Social Entrepreneurship : Center for Social Innovation (CSI)

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

Topic :

What’s Next: Here Comes the Neighborhood

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Winter 2011

Social network and professional network combined: a low-income neighborhood works together to meet the needs of the community in an environmentally responsible way.

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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.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Effective Use of Social Media Requires Tapping Emotions, Book Says

Authors Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith explain how to harness the power of social media to achieve social change in their book The Dragonfly Effect.

Resource: News 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 :

Global Issues, Nonprofits, Social Innovations, Education, Government, Social Entrepreneurship

Innovating Public Systems

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2010

With these seven levers, social entrepreneurs can foster change in everything from affordable housing to child welfare to poverty alleviation.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Good Business Karma

Patagonia Inc. founder and owner Yvon Chouinard offered his Stanford audience a slew of counterintuitive business practices that have helped make his apparel company a success.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Al Gore Kicks Off Net Impact Conference

Former Vice President Al Gore kicked off the 2005 Net Impact conference at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the largest annual gathering in the world for MBA students and young professionals focused on corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, international development, and environmental management.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Net Impact 2005: Doing Good Is Now Big Business

[photo - [photo - Net Impact Conference]]

More than 50 panel discussions ranging from green buildings to California's stem cell research initiative engaged 1,600 attendees at the 2005 Net Impact Conference, held at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurs Enjoy More Opportunities

Socially minded entrepreneurship will not wane but rather will offer more and more opportunities for business-trained professionals well into the future, speakers with experience in the field told a Stanford Business School audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Organic Industry Pioneers Say Business Can and Must Be Part of the Solution

Two pioneers of the organic food industry say a growing awareness of global warming and other issues is making corporate America eager to get into markets once not taken seriously.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Nonprofits, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Scaling Impact

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2010

Scaling requires not only fidelity to core processes and programs, but also constant adjustments to local needs and resources.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Nonprofits, Online Giving, Philanthropy, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Working Wikily

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2010

Most nonprofits use social media like Facebook and Twitter as an ancillary part of what they do. A few organizations, however, are using these tools to fundamentally change the way they work and increase their social impact.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Nonprofits, Social Entrepreneurship

Containing a Global Health Care Crisis

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2010

Used shipping containers become health care clinics in the developing world.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Nonprofits, Online Giving, Philanthropy, Social Innovations, Social Entrepreneurship

Big Payoffs from Small Savings

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2010

SaveTogether wants to foster the savings habit among low-income Americans.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Nonprofits, Social Entrepreneurship

Unreasonable and Ready

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2010

A new social enterprise incubator fills two critical gaps facing social entrepreneurs: mentoring and access to capital.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Government, Social Entrepreneurship

The Innovation Imperative

The long-term strength of our nation relies on the level of commitment we have toward innovation. Influx of talent, new mindset and new network technologies are the new convergence of innovation. President Obama must broaden the focus across and among the private, public, and nonprofit sectors—to seek and spark the most promising innovations whether they come from commercial or social entrepreneurs, executives or line workers, community leaders, public servants, researchers, or citizens who don’t fit into any of these categories.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Government, Social Entrepreneurship

Social Innovation in the White House

The White House is about to announce the creation of the Office of Social Innovation.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

SkollFest Wraps

This blog is the last of Marcia Stepanek’s coverage of the Skoll World Forum 2009 at Oxford University.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

SkollFest

Reporting from the 6th annual Skoll World Forum for social innovation

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Party’s Over

“There’s no question: with public trust in CEOs and corporations at rock-bottom and the change mantra out of Washington [and Davos] and this week’s TED2009 still freshly potent, cause-wired social entrepreneurs have never had a better opportunity to boost traction globally for their Web-powered ideas.” - the author

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship

Conscious Business and Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship requires conscious leadership, says Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in this University podcast. Delivering a talk sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Mackey issues a clarion call for nothing less than "conscious capitalism," arguing that business can indeed serve more than the almighty dollar. He discusses his own company's challenges in the social enterprise arena.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Promoting Fair Trade as Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship may be the most promising avenue for solving global problems, says Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Rice details his own work to establish Fair Trade. The movement has opened the U.S. market to more than 1.4 million small family farmers around the world who are now getting a fair price for their harvests and making dramatic gains in their living standards.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Creating a Social Enterprise

When Priya Haji put her mind to helping reduce global poverty, social entrepreneurship took a quantum leap. In this university podcast, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, the plucky founder of World of Good shares how she created a social enterprise that now empowers women in communities around the world by helping them sell their artisan goods in stores and online. She talks about strategies for using educated consumer choice and inspiring business competition to do good.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Pursuing Social Enterprise, Making a Difference

When you begin to wonder - Am I in the right job? - it may be time to try social enterprise on for size. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Tom Tierney shares how he threw caution - and a big salary - to the wind when he first decided to found the Bridgespan Group. He talks about his challenges, fears, and ultimately, triumphs in establishing this organization dedicated to helping nonprofits and philanthropy achieve breakthrough results.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Responsibility and Purpose Beyond Age 50

What does social responsibility look like after age 50? In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, academic experts talk about how they've found meaning in their own lives, and what their research reveals about how others may take advantage of a long lifespan to make purposeful contributions to society. How is the new move toward "encore" careers helping people find motivation in the second half of life, and how are economic realities impinging on the dream of unlimited opportunity?

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Leadership, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

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:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Innovative Design Saves Tiny Lives

Jane Chen, MBA '08, has a vision of a place “babies no longer die from being cold, where people no longer die from preventable causes. And where every person has the ability to choose [his or her] own fate.”

Resource: Video

Topic:

Social Entrepreneurship

Gaming for the Greater Good

What if games were used to solve real-world problems?

Resource: Video

Topic:

Education, Social Entrepreneurship

Design for the Ripple Effect: How a Small Act Leads to Big Change

How can we design for the ripple effect so that small acts of goodness trigger big ones?

Resource: Video

Topic:

Social Entrepreneurship

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:

Economic Development, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Providing Environmental Sustainability Solutions

The unique advantages of zinc air fuel cells have been harnessed as an environmental sustainability measure to deliver reliable, renewable, and affordable electricity to rural communities off the grid. In this audio interview, Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman talks with 2009 Tech Award winner Rolf Papsdorf to find out how his company, Alternative Energy Development Corporation, combines sound economics, customer service, and social responsibility to tangibly improve the lives of people around the world.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Social Entrepreneurship

Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovation

Do you identify as an activist, a social entrepreneur, or both? What do they have in common? In this audio lecture sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Hayagreeva Rao, explores how the joined hands of activists, or "market rebels," shape markets, and how this promotes or blocks innovation. Rao's lessons are applicable to leaders in the nonprofit and for-profit spheres, marketers, and activists who harness collective action for institutional and social change.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Harnessing Technology for Social Enterprise

Harnessing engineering innovation and technology to further social causes is one path to social enterprise. In this university podcast, sponsored by Stanford's Center for Social Innovation, former rocket scientist Jim Fruchterman talks about how he created Benetech, an organization that uses technology innovation and business expertise to solve unmet social needs. He discusses how he has leveraged the intellectual capital and resources of Silicon Valley to create solutions that are truly life changing.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Social Entrepreneurship

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:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Fair Wage Guide Software and Social Enterprise

Audrey Seagraves has a passion for international development and social enterprise. In this audio interview with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman, the director of programs at World of Good talks about the creation of Fair Wage Guide software, a free tool that tells the viewer how wages being paid to any artisan worldwide compare to international wage standards.

Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

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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:

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:

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:

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Touring in the Galapagos Islands

Various economic and environmental issues face the owners of a cruise business in the Galapagos Islands. The case gives special attention to the efforts of locals to preserve and enhance their own ecotourism business prospects.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

As Green As It Gets

As Green as It Gets was a nonprofit economic development organization supporting small, independent producers in disadvantaged Guatemalan communities. The founder pondered how to grow and sustain the organization.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship

Overstock.com and Worldstock

Worldstock, Overstock.com’s socially responsible initiative, which marketed handicrafts produced by developing nation artisans to the United States, was suffering losses. Some stakeholders wondered if Worldstock would be shut down or spun off if the situation did not improve.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Equity Bank, a microfinance service

Equity Bank, a microfinance services provider, experienced a remarkable turnaround in the early 1990s. What strategy did the CEO pursue to accomplish such a feat?

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Environment, Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship

IDEAAS and PSA: Replication in the Amazon

Two social ventures collaborated with each other to help expand one’s solar energy services from southern Brazil into the Amazon region. The case highlights the core factors that led to the project’s ultimate outcome.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Social Entrepreneurship

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

Topics:

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

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 :

Social Entrepreneurship

Prospect Colleges

Julie and her investor set up a holding company, Prospect Colleges, with which they plan to acquire and operate multiple small schools. As president of the first Prospect college, Julie faces challenges regarding ageism among her employees and whether to give in to her investor’s preference and hire an experienced COO.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Skoll Foundation: Empowering Social Entrepreneurs

The Skoll Foundation funds individuals and organizations with good ideas that can quickly grow in scale and impact. In 2002, as the leaders looked to the future, they pondered how they could act as leading social entrepreneurs themselves in terms of how they structured the foundation’s work.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

A Smart Supply Chain for a Smart Product: Micro Compact Car Smart GmbH

With increasing pollution and congestion, European car manufacturers were concerned that governments might eventually ban cars from city centers. The producer of Swatch watches came up with the novel idea of an environmentally friendly, but stylish, super-compact car.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Note on Vietnam's Business Climate

This note outlines the business climate for entrepreneurs in reform-era Vietnam around 1996. Entrepreneurs had to overcome a host of impediments in gaining access to markets, and in dealing with licensing and corruption.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

Topics:

Social Entrepreneurship

The Meaning of “Social Entrepreneurship”

This seminal paper defines the term social entrepreneurship and helps shape, what was in 1998, the nascent field of social entrepreneurship.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

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 :

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 :

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Enterprise: STRAMGT 341

This course explores the challenges and opportunities related to social entrepreneurship. Students study nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid organizational forms, and examine issues from a variety of perspectives, including that of entrepreneur, CEO, funder, and board member.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Design for Extreme Affordability: OIT 333/4

Students apply engineering and business skills to design product prototypes, distribution systems, and business plans for entrepreneurial ventures in developing countries. The aim is to address challenges faced by the world's poor.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Leadership in Diverse Organizations: OB 393

This course is designed to help students understand and manage human systems, exercise leadership, and work effectively with other people, specifically within the context of culturally diverse groups and organizations. The underlying premise is that diversity can present unique challenges and opportunities.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

Topic :

Economic Development, Education, Environment, Government, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Josh Becker (MBA ’99)

Josh Becker combines private, public, and government-sector solutions in addressing big social challenges. His focus is innovation.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Government, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Adam Stern (MBA '87)

Adam Stern's Web site lets people offset their own carbon emissions by supporting renewable energy projects. He's working to stop global warming.

Resource: Alumni

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.

Resource: Audio

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship

Promoting Social Entrepreneurship Among Youth

Keeping social entrepreneurship strong means mentoring our youth, says Bill Drayton in this university podcast. The founder of Ashoka, the world's oldest support organization for social entrepreneurs, Drayton discusses how children are an important focus for the organization's current roster of emerging social enterprise all-stars. Identifying key leadership qualities and how to nurture them, he also rallies an audience of Stanford business school MBAs to become changemakers.

Resource: Audio

Topic :

Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Environmental Sustainability with World Water

World demand for water is likely to continue to outpace population. In this panel discussion, experts talk about how this troubling environmental sustainability issue offers a rare opportunity for cleantech entrepreneurs. Our search for sustainable water offers lessons that may help others facing similar large-scale challenges such as world demand for energy. The event was part of the MIT-Stanford Venture Lab Series.

Resource: Audio

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 :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

One Acre at a Time

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

One Acre Fund feeds the world’s poor by helping them feed themselves.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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