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

Praise for The Power of Social Innovation "Goldsmith guided us in Florida on our successful faith-based initiatives. His bold approaches continue to inspire public officials and community groups alike with keys to activating citizens and expanding opportunity for all."--Jeb Bush, former Governor, Florida "It has been a great pleasure to work with Steve Goldsmith. His work with us at America's Promise and all of his other diligent efforts are so well reflected in this book. The Power of Social Innovation reminds each of us in government, philanthropy, the nonprofit community, and as private citizens that we can and must work together to ensure the full fulfillment of the American Dream and to ensure the success of our most precious resource, our children."-Alma J. Powell, chair, America's Promise Alliance "The Power of Social Innovation is a must read for social innovators who want to make a powerful impact. Stephen Goldsmith surveys the field and provides indispensible tools to help civic entrepreneurs scale up their ideas and produce the best possible results."-Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone "Goldsmith provides a useful toolkit for entrepreneurial public executives and innovative nonprofits and foundations. His research encourages transformative social change by advocating a shift in focus from direct services to citizens to building new, higher performance networks of public, private, and nonprofit organizations."-Mark R. Warner, United States Senator, Virginia "When it comes to doing good, Stephen Goldsmith is as disruptive an innovator as we've seen. Read and study The Power of Social Innovation if you don't just want to do good, but want to make the greatest impact possible."-Clayton M. Christensen, professor, Harvard Business School and author, Disrupting Class THE POWER of SOCIAL INNOVATION Civic leaders across the U.S. and throughout the world are discovering creative ways to overcome the obstacles that seal the doors of opportunity for too many. These inspiring individuals believe that within our communities lie the entrepreneurial spirit, compassion, and resources to make progress in such critical areas as education, housing, and economic self-reliance. Real progress requires that we take bold action and leverage our strengths for the greater good. The Power of Social Innovation offers public officials, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and individual citizens the insights and skills to create healthier communities and promote innovative solutions to public and social problems. This seminal work is based on Stephen Goldsmith's decades of experience, extensive ongoing research, and interviews with 100+ top leaders from a wide variety of sectors. Goldsmith shows that everyday citizens can themselves produce extraordinary social change. The book explores the levers and guiding principles used by champions of civic progress who drive new organizations, new interventions, or new policies to enhance social conditions. The Power of Social Innovation features illustrative case studies of change-oriented philanthropists, public officials, and civic leaders. While all collaborate across sectors, they run both start-ups and established organizations such as the New York City public schools, United Way of America, the United Negro College Fund, and Teach For America. The book shows the catalyzing role each plays in transforming a community's social service delivery systems. To complement the book's myriad tools and case studies, The Power of Social Innovation web site ((http://www.powerofsocialinnovation.com) www.powerofsocialinnovation.com ) provides links to relevant Harvard research as well as additional helpful resources. 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 Igniting Civic Progress -- Innovation As Catalytic Ingredient -- Open Sourcing Social Innovation -- Trading Good Deeds For Measurable Results -- Animating And Trusting The Citizen -- Turning Risk Into Reward -- The Fertile Community. Stephen Goldsmith With Gigi Georges And Tim Glynn Burke. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.