The Power of Social Innovation How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good

by Goldsmith, Stephen; Georges, Gigi; Burke, Tim Glynn; Bloomberg, Michael R.

• ISBN13: 9780470576847
• ISBN10: 0470576847
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
The Author	p. xi
Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvii
Catalyzing Social Change	p. 1
Igniting Civic Progress	p. 3
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Change	p. 4
So Many Ideas, So Little Progress	p. 6
Civic Entrepreneurship as the Solution	p. 12
Igniting Civic Progress	p. 17
The Mandate and Caution of Engaging Government	p. 20
Conclusions	p. 24
Innovation as Catalytic Ingredient	p. 27
Discovering the Missing Ingredient	p. 30
Choosing the Right Catalyst	p. 36
Bringing It All Together: The Nehemiah Foundation	p. 58
Conclusions	p. 61
Market Maker as Civic Entrepreneur	p. 65
Open Sourcing Social Innovation	p. 67
Breaking Down Protectionist Barriers	p. 69
Opening Space for Innovation	p. 73
Leveling the Playing Field	p. 79
Inviting the Exceptional	p. 82
Forcing Cultural Change	p. 85
Bringing It All Together: The Enlightened Monopolist	p. 90
Conclusions	p. 97
Trading Good Deeds for Measurable Results	p. 101
Current Funding Limitations	p. 103
What Public Value Are We Purchasing?	p. 106
Are the Funded Activities Still the Most Relevant?	p. 111
What Change Does the Community Want and What Assets Can It Mobilize?	p. 114
Are We Funding a Project or Sustainable System Change?	p. 116
What Will We Measure?	p. 120
Bringing It All Together: Linda Gibbs	p. 125
Conclusions	p. 126
Service Provider as Civic Entrepreneur	p. 131
Animating and Trusting the Citizen	p. 133
Balancing the Professional with the Public	p. 135
Building a Public	p. 139
Leveraging Social Media for Change	p. 149
"Client" Choice	p. 153
Curing the Expectation Gap	p. 157
Bringing It All Together: Family Independence Initiative	p. 160
Conclusions	p. 165
Turning Risk into Reward	p. 169
Seeing Opportunity Where Others See Liability	p. 171
Taking First Risk	p. 172
Fully Calculating Cascading Return on Investment	p. 182
Political Risk and Reward	p. 184
Bringing It All Together: Wraparound Milwaukee	p. 192
Conclusions	p. 195
The Fertile Community	p. 197
The Fertile City (and the Entrepreneurial Mayor)	p. 199
Civic Entrepreneurs and School Reform	p. 202
Entrepreneurial Community Solutions	p. 214
Staying Entrepreneurial: Saving Yourself from Success	p. 221
The Future	p. 222
Notes	p. 225
References	p. 255
Index	p. 265
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