Well you’ve sold me on wanting to read the book! I’ve worked in the NGO sector for some time now, and have increasingly grown to appreciate the lessons of the private sector around efficiency, innovation, technological adoption etc.
One question that I’m still wrestling with though, is how to address a problem where a solution seems effective, yet does not generate revenue.
One example is a campaign called The Real Food Challenge. Their goal is to shift University Dining Hall spending to support more local, fair, and sustainable food. The campaign has been incredibly effective at shifting these large institutions to supporting more socially and environmentally responsible food systems to the tune of millions of dollars.
The campaign, however, has no clear means of generating revenue as their work focuses on organizing students to work with dining halls. I’m sure other examples exist, but I’m very curious about the question of non-revenue generating solutions to social problems, and how they fit, or not, into the world of social entrepreneurship.
COMMENTS
BY Drew Love
ON June 26, 2012 06:19 PM
Well you’ve sold me on wanting to read the book! I’ve worked in the NGO sector for some time now, and have increasingly grown to appreciate the lessons of the private sector around efficiency, innovation, technological adoption etc.
One question that I’m still wrestling with though, is how to address a problem where a solution seems effective, yet does not generate revenue.
One example is a campaign called The Real Food Challenge. Their goal is to shift University Dining Hall spending to support more local, fair, and sustainable food. The campaign has been incredibly effective at shifting these large institutions to supporting more socially and environmentally responsible food systems to the tune of millions of dollars.
The campaign, however, has no clear means of generating revenue as their work focuses on organizing students to work with dining halls. I’m sure other examples exist, but I’m very curious about the question of non-revenue generating solutions to social problems, and how they fit, or not, into the world of social entrepreneurship.