Social Entrepreneurship
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Skoll World Forum 2009 A quarterly journal published by MIT Press innovations TECHNOLOGY | GOVERNANCE | GLOBALIZATION Special Edition for the Skoll World Forum 2009 Social Entrepreneurship: Shifting Power Dynamics Lead Essays President Jimmy Carter The Hope of Our Future World Paul Farmer Three Stories, Three Paradigms, and a Critique Cases Authored by Innovators Matt Flannery Kiva at Four Mark Plotkin Changing the Landscape of Power Karen Tse From Fear to Hope commentary by Kenneth Neil Cukier Bunker Roy Empowering the Rural Poor to Develop Themselves commentaries by John Elkington; Martha Stone Wiske Martin Fisher Income is Development commentaries by Paul Polak; Julia Novy-Hildesley; Eric Simanis & Stuart Hart Analytic and Policy Articles Brian Trelstad Simple Measures for Social Enterprise Alex Nicholls Learning to Walk J. Gregory Dees Philanthropy and Enterprise FEATURING SKOLL SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS innovations TECHNOLOGY | GOVERNANCE | GLOBALIZATION Introduction 3 Social Entrepreneurship: Power to Change, Power to Inspire Jeff Skoll 5 Framing the Change and Changing the Frame: A New Role for Social Entreprenuers Sally Osberg Lead Essays 11 The Hope of Our Future World President Jimmy Carter 19 Three Stories, Three Paradigms, and a Critique of Social Entrepreneurship Paul Farmer Cases Authored by Innovators 29 Kiva at Four Matt Flannery 49 Changing the Landscape of Power Mark J. Plotkin 63 From Fear to Hope: Upholding the Rule of Law via Public Defenders Karen Tse 89 Case discussion: International Bridges to Justice Kenneth Neil Cukier 97 Empowering the Rural Poor to Develop Themselves: The Barefoot Approach Bunker Roy 124 Case discussion: Barefoot College of Tilonia John Elkington 133 Case discussion: Barefoot College of Tilonia Martha Stone Wiske 139 Income Is Development: KickStart’s Pumps Help Kenyan Farmers Transition to a Cash Economy Martin Fisher Special Edition for the Skoll World Forum 2009 164 Case discussion: KickStart Paul Polak 170 Case discussion: KickStart Julia Novy-Hildesley 184 Case discussion: KickStart Erik Simanis and Stuart Hart Analysis 195 Simple Measures for Social Enterprise Brian Trelstad 209 Learning to Walk: Social Entrepreneurship— A Research Review Alex Nicholls Perspective on Policy 223 Philanthropy and Enterprise: Harnessing the Power of Business and Social Entrepreneurship for Development J. Gregory Dees Organization of the Journal Each issue of Innovations consists of four sections: 1. Lead essay. An authoritative figure addresses an issue relating to innovation, empha- sizing interactions between technology and governance in a global context. 2. Cases authored by innovators. Case narratives of innovations are authored either by, or in collaboration with, the innovators themselves. Each includes discussion of moti- vations, challenges, strategies, outcomes, and unintended consequences. Following each case narrative, we present commentary by an academic discussant. The discussant highlights the aspects of the innovation that are analytically most interesting, have the most significant implications for policy, and/or best illustrate reciprocal relationships between technology and governance. 3. Analysis. Accessible, policy-relevant research articles emphasize links between prac- tice and policy—alternately, micro and macro scales of analysis. The development of meaningful indicators of the impact of innovations is an area of editorial emphasis. 4. Perspectives on policy. Analyses of innovations by large scale public actors—nation- al governments and transnational organizations—address both success and failure of policy, informed by both empirical evidence and the experience of policy innovators. The development of improved modes of governance to facilitate and support innova- tions is an area of editorial focus. mitpressjournals.org/innovations [email protected] Jeff Skoll Social Entrepreneurship: Power to Change, Power to Inspire The Skoll World Forum will celebrate its sixth anniversary this March in Oxford. Since the first Forum in 2004, there’s been tremendous growth in the practice and field of social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a legiti- mate model for transformative social change. A social entrepreneur has won the Nobel Peace Prize; books on social entrepreneurs emerge at a fairly rapid clip; uni- versities around the world offer courses in social entrepreneurship. Social entre- preneurs are an having impact: improving health care delivery for rural poor, pro- moting peace in areas of longstanding conflict, helping lift hundreds of thousands of rural farmers out of poverty. Social entrepreneurs lead grassroots efforts with innovative ideas that drive social change. They represent the antithesis of the old model of top-down development of social policies and programs. 2008 saw important developments in the field of social entrepreneurship and social change. Early in the year, Bill Gates called for an expansion of “creative cap- italism,” a concept that draws liberally from social entrepreneurship. Later in the year, when the foundations of traditional capitalism shook with the financial melt- down, the discussion around creative capitalism and social entrepreneurship took on added urgency. It seems clear that one of the outcomes of this crisis is that peo- ple will increasingly favor companies not just for their financial prowess, but for creating good products, good jobs, and social benefit. In the U.S., 2008 also saw an increase in the concept of service, with both can- didates in the presidential campaign calling for increased civic engagement. President Obama has made service a cornerstone of his administration and is pro- moting social entrepreneurship as a key component of his service initiative, which includes the creation of a new office and funding mechanisms to support social innovators. Social entrepreneurship helps translate service into change, and the recognition of the power of social entrepreneurship at the highest levels of govern- ment is extremely encouraging. As we gather in Oxford for the 2009 Forum, the world is a scarier place than it was a year ago. In remarks I made at the 2007 Forum, I warned that, despite social entrepreneurs having more headlines, more awards, more advocates, and more allies than ever, there was something we were short of: time. On urgent threats like climate change, clean drinking water, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, Middle East conflict, we are racing against the clock. © 2009 Jeff Skoll innovations / Skoll World Forum 2009 3 Jeff Skoll The clock is winning. Sadly, a year later, many of the big challenges have seen little progress. The financial market crisis has further complicated the situation, significantly reducing both government and private funds available to attack social, economic, and environmental challenges. If we don’t act quickly enough as a planet to get ahead of these urgent threats, we are going to face humanitarian disasters the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It is not too late to reverse these trends. But it’s going to take people who are passionate, who are creative, and, above all, people who are completely inca- pable of understanding any combination of the words “it’s impossible,”“it can’t be done,” or “why bother even trying?” The theme of the 2009 Skoll World Forum is “Social Entrepreneurship: Shifting Power Dynamics.” As I’ve said in the past, I believe social entrepreneurs have two kinds of power. One is the power to bring specific change through the work that they do. The other is the power to inspire—to bring other people and organizations to work together, to scale solutions, and to find new ways to solve problems. In this special edition of Innovations, you’ll read stories that inform and stories that inspire. President Jimmy Carter’s speech at the 2008 Skoll World Forum, included here, is certainly an example of the latter. President Carter is a great example to all of us of the power of commitment and belief in driving change. 2009 will be a difficult year. We face great challenges, yet there is also cause for optimism, with fresh leadership in the U.S., an increased sense of common global purpose around issues like clean energy and climate change, and continued inno- vation in the social arena. I can think of no better group to forge understanding of these challenges, and explore their potential solutions, than you, the delegates at the Skoll World Forum. I look forward to seeing you there. Jeff Skoll Founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation Founder and Chairman, Participant Media 4 innovations / Skoll World Forum 2009 Sally Osberg Framing the Change and Changing the Frame A New Role for Social Entreprenuers The year 2009 dawns with more optimism, and more despair, than we’ve seen in generations. Although he was writing exactly 150 years ago, Charles Dickens’s famed introduction to The Tale of Two Cities feels spot on today: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The despair is evident. The collapse of the financial system, rising unemploy- ment, foreclosures, comparisons to the Great Depression. Paralleling the financial setbacks, the planet continues to send clear signals of pain—melting polar icecaps, destructive storms, drought. Cholera, a disease we can control, takes advantage of a political vacuum and humanitarian disaster to surge in Zimbabwe. Terrorists strike in Mumbai, exacerbating tension in a region that has historically been a flashpoint for state-to-state conflict. Israelis and Palestinians seem, sadly, no clos- er to peace than they were decades ago. Iran threatens to go nuclear. Yet, against this backdrop, there is also a strong sense of optimism. In the U.S., the election of an African-American President signals changes in the social, polit- ical and economic realities that many thought they’d never see in their lifetime. The generational change President Obama embodies also brings optimism, as youth in America re-engage in the political process and baby boomers see “one of their own” take charge. Internationally, the President’s ethnic background and world view promises a more collaborative approach to foreign policy, one based to a greater extent on shared global interests than the unilateral exertion of power.