Monthly Archive for February, 2009

Calling All Congressional Champions, Part II

Published
by
Andrew
on February 26, 2009
in public innovation, role of government and social innovation
. Comments

Phoenix Project’s Greg Werkheiser and I made our way through the various halls of the Capitol, passing office after office of senators and members of Congress with name plaques on the doors − Kerry, Collins, Frank, Cao, Barton − to arrive at our next stop, Representative Jim Moran.  We met with his Legislative Director, Tim Aiken.  This meeting focused on the 8th Congressional District in Northern Virginia that Congressman Moran represents.

The Phoenix Project has been doing amazing work along the Route 1 corridor in Virginia, an area that has faced major challenges over time.  Greg talked about his work.  Tim found the stories interesting and offered us the opportunity to present our work at Congressman Moran’s annual summer conference. But it was clear he was looking for more concrete examples of results.

Our last stop was a meeting with Dominic Bonaiuto, Legislative Director to Congressman Gerry Connolly.  Congressman Connolly had just recently been elected, and Dominic was also new to Congress.  This proved to be beneficial for Greg and me − the Connolly team is seeking new ideas they can champion to bring about change in Virginia, whereas it was clear from our meetings with veteran representatives and senators that they already have long lists of priorities they are trying to move forward.  With them, we would need to get in line. Greg and I explained to Dominic that, right now in Virginia, models that are delivering real results for issues that Congressman Connolly cares about already exist  among the more than 34,000 nonprofits in that state alone. It is critical to develop ways to spread these innovative models for the greater good.

As I walked out of the last meeting, making my way down the steps of the Capitol, my original observation still held: we have a lot of work to do − years of it − to bring a comprehensive social innovation agenda to Washington.  With that thought, I turned my attention on what needs to happen next: a greater focus on data and results to showcase what works.

Calling all Congressional Champions…

Published
by
Andrew
on February 20, 2009
in public innovation, role of government and social innovation
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As the Obama Administration gets ready to launch an Office of Social Innovation, it will be equally important to introduce members of the U.S. House and Senate to the importance of investing in what works.   I have had the pleasure of working with Greg Werkheiser, the founder and Executive Director of the Phoenix Project, for the past year.  The Phoenix Project, located in Virginia, has formed an incredible consortium of 40 universities through which they leverage their many assets − students, space, faculty and more − to advance social innovation in some of the state’s most economically distressed communities, working to strengthen both nonprofits and government agencies.

A week ago, Greg and I took a trip to Capitol Hill to introduce members of Congress to social innovation and to the Phoenix Project’s great work.  As I entered the Senate building for the first time, John McCain walked right past us to wait for an elevator.  At that moment it hit me − in the various buildings that house the offices of our elected officials there are 100 Senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives and I cannot think of one whom I would call a champion of social innovation – today, that work would begin.

Greg and I started the day with a meeting with Senator Jim Webb’s Chief of Staff, Paul Reagan.  As we waited for Paul, I noticed the Senator’s office walls, covered with photographs with various dignitaries, as the administrative assistant took call after call after call from constituents seeking to share their thoughts with the Senator on how best to meet Virginia’s needs.

Not surprisingly, Paul got the concept right away; but at the same time, it was clear that we were one of hundreds who had visited with Paul since Congress has been back in session to describe how their work would benefit the state.  It was a big wake-up call for me.  Having spent more than 12 years now working in the field − teaching, writing and studying social innovation and entrepreneurship − getting government’s attention would be a long journey and there are many factors that come into play. Thousands of people working with various companies and organizations on tough issues are all vying for congressional attention.    At the same time, we are at a crossroads in a country faced with huge challenges. Social innovation offers us one of the best opportunities to better utilize our resources, something the United States needs badly at a time like this.

Our trip would continue next to meet with two Legislative Directors from the House…stay tuned.

Well, welcome to the blogosphere!

Published
by
Andrew
on February 17, 2009
in role of government
. Comments

After a flurry of emails from colleagues in the field and posts on Philanthropy Journal and Change.org – it’s clear to me the information about Ian Rowe is not accurate and nothing more than a rumor among many going around.

I do know the facts about the Office of Social Innovation will unfold over the next few weeks – so let’s all be patient.  The real work is ahead of us – not in figuring out which rumor is true.

More Social Innovation Agenda News…

Published
by
Andrew
on February 13, 2009
in public innovation, role of government and social innovation
. Comments

I heard that the new White House Office of Social Innovation will be led by Ian Rowe, most recently the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs for MTV. His department was responsible for MTV’s campaigns that build awareness for issues important to MTV’s audience. He also oversaw MTV’s new pro-social community, Think MTV, which informs, connects, and engages young people to “get heard” and take action on the domestic and global issues that matter most to them.

In addition, I have also heard that the new office will have four basic pillars that will shape and support its activities:

  1. New Media

  2. Public-Private Partnerships

  3. Service

  4. Social Investment Fund

The details behind these four pillars are still in the works, but it’s a great start and Ian looks like he has the ideal experience to move this important work forward.

An Obama Social Innovation Agenda

Published
by
Andrew
on February 11, 2009
in public innovation, role of government, social entrepreneurship and social innovation
. Comments

Over the past year, we have seen tremendous excitement about the possibility that an Obama Administration would spur the advancement of social innovation. On the campaign trail, Obama consistently spoke about opening some sort of office within the White House that would focus on advancing innovation for social impact.

Now that time is close. Possibly within the next month, President Obama will launch the White House Office of Social Innovation. The details behind this office are still in the works – but that’s what makes this so exciting. The commitment to advancing this work at the federal level of government presents a major step forward for accelerating social impact.

Why?

Because at the federal, state, and city levels, our government provides three levers that ultimately drive the progress we make on critical social issues: (1) government makes the laws, (2) government has access to major systems like schools and healthcare, and (3) government provides the majority of funding.

Many people and organizations have contributed to this amazing moment. Perhaps most importantly, Michele Jolin (Center for American Progress) has written regularly about the role of an office and guided this topic along. America Forward, the coalition formed by New Profit, Inc., was instrumental in at least two ways: getting the ideas onto the campaign trail and then into pending legislation through the Serve America Act. State efforts have also played a role, including: the first-ever state Office of Social Entrepreneurship launched by Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu in Louisiana, The OneStar Foundation’s Texas Center for Social Impact, and the Phoenix Project in Virginia.

In our own work at Root Cause, we have shared our perspective about the role government can play to advance social innovation and entrepreneurship. Through Public Innovators, a nonpartisan Root Cause initiative launched in April 2008, we have been actively focused on introducing policymakers and government agencies to social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Many other organizations are helping shape recommendations for the new office by engaging in dialogue (Social Edge), promoting ideas (change.org), and publishing additional reports (Independent Sector and the National Council of Nonprofits).

This is an exciting time – let’s make sure that the rigor we all hope to bring does not get lost in the fanfare of this incredible moment in history. Stay tuned…