ADVANCED SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
Paul C. Light
UPADM-GP 266-001
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Center for Global and Spiritual Life 275
Contact me at
Office Hours: Wednesdays at 10:00-12:00, and by appointment
Course Description
This course is designed to help students understand and make their own mark in today’s revolution in how to innovate. Although the world still needs dedicated innovators of all kinds to create the new combinations of ideas for solving to difficult social problems, this course is based on the notion that durable social change depends on five tools for innovating in how to innovate: (1) innovative social exploring to call others to action and identify the root cause that needs to be addressed, (2) innovative social finance to leverage existing funding toward high-impact investment (and divestment) and create innovative ways to prospect for funding and impact, (3) innovative social design to collect ideas that might be pieced together to redress a seemingly intractable problem and combine, test, and launch those ideas, (4) innovative social advocacy to frame the debate in favor of the specific innovation and codify these ideas for sustainable implementation, and (5) innovative social delivery to scale new combinations of ideas to maximum effect, and operate at scale through strong organizations that change as needed to produce impact and defend it from inevitable opposition.
Just because we need innovations in these tools does not mean that existing methods are no longer needed—the key is to find ways to fine-tune what we already have to make it work as effectively as possible in an ever-changing ecosystem. The course will ask students to explore these tools using their own experience and concerns as a frame for viewing innovations in how to innovate as essential to their own success in changing the world as it is today into the world as they think it should become.
Before turning to course details and the reading schedule, I should emphasize my belief that everyone can make significant contributions in how to innovate. I do not believe that we have too many innovators just yet, though there is some evidence even now to suggest that we may be facing a “social-innovation bubble” fashioned by duplication and overlap, under-investment in capacity and collaboration. But I do believe that we do must improve how we innovate to assure faster, more effective innovating. And I also believe that we need a wide range of talent and interest to create the innovations in exploring, financing, designing, advocating, and delivering social change. Absent disciplined and innovative methods in how to innovative, I do not believe the innovation will come soon enough to avoid irreversible damage in the world that should have been.
Grading
Your grade will be based on the following assignments:
1. 75 percent will be divided in equally across three 1,500-word memos described in the class schedule below
2. 25 percent will be based on the final exam
Each of the memos must be based on at least five “credible, research-based” sources. Short magazine articles, newspaper stories, abstracts of academic articles, and web pages are important sources for describing problems, solutions, and assumptions, and can be used in your paper. However, they will not be counted as credible, research-based source. You’ll need think tank reports, peer-reviewed articles, government analyses, etc. to meet the requirement.
Full class participation is expected and assumed. If you can’t do the reading, tell me why. If you can’t make a class, tell me why, too?
Course Norms
I will show up on time prepared for class, and you will show up on time prepared for class. You must email me in advance if you are going to be late or absent, and must provide a reasonable excuse.
All readings are available online at NYUClasses, but please let me know if something is missing or locked. And please let me know if the syllabus is wrong on dates, readings, etc.
Memos
All written work will be graded for content and writing. I believe that a good memo must combine persuasive content and accessible writing—good content without good writing is confusion, good communication without content is a waste of energy. Please read the next page for my advice on how to write a memo for me.
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WEEKLY SCHEDULE
I. DEFINING SOCIAL INNOVATION (WEEK ONE)
A. THE BASIC STRUCTURE
B. DEFINING TERMS
1. Roger L. Martin, and Sally Osberg, “Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2007, a push-back against the inclusive model of social entrepreneurship
Lee Fleming, “Breakthroughs and the ‘Long Tail’ of Innovation,” MITSloan Management Review, Fall 2007; one of my all-time favorites on the success rates of teams versus “lone wolves”
II. PLANNING FOR INNOVATION (WEEK TWO)
BEGIN THINKING ABOUT THE FIVE QUESTIONS YOU MUST ANSWER IN YOUR FIRST MEMO: (1) What problem do you seek to solve? (2) What is the size of the problem? (3) What is the recent trend in the problem? (4) What is the primary cause of the problem? (5) What are the consequences of the problem for society?
A. REDISCOVER INNOVATION
1. James A. Phills Jr., Kriss Deiglmeier, and Dale T. Miller, “Rediscovering Social Innovation,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2008; a terrific effort to sort terms
2. Christian Seelos, and Johanna Mair, “Innovation is not the Holy Grail,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2012; a cautionary note about means and ends
3. Carmen Păunescu, “Current Trends in Social Innovation Research: Social Capital, Corporate Social Responsibility, Impact Measurement,” Management & Marketing: Challenges for the Knowledge Society, 2014; take a look at the tables in the article for insights on the words we use
B. THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE
1. Innovation Network, “Logic Model Workbook,” Innovation Network, 2010 (Logic Model Planning); fast and introduction on the most widely used methodology used for project planning
III. CALLING (WEEK THREE)
A. FIND THE INNOVATORS
1. Hermann Brandstätter, “Personality Aspects of Entrepreneurship: A Look At Five Meta-Analyses,” Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, 2011; read the front and back for sure, and ask how we would know a social innovator if we met one
2. Nicos Nicolau and Scott Shane, “Can Genetic Factors Influence the Likelihood of Engaging in Entrepreneurial Activity,” Journal of Business Venturing, Winter 2009; read the first two sections and last two, but see what you can learn and ask whether we might someday know who is a social innovator through a simple test
3. Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen, “The Innovator’s DNA,” Harvard Business Review, December 2009; read this one last; short and to the point
B. ALERT THE INNOVATORS
1. Gary Pisano, “You Need An Innovation Strategy: It’s the Only Way to Make Sound Trade-Off Decisions and Choose the Right Practices,” Harvard Business Review, June 2015; not really so much about strategy as the development of innovation targets through an “innovation landscape map”
2. Jonathan Bays, Tony Goland, and Joe Newsum, “Using Prizes to Spur Innovation,” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2009; based on a much larger (and web accessible report) And the Winner Is: Capturing the Promise of Philanthropic Prizes, McKinsey & Company, 2009; McKinsey Quarterly is much too short for my taste, but long enough for a quick gulp about how prizes might alert innovators to action
IV. MAPPING (WEEK FOUR)
A. FIND THE ROOT CAUSE
1. Travis P. Wagner, “Using Root Cause Analysis in Public Policy Pedagogy,” Journal of Public Affairs Education, Summer 2014; a close look at “root-cause analysis” as a tool of problem analysis
2. Paula Braveman and Laura Gottlier, “The Social Determinants of Health: It’s Time to Consider the Causes of the Causes,” Public Health Reports, 2014; time to get real; causes have causes
B. LINK CAUSE TO EFFECT (ALSO USE FOR MEMO ONE)
1. European Commission, Testing Social Policy Innovation, European Commission, 2014; a short introduction to theories of change and evaluation.
2. Lisbeth B. Schorr, “Bigger Evidence for Bigger Impact,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2012; a persuasive plea for common ground across the different approaches to systematic measurement
3. Paula Braveman and Laura Gottlier, “The Social Determinants of Health: It’s Time to Consider the Causes of the Causes,” Public Health Reports, 2014; time to get real; causes have causes
V. SOCIAL FINANCE (WEEK FIVE)
BEGIN THINKING ABOUT THE FIVE QUESTIONS YOU MUST ADDRESS IN MEMO TWO: (1) What is your proposed solution to the problem you seek to solve? (2) How will your solution address the causes of the problem as outlined in your first memo? (3) How long will it take for your solution to have an effect on the causes? (4) Which other organizations might join in your effort, and why? (5) What are the primary costs of your solution (and the costs are not just in money)?
A. INVESTING
1. Cathy Clark, Jed Emerson, and Ben Thornley, Social Impact 2.0: The Way Forward, Insight at Pacific Community Ventures, Duke University Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, and ImpactAssets, 2013; read through chapter two; a clean introduction to the concept
2. Paul Brest, and Kelly Born, “When Can Impact Investing Create Real Impact?” Stanford Social Innovation Review, five pages of basics from one of the leaders of the field
3. Clara Miller, and Toni Johnson, “Mission-Aligned Investing: More Complex than It Seems,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 2015; a blog post on the reality of impact investing for the Heron Foundation’s $300 million endowment
B. PAY FOR SUCCESS
1. George Overholser, and Caroline Whistler, “The Real Revolution of Pay for Success: Ending 40 years of Stagnant Results for Communities,” Community Development Investment Review, April 2013; a positive perspective on the need to tie funding to programmatic outcomes
2. Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, “How Can Grantmakers Aggregate Resources to Grow Impact,” Briefing Paper Topic 6, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2011; very short paper about the advantages of aggregated funding
VI. PROSPECTING (WEEK SIX)
MEMO ONE DUE
A. SPARK ENTERPRISE
1. Julie Battilana, Matthew Lee, John Walker, and Cheryl Dorsey, “In Search of the Hybrid Ideal,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2012; a fast introduction to the “hybrid nonprofit” built to earn money and, while, or by creating social value
2. Hima Batavia, Justin Chakma, Hassan Masum, and Peter Singer, “Market Minded Development,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011; an introduction to social enterprise from one of the most visible social-enterprise investors, the Acumen Fund here in NYC; important reading
B. BE RESPONSIBLE (CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY)
1. Gordon L. Clark, Andreas Feiner, and Michael Viehs, From the Stock Holder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Performance, University of Oxford and Arabesque Partners, 2014; the case that being responsible is good for profits; read the “report highlights” page, and Chapters 2 and 4, then skip around as you wish
2. Herman Aguinis, and Ante Glavas, “Embedded Versus Peripheral Corporate Social Responsibility: Psychological Foundations,” Industrial and Organizational Psychology, November 2013; my favorite piece on how to tell the difference between real and false CSR
VII. SOCIAL DESIGNING (Week Seven)
A. THE BASICS
1. Tim Brown, and Jocelyn Wyatt, “Design Thinking for Social Innovation,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, September 2010; how to create innovative solutions through a variation of engineering and creativity variation
2. IDEO.org, The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design, 2015; introduction and chapter one; basic mindsets needed to combine and create
3. Francis B. M. de Waal, “The Antiquity of Empathy,” Science, 2012; a very short piece that lays out a potential model of central concept in design thinking
B. COLLECT IDEAS
1. The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bridgespan Group, “Social Innovation Labs: How Social Innovation Labs Can Advance Your Work,” 2014; a quick PowerPoint slide deck on the Rockefeller Foundation’s ongoing study of its innovation labs
2. Kevin J. Boudreau, and Karim R. Lakhani, “Using the Crowd as an Innovation Partner,” Harvard Business Review, April 2013; a basic introduction to the crowdsourcing concept; be sure to consider the “when” and “how” table at page 64; crowdsourcing obviously comes in many flavors
3. Salvator Parise, Eoin Whelan, and Steve Todd, “How Twitter Users Can Generate Better Ideas,” MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2015; is this really possible?
VIII. COMBINE (Week Eight)
A. CREATE A NEW COMBINATION
1. Olivia Golden, “Innovation in Public Sector Human Services Programs: The Implications of Innovation by ‘Groping Along,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Spring 1990; she had it right then, and she is still right now; call it what you wish, but innovation involves evolutionary tinkering
2. Satish Nambisan, “Platforms for Collaboration,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2009; the choice of a platform depends on the problem at hand; nice typology of which platforms to use and when
B. PROTOTYPE
3. NESTA, “Prototyping Framework: A Framework for Testing New Ideas,” NESTA, 2013; an attractive, readable introduction to a prototyping framework that can be used to winnow ideas before launch
4. Peter Murray, and Steve Ma, “The Promise of Lean Experimentation,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2015; a relatively short article on the new thinking in launching innovative ideas
IX. SOCIAL ADVOCACY (WEEK NINE)
BEGIN THINKING ABOUT THE FIVE QUESTIONS YOU MUST ANSWER IN YOUR THIRD AND FINAL MEMO: (1) Assuming that your solution is adopted, what are three important assumptions that will affect its impact? (2) What is the one important assumption that is the most vulnerable to a breakdown? (3) What are two signposts that you will use to alert yourself to an impending breakdown of this important, vulnerable assumption? (4) If the signpost shows impending failure, what will you do to hedge against its failure? (5) What will you do to shape against failure?
A. TEST YOUR SOLUTION
1. James A. Dewar, Carl H. Building, William M. Hix, and Morlie H. Levin, Assumption-Based Planning: A Planning Tool for Very Uncertain Times, RAND, 1993, entire, figure out how this applies to solving the problem on your agenda
B. FRAME THE MESSAGE
1. Maya Bernstein, and Marty Linsky, “Leading Change Through Adaptive Design,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2016; a new way to integrate design thinking with advocacy; pay special attention to the diagrams along the way
2. Frameworks Institute, “Changing the Public Conversation on Social Issues: A Beginners Guide to Strategic Frame Analysis,” an e-course located at http://sfa.frameworksinstitute.org/; an e-course that will take an hour or so to read if you don’t watch all the videos
X. SOCIAL RATIFICATION (WEEK TEN)
A. CREATE FRICTION
1. Frank R. Baumgartner, “Some Thoughts on Reform Miracles,” paper presented at the Reform Miracles International Seminar, May 27-28, 2005; relatively short and the most accessible of Baumgartner’s articles; important to understand the general notion; don’t worry about the equation here and there; stick to the general question of whether reform miracles actually exist