The fall 2013 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review introduces a new type of feature—Up for Debate. The inaugural topic is impact investing, and though we have covered impact investing extensively in the past, we believe that a new article—“When Can Impact Investing Create Real Impact?”—and the comments from 18 different thought leaders that follow, elevate the discussion to a new level.
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How powerful civic organizations like the NRA and AARP build membership, make money, and sway public policy.
The sector needs to shift its attention from modest goals that provide short-term relief to bold goals that provide long-term solutions.
Traditional health care is a hands-on affair. But a wave of technology-driven innovation signals the emergence of a compelling new model.
It is possible for impact investors to achieve social impact along with market rate returns, but it's not easy to do.
At a "philanthropub," a new kind of bar and restaurant, a portion of each patron's bill goes to a worthy cause.
In some places, users of the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can supplement their diet via community supported agriculture.
A US National Archives program uses 21st-century technology to enlist ordinary citizens in the transcription of centuries-old documents.
In Tunisia, the Souk At-tanmia project provides funding and technical support to budding entrepreneurs.
In troubled spots around the world, Right to Play shows how fun and games can be a serious tool for development.
Older people and foster families are forming mutually supportive communities, with help from a group called Generations of Hope.
The Trey McIntyre Project, an Idaho-based dance troupe, is choreographing a novel way to manage a leading-edge arts organization.
One Laptop per Child Australia has developed a visionary program to bring digital technology to children in remote areas.
An effort to improve sanitation in developing countries yields lessons in how to achieve enduring, broad-based social impact.
The US criminal justice system will benefit from a new tool that collects and compares data on a county-by-county basis.
Through the Global Changemakers program, people under the age of 25 are developing solutions to problems that directly affect them.
Boston Children's Hospital is testing new approaches to improving outcomes and reducing health care costs.
A properly designed sponsor-a-child program can have real, long-term impact on the life course of its beneficiaries.
Major local events, with some notable exceptions, spur locally based companies to increase charitable giving.
Enrollment in a classroom with a high poverty rate doesn't necessarily affect individual student performance.
In a market context, people are apt to betray their own beliefs about right and wrong.
Investment in "hyperdense" cities is, according to one writer, the key to solving many problems that afflict US society.
To address social conflicts, we must learn to balance "independent" and "interdependent" selves, two cultural psychologists argue.
Internet technology can help us to connect, globally and otherwise, but only if we structure it well.
The saga of Molly Melching and Tostan, her Africa-based organization, illustrates the power of community-led change.
NYU's College of Dentristy partnered with the government of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada to fight tooth decay among children.
