This seminal book provides tools for civic entrepreneurs to create healthier communities and promote innovative solutions to public and social problems. It shows how to effectively tackle the intractable issues facing our country and world by exploring new ways to collaborate across sectors and leveraging strengths for the greater good. Based on the author's experience, his extensive ongoing research, and interviews with 100+ top leaders from across sectors, this book is structured around the six levers and guiding principles employed in the most effective entrepreneurial interventions.
The Power of Social Innovation - How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good
Description
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments. The Author. Foreword. Preface. Part I: Catalyzing Social Change. Chapter 1 Igniting Civic Progress. Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Change. So Many Ideas, So Little Progress. Civic Entrepreneurship as the Solution. Igniting Civic Progress. The Mandate and Caution of Engaging Government. Conclusions. Chapter 2 Innovation as Catalytic Ingredient. Discovering the Missing Ingredient. Choosing the Right Catalyst. Bringing It All Together: The Nehemiah Foundation. Conclusions. Part II: Market Maker as Civic Entrepreneur. Chapter 3 Open Sourcing Social Innovation. Breaking Down Protectionist Barriers. Opening Space for Innovation. Leveling the Playing Field. Inviting the Exceptional. Forcing Cultural Change. Bringing It All Together: The Enlightened Monopolist. Conclusions. Chapter 4 Trading Good Deeds for Measurable Results. Current Funding Limitations. What Public Value Are We Purchasing? Are the Funded Activities Still the Most Relevant? What Change Does the Community Want and What Assets Can It Mobilize? Are We Funding a Project or Sustainable System Change? What Will We Measure? Bringing It All Together: Linda Gibbs. Conclusions. Part III: Service Provider as Civic Entrepreneur. Chapter 5 Animating and Trusting the Citizen. Balancing the Professional with the Public. Building a Public. Leveraging Social Media for Change. "Client" Choice. Curing the Expectation Gap. Bringing It All Together: Family Independence Initiative. Conclusions. Chapter 6 Turning Risk into Reward. Seeing Opportunity Where Others See Liability. Taking First Risk. Fully Calculating Cascading Return on Investment. Political Risk and Reward. Bringing It All Together: Wraparound Milwaukee. Conclusions. Chapter 7 The Fertile Community. The Fertile City (and the Entrepreneurial Mayor). Civic Entrepreneurs and School Reform. Entrepreneurial Community Solutions. Staying Entrepreneurial: Saving Yourself from Success. The Future. Notes. References. Index.
Author Description
Stephen Goldsmith is the Daniel Paul Professor of Government and the Director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard Kennedy School. Goldsmith, himself an entrepreneur, occupies the unique position of having approached these issues as a national leader across sectors. He served two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, where his transformative efforts to revitalize urban neighborhoods and to transfer real authority to community groups received national acclaim. Goldsmith then led reform as special advisor to President Bush on faith-based and nonprofit initiatives, and has served under both Presidents Bush and Obama as chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Goldsmith has written many articles and several books, including Governing by Network, winner of the National Academy of Public Administration's Louis Brownlow Book Award.