fund supports the development of methods for early cancer detection. This second case presents the results of the sponsorship created to raise funding and awareness.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Healthcare, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations (B): New Directions

The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations both support research on Parkinson’s disease. This second case explores how these two organizations collaborate toward a common mission.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Environment, Nonprofit Management

Wild Salmon Center

The Wild Salmon Center was created to provide anglers access to excellent fishing in return for funding research and conservation. The case discusses the Center’s efforts to protect the pristine watersheds of the Kamchatka Peninsula by developing ecotourism to raise funds for conservation.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Gardenburger

The CEO of Gardenburger, a seller of veggie burger products and other food alternatives to meat, considers the company’s advertising strategy. He aims to take the company from the small health-food niche to the consumer mainstream.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Government

Transparent Markets: Promoting Public Values Through Private Enterprise

Luis Moreno Ocampo, an attorney who had fought human rights abuses in Argentina, views corruption in public procurement as the next major human rights issue. He established a company to collect and distribute information on public procurements to make the entire process more transparent.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

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

Topic :

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

Topic :

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

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

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

Topic :

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

Research Papers : All

Topics:

Healthcare

Tradeoffs from Integrating Diagnosis and Treatment in Markets for Health Care

To identify the important tradeoffs in consulting a single expert for both diagnosis and treatment, the authors examine the costs and health outcomes of elderly Medicare beneficiaries with coronary artery disease.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Nonprofit Management

Fitting In: The Effects of Relational Demography and Person-Culture Fit on Group Process and Performance

The authors integrate two complementary streams of research on ‘fit’ with an organization's culture that document impacts of similarity in values and demographics.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Capital Markets Fragmentation

This study presents fundamental concepts of markets, capital markets, and social capital markets. It also highlights select initiatives underway in early 2007 that sought to improve the functioning of social capital markets.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Human Rights

Reputation When Threats and Transfers Are Available

The authors present a model where a long-run player uses money transfers and threats to influence the decisions of a sequence of short-run players. The model is useful for the debate around judicial corruption.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Building the Civilized Workplace

Nasty people don't just make others feel miserable--they create economic problems for their companies.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

Topic :

Healthcare

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 :

Social Entrepreneurship

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 :

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship: STRAMGT 369

This course focuses on the efforts of private citizens to create effective responses to social needs and innovative solutions to social problems. It equips students with frameworks and tools that will help them be more effective as a social entrepreneur.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Nonprofit Management

Strategic Management of Nonprofits: STRAMGT 368

This course surveys strategic, governance, and management issues facing a wide range of nonprofit organizations in an era of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. It introduces students to core managerial issues in the nonprofit sector, such as development/fundraising, investment management, performance management and nonprofit finance.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

Topic :

Kate Surman, MBA '04

Kate Surman, MBA '04, Administrative Director of Strategic Operations, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, discusses how she has leveraged the Public Management and Social Innovation certificate to take her career into a new direction.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Farm to Cup Merger Emphasizes Partnership & Economic Empowerment

[photo - Farm to Cup - Root Capital Lending]

A grassroots student effort led by Caroline Mullen, MBA ’12, Catha Mullen, MBA ’13, and Monica Lewis, MBA ’12, now has even more impact through a merger with Pachamama Coffee Cooperative.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Environment

Water World

Leading a Social Innovation Study Trip lands Robyn Beavers, MBA '10, in a new industry.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Environment

Jeremy Sokulsky, MBA '04

Jeremy Sokulsky, MBA '04, President, Environmental Incentives, discusses how he's drawing upon the tools and training he received from the GSB to help make a difference.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Healthcare

Cross-Sector Effort Helps People See Better

Vision care is something that is practically taken for granted in the United States, but that’s not the case throughout much of the world. Some 300 million around the globe suffer from correctable vision loss, leading, as Ashanthi Mathai, MBA '04, says, “to people accepting their vision impairment and adjusting their lives around it.” The result? A lower quality of life, restricted job options, and even further economic distress.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development

"A Thoughtful, Systemic Approach"

How Scholarship Can Help Alleviate Extreme Poverty.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development

Globalizing Entry-Level Business Processing Employment

A hybrid social enterprise offers employment and skills training to rural youth in Cambodia, Laos, and Kenya.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Healthcare

Building Affordable Health Care in China

In an interview with Kewen Jin, the serial entrepreneurs discusses the rapid growth of China's health care industry and the idea of "innovation by subtraction."

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Education

The Value of "Values Affirmation"