Our World

Jacqueline Novogratz is Founder & CEO of Acumen Fund. This article was first posted on The Huffington Post on February 25th, 2010.

Sitting on panels to interview candidates for Acumen Fund’s fellows program is always a highlight for me. Yesterday was no different as we met with five of 56 finalists from 600 candidates who applied from 65 countries for our one-year program. Each person at our New York City panel was engaged, alive and curious about the world. For some reason, the majority were from immigrant families — from Peru, China, India, Germany. Each told stories of struggle and all had grown up in families where hard work, discipline and a focus on giving back were core values. While all could be doing anything they wanted, coming from careers at Goldman Sachs, IBM and consulting, among others, they were hungry to serve. Throughout the day I thought about this next generation so willing to take risks, so eager to change the world; and I thought about the power of the immigrant experience in the U.S. Mostly, I felt blessed.

The day, however, was a long one, and by the time I left the group dinner in Brooklyn, I was feeling under the weather and thinking about my 4 a.m. wake-up for my early flight the next morning. I waited a long time for a taxi, and when a dilapidated yellow cab pulled up, I poured myself exhaustedly into the seat. The tall, wiry, dark-skinned African with enormous hands drove for a few hundred feet and then asked me if I minded if we drove a little out of our way so that he could pick up food he’d just ordered. I sighed and asked how far out of the way it was, and he said it would be just five minutes each way. That prospect didn’t thrill me and I asked if he was sure the food would be ready, and he told me not to worry because he’d drive back over the bridge to get his food after he’d dropped me off.

It was well past 10 and I liked the easy familiarity of the guy and so said, no, let’s go and get your food. He thanked me profusely and we sped across Brooklyn. Five or six minutes later, he pulled the car to the side of the street, and sprinted to a Halal Chinese food joint. Within a flash, he was back in the car and we were heading toward Manhattan.

The driver chatted happily as we drove through Brooklyn, telling me that he loved living in New York City, that in Congo he could never have worked his way up to buying a taxi, and that he was making money and sending it home and was now seen as a hero by his family. Everyone accepts him in New York, he said, even more than in his country where there is too much violence and mistrust. “I love the American dream”, he said, “and I am living it!” He added that he thought New York was different than other cities because everyone was accepted here, and he didn’t want to live anywhere else.

We arrived at my apartment, only 10 or so minutes later than we would have otherwise, and my fare was about $12. I handed him $20 and was about to tell him to keep it all because his spirit was so effusive, but he wouldn’t accept the bill. “Please,” he said, ” the fare is on me because I took you out of your way,” and I said, no, no, no. And he said, “OK, you can give me $5 but only $5 — that’s all I want.” And I laughed because something had made each of us want to be generous. So often, though, it is those with so much less who make the first move to offer something of themselves. This time I insisted and gave him the $20. The driver finally accepted and then insisted on getting out of the car to shake my hand.

At dinner, one of our partners had spoken about looking for light these days, and finding random acts of kindness every day in unexpected places. I thought of the hard life my taxi driver had left and his open, optimistic attitude toward the world and others. I was thankful that this man had managed to remind me that my time is not all that precious. So often when I am in Africa, people go way out of their way to help me, even if they’ve never met me before. We could use bringing some of that spirit to our fair city. It starts with taking just a moment to see one another, and it goes from there.

In a recent article for India’s Business Standard, former CEO of Proctor & Gamble India Gurcharan Das articulated a forceful critique of the corporate social resposibility (CSR) movement.  The following response from Acumen CIO Brian Trelstad takes issue with several of Das’s central premises, arguing that in fact CSR has the potential to benefit both the companies that practice it and the communities that it can positively impact.

Das’s article cites the foundational critique of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from Milton Friedman, but it also overlooks the potential for CSR to be strategic as a value driver for companies. It is true that many CSR efforts are not strategic, that they in fact represent a thin veneer of “green wash” or philanthropy, and are staffed by people with few resources and little authority to actually get things done.

These efforts waste the time and resources of the companies and the nonprofits who indulge them in thinking that they are going to get value from a “strategic partnership” (I have been involved in more than a few of those discussions in my tenure at Acumen Fund, but won’t name names). But even these largely shallow CSR efforts, ones that build brand and communicate a message to loyal customers or inspire employees to work harder, longer or smarter can have a real return for the company. (And Das somehow conflates corporate philanthropy with CSR, by citing the Ambani’s building hospital. We can debate whether philanthropy is an effective tactic for a CSR strategy). But many CSR initiatives nowadays, including those that are looking at “BOP markets” are about exploring new markets, new products and new strategies for business growth and will have a significant impact on a company’s value over time.

The challenge is figuring out the difference. Not too different than the old marketing saying: “The good news is that I know that half of our marketing spending is really effective. the bad news is that I don’t know which half.” The same could be said for R&D. So if everything a company has to do has a narrow linear link to near term shareholder value creation, you would see CSR and marketing and R&D budgets shrink. and even CEO compensation would be cut to the barest of bones (yes, there is no link between what a company pays its CEO and shareholder value, so I would love Gucharan Das’ perspective on that point as well).

So it is true, many CSR efforts might not actually be strategic, or they might be very poorly executed. But I think that the notion that companies shouldn’t indulge in anything noncore to the business is a fallacy. CSR is here to stay whether Das likes it or not.

The following notes were written by Afshan Khan, of UNICEF.

1. The earthquake in Haiti is a double disaster…it is a massive hit on the Haitian people whose history is already too full of hardship. The country was crippled by four hurricanes last year. Access to clean water, sanitation, hospitals, and other infrastructure — roads and communication — was barely functioning to begin with — now, much has been wiped out.

2. Children are the humanitarian priority. Nearly half the population of Haiti is under 18 years of age, 38% are under the age of 14 — making children the first call, for assistance.

3. Life saving supplies, emergency experts, and equipment are arriving — Getting the supplies to those who need them is the key, and the absolute, number one, priority.

4. Aid is getting through - Three UNICEF planeloads have landed in Port au Prince and in Santa Domingo. More are on their way. The road between Santa Domingo and Port au Prince is now useable and today 35 metric tons of UNICEF supplies will travel that road.

5. Clean water is saving lives and preventing disease outbreaks or a second wave of disaster - UNICEF is leading on water distribution. Yesterday, we delivered 250,000 liters of water to 60,000 people. Water tanks are been erected in each zone of the city. Today, 50,000 liters went to 38 distribution points providing drinking water for 80,000 people. Today, we supplied the general hospital in Port au prince with 120,000 liters of bottled water. Repairing the water and sanitation systems is a priority.

6. Providing for children who are lost or have become separated from their families must be a priority - In the middle of the kind of upheaval they are living — it is crucial they be reunited with their families, or with someone they already know. They need to be found, fed and kept safe. We need to find the right combination of providing care and being careful – to make children are properly protected.

7. Schools are closed - And we will re-open them. While that work is going on, UNICEF is bringing in supplies for temporary schooling once “safe spaces” for children are identified. We know only too well that in the chaos of any emergency, one calming factor for children is to re-establish routines…key among them, is the comfort of going back to school — even if it is a makeshift school.

8. This is a complex emergency, and in some ways a unique one - A combination of factors is challenging us: The capital is destroyed and along with it critical emergency services and infrastructure that are needed for relief distribution. The UN and other humanitarian agencies have also been directly and severely affected; loss of staff, loss of family, loss of relatives…and still, to their credit and through their grief, continue to do the work that needs to be done for the children of Haiti.

Ashoka and the Maternal Health Task Force at EngenderHealth recently announced a new competition for innovative solutions for maternal health. The Young Champions of Maternal Health Program will use the Changemakers online platform to identify 16 young leaders from around the world who will win a trip to the Maternal Health Change Summit in India and spend nine months working abroad on a maternal health project, mentored by an Ashoka Fellow. Additionally, maternal health organizations can enter to win one of three $5,000 in-kind Changemakers prizes.

Each year 536,000 women die of complications during pregnancy or childbirth – that’s around 1 death per minute. What’s astonishing is that 99% of these deaths are in developing countries. Most of the complications, such as post-partum hemorrhage, infections, eclampsia and prolonged or obstructed labor, that lead to death or severe injury can be prevented or treated with quality reproductive health services.While improving maternal health is one of the Millennium Development Goals, not enough progress has been made. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that maternal mortality has decreased at an average of less than 1% annually. The world needs more solutions.

At Acumen Fund, we’ve seen the difference that innovative business models can make in making quality reproductive care accessible to those who do not receive adequate care from the public sector and cannot afford to go to a private hospital. We’ve invested in LifeSpring Hospitals, a network of low-cost, high-quality maternal and child healthcare hospitals in India. LifeSpring’s services include prenatal and postnatal care, normal and caesarean deliveries and family planning services, at prices that are 30-50% below market rates. Since our investment, LifeSpring has grown from 1 hospital to 9 hospitals, and has provided quality, dignified care to approximately 80,000 patients.

If you have an innovative idea that has the potential to change the field of maternal health, now is the time to share it. The deadline for ideas is March 3, 2010, and winners will be announced on June 16^th.

Sasha Dichter is the Director of Business Development at Acumen Fund. The following piece is a re-post from his personal blog, which can be found here.

A few weeks ago I started a generosity experiment.  The idea, sparked by a homeless man to whom I did not give, was to spend a period of time saying ‘yes’ to all requests to give – whether a person on the street, a donation request from a nonprofit, whatever.

Some people, like Jeff, really hated the idea at first (“AHH! NOO! STOP!” was his initial reaction); others shared my sense that the practice of being generous itself was inherently valuable.

A month later, I’m glad for the experiment.  I gave more than I normally do and I gave more often.  And it felt good and right, especially during the holidays, a time when presents of all sorts were flying in all directions.

And while I won’t continue giving to virtually everyone who asks, I will give more and more often.  The practice of being generous instead of critical (discerning?) is, I have found, important for at least two reasons:  first, we are how we act, so if I can habitually act more generous, I will be and become a more generous person.  Second, the experiment served as a deeper exploration of how much giving is an act of self-expression, rather than (or in addition to) a “purchase” of a social outcome.

The people who didn’t like my experiment all said something like, “If I pass a person on the street asking for money, I don’t give because I know it makes more sense to give to a homeless shelter.”  Put another way, one could better purchase social change for a homeless person by giving to a shelter or a food bank.   Objectively, that’s probably true (though one doesn’t know for sure).  However, it also misses something: first, because whether or not you give a dollar or two to a person on the street really doesn’t affect the larger donation you’ll hopefully make to the homeless shelter or the food bank; second, because the act of saying ‘no’ over and over again is reinforcing something in you and in me.

I’m not saying give every time, I’m asking us to be honest about why we do and don’t give, and to recognize the effect it has on us.

Let’s take an extreme example: suppose that over the course of the year I’m asked to give 200 times – maybe 100 times directly and 100 times by various nonprofits in various ways.  And let’s say I have a limited amount of money to give, which I do.  Isn’t the practice of saying ‘no’ 195 times and ‘yes’ 5 times reinforcing a mindset and habit that I’m the kind of person who says no when people ask for help?  And couldn’t there be a way to say “yes” 15 or 50 or 100 times that would reinforce something else entirely?

I don’t want to take this too far – to the conclusion that all philanthropists should spread their funding widely so that they can practice saying ‘yes.’  That’s not right either.

But I do want to push myself and others to ask whether it is healthy to think of every giving decision from the head rather than from the heart.  Can’t the argument that “this isn’t the best use of my money” be paralyzing or, worse, an excuse never to part with any money, because nothing is ever good enough?

Maybe a request for a gift isn’t always chance to analyze what is or isn’t the “best” use of my money.  Instead, maybe a request for a gift is an opportunity to practice being the person that I want to be – someone whose first response is to be open and generous.

And maybe, with practice, I will be transformed in a way that is powerful for me and for the world.

Omer Imtiazuddin is the Health Portfolio Manager at Acumen Fund, where he has been since 2006.

Studies have indicated that up to 25% of those hospitalized in South Asia fall below the poverty line. In large measure this is a result of hospital related expenses (the situation is similar in sub-Saharan Africa). Microinsurance has the potential to shield these families from such shocks and to help them to maintain a minimum standard of living. It can also provide them the opportunity to bounce back from illness, to take active charge of their economic and social position within society. And as research in this field has demonstrated, significant percentages of the poor do not seek healthcare because of the cost. Thus microinsurance can also promote health-seeking behaviors.

The primary focus of our investment in First Microinsurance Agency (FMIA) in Pakistan is in fact Health Insurance, though the company also offers credit life insurance and is exploring agricultural insurance. We also expect that some of our other portfolio companies might benefit from becoming customers or partners of FMIA. But there will be a steep learning curve for both established and start-up companies considering the use of microinsurance services. Many established companies have, at least at the outset, treated microinsurance as more of a CSR play than potentially advantageous service. Start-ups, while better prepared to embrace the opportunity, and more inclined, often do not have the protocols and systems in place to adequately respond. As we become shrewder in our understanding of microinsurance, this will of course change. But it will take time.

And certain strategic networks and/or partners will be important for companies that want to start extending microinsurance to the poor. From a customer acquisition point of view, partnering with organizations that can provide for a large group of people will be important (e.g. MFIs) in order to quickly reach scale and lower costs. It is also very important to partner with a wide variety of clinics and hospitals to ensure that we are providing genuine access to the poor. Finally, the government too may come to play a crucial role in providing microinsurance to the poor.

Economic and political stability will be essential for the facilitation of innovations and investments in microinsurance. If we take Pakistan as an example, where inflation is now officially running at 25%, it is hard to convince a customer that health insurance, which is a new product to begin with, should be considered a necessary addition to their already constrained budget.

Taking a long term view will be crucial to enabling the spread of microinsurance. If we use microfinance as an example, we need to be cognizant of the fact that it took 30 years for Microfinance to be as widely developed as it is, and there is still room for further growth. Those now working in microinsurance should be able to utilize some of the lessons of the microfinance revolution, so its growth should be quicker, but it will still require long term vision.

In response to “Are Metrics Blinding our Perception?”a recent column in the New York Times by Anand Giridharadas, Acumen Fund CIO Brian Trelstad wrote the following letter to the editor.

Dear Editor,

Your piece on the rise of metrics, and the risks of being too metrics focused, was terrific. As the person that declared World Metrics Day on June 16th, I share the author’s perspective that metrics can be valuable, but that they have limits. But for too long, philanthropists have failed to generate any meaningful metrics that can be used to complement our professional understanding of what is working, and what is not. Those of us in the business of providing capital to businesses that combat poverty have an even greater need to measure the social efficacy of t he businesses we support.

Professional intuition that goes too long unexposed to metrics that can help complement the story fosters a guild mentality where only the “experts” know what is best. Metrics without judgment is automation; judgment without metrics is either expertise… or guesswork. (See Pinker vs. Gladwell from the NYT Book Review for further discussion). What we need are more leaders who marry both the relevant metrics with intuition to inform our experiences and help us learn from those experiences, in both quantitative and qualitative terms. The art of measurement, is in knowing which measures to select (and not just one, as our global obsession with the almighty GDP may be leading us to a crisis of global environmental proportions), when to look at them, and what decisions to make based on the data and our experience. And by the second World Metrics Day in June 2010, we hope to see a 17% increase in the number of people marrying metrics and judgment to make better decisions!

Best,

Brian Trelstad

Zahoor, a 2009 - 2010 AF Fellow, is currently working in Pakistan with FMIA, which provides micro-insurance products for low-income families. He has experience managing rural development programs and has worked in public-sector education in Pakistan. Zahoor holds a Masters in Sociology from the University of Peshawar and a M. Phil degree in Sociology from Malakand University.

The current wave of terrorism that the larger cities of Pakistan face lead us to assume that the insurgent elements pushed out of the Northwestern Mountains are now quite active in the plains and cities. It is true; some of these elements — including those who were pushed out of the highlands through military action — are currently taking refuge in urban spaces, generally in cities such as Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi.

No doubt, it is terrible and quite inhumane to kill civilians without any discrimination. But this seems to be the natural outcome of systemic brutality. Plains and cities are difficult to vacate and clean out of such elements immediately. That is why terrorist elements often find it easy to plan and execute dangerous attacks from cities. These types of attacks, however, are for two reasons starting to diminish. One reason is that these elements have lost much of their local sympathy with ever fewer allies throughout the county. The second reason is that people in Pakistan have accepted these problems as a fact — resigned themselves to understanding them as unfortunate but necessary stage that the country must go through. Both these reasons make me so hopeful about the prospect of a good future.

My stand on this situation, I repeat, is that the earlier it comes, the better it is! People have not seen or really observed the true face of extremist elopements and the subsequent miseries until quite recently. It might have grown into a size that could have never been controlled by future generations. And this is why I see it as an opportunity. As a nation, we are gaining the strength to be able to prevent, discourage and disenfranchise extremist elements in our society. Pakistan is also ever more capable of absorbing the extraordinary physical and emotional shocks of terrorist action, to know how our friends and enemies will develop an infrastructure to fight such insurgency, develop tools and equipment and, last but not the least, become responsible citizens, true Pakistanis.

There are number of other reason to believe that this country is facing the “climax” of terrorist action, in advance of its approaching end. Our media has developed enormous strength – in terms of the freedom and education of its citizenry – and to an extent that even recently the nation could not have imagined. Real time information resource-sharing by the media is resulting in making our politicians and public servants more responsible, with the pubic better educated.

Take as an example the sense of freedom and of responsibility that our judiciary is currently exhibiting! The Judiciary is even discussing corruption cases against a sitting government and a controversial President! How amazing and hopeful this is!

And look at the Pakistani Army! Are they not doing well themselves? Getting any number of martyrs and atrocities on daily basis; still focused, committed to their business and remaining on the front; not de-stabilizing the democratic government nor taking any stake in judicial activism. Is this not positive and hopeful too?

My hopes for the future of this country strengthen when I see boys and girls receiving equal education in the remotest and most far flung University, the University of Malakand, which is located in Lower Dir district. For those who know this geography, it goes without saying that this is indeed the epicenter of militancy and extremism; where until very recently, even schooling for girls was banned outright.

Despite the ongoing problems, I am at heart an optimist, and I am encouraged as I see huge number of youngster in my area working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which were so recently considered un-trustworthy agents of the west (and in particular America) with employees stigmatized. Pakistan is changing and finally realizing its potential. The path ahead is rocky, but it is ours and it is hopeful.

Shital’s family emigrated from India when she was only four years old, but her heart and soul still remain there. She went on to graduate from Northwestern University and returned to India as an Indicorps fellow. She completed her Master of Public Administration from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, specializing in International Development. She is currently an intern at Acumen Fund’s India office, working with the Agriculture and Health portfolios.

Cross Posted on ThinkChange India

Day One: Laying the Groundwork

In a gathering of practitioners and investors, the Khemka Forum kicked off at the India School of Business in Hyderabad.  The day’s activities ranged from plenaries to sector working group lunches to track breakouts.  Social entrepreneurs converged to discuss the state of their field, lessons learnt, ideas for collaboration, and the way forward.

As Don Mohanlal, CEO of Khemka Foundation, quoted, “the best time to begin a long journey was 10 years ago. The next best time is today.” In the long journey to create a complete social entrepreneurship ecosystem in India, the Khemka Forum aimed to kick off a constructive conversation on action-oriented, short-term ideas that Indian social entrepreneurs could take as the work toward the longer term goal.

Working Scale Issues: “Fingers Burnt, Lessons Learnt”

Healthy debate and discussion around scale indicated that even the most successful social enterprises in India are grappling with this issue. Manish Sabharwal, Co-Founder of TeamLease, mentioned that entrepreneurs can create two types of organizations – a baby or a dwarf – one that starts small and gets much bigger, or one that will remain small. He identified various factors that influence scale, including opportunity, team, organizational design, strategy, and risk.  Pawan Patil, CEO of the Global Partnership for Youth Investment, talked about creating an enabling environment and busting myths.  Dr. Patil focused largely on creating jobs, especially for the growing youth population, as a necessary step toward achieving scale.  Nachiket Mor, President of ICICI Foundation, emphasized starting from the ground, building up, and then replicating.

SCALERS

In a session on “SCALERS – Driving Social Impact,” Matthew Nash, Managing Director of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University, discussed a new model for talking about scale.  SCALERS stands for Staffing, Communicating, Alliance-building, Lobbying, Earnings generation, Replicating, and Stimulating market forces.  Parag Gupta, Founder of Waste Bank, presented a case study on SELCO (TC-I previously interviewed Harish Hande here) using the SCALERS model and identified the enterprise’s accomplishments and challenges.

Similarly, Professor Madhukar Shukla of XLRI Jamshedpur presented a case study on Nidan (founded by Arbind Singh, Khemka’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008).  Since Nidan focuses on a completely different sector – organizing marginalized workers – and operates as a nonprofit, the two organizations had very different outcomes on the SCALERS model.  The model provided a good basis to talk about the various factors involved in scaling up and strategic steps for moving forward.

Sector Working Groups

I sat in on the sector working group focusing on rural innovations, led by Prema Gopalan of Swayam Sikshan Prayog.  Other working groups included health, education, renewable energy, and youth entrepreneurship.  The rural innovations group identified major barriers – from knowledge management to product design to innovative financing.  From there, the conversation shifted to collaborations and action steps, especially on ways that practitioners could connect more deeply and consistently.  We will all have to stay tuned to see what these working group discussions will eventually produce…

Alternative Talent Pools

Finally, I attended the track organized by Dasra on Building Alternative Talent Pool.  In a panel facilitated by Dasra Managing Partner Neera Nundy, Manish Sabharwal (again of TeamLease), Deep Joshi (Co-Founder of Pradan), and Prashant Bhaskar (Head of PLUG HR) discussed the ways in which they attracted, retained, and built the capacity of talent for organizations.  A lively discussion around how social enterprises should hire and train employees ensued, with Mr. Sabharwal reminding the audience that the role of the employer is not to manufacture employees, while Mr. Joshi explained his desire to treat each person in the organization as a changemaker or social entrepreneur.  A lot of the discussion linked back to public policy and the existing inequality of opportunity, as well as the need to reform current skill development and vocational training programs.  Finally, participants worked through the importance of organizational culture, citing personal examples of how to make sure a certain culture permeates from the top to the bottom of an enterprise.

Day 2: Moving into Action

While Day 1 of the Khemka Forum on Social Entrepreneurship focused on plenaries and making connections within sectors, Day 2 moved into smaller groups, deeper conversations, and creating plans for bridging gaps.

Measuring Impact

In the track on Performance Metrics, Matthew Nash of Duke University provided a thorough overview of the key trends in social impact measurement.  He discussed many trends, including the experimentation with tools and techniques, movement toward common metrics, emphasis on data quality, program evaluation through randomized design, and building robust performance management systems.  Mr. Nash also made the important point that outcomes do not equal impact, and that impact is actually the outcome minus what would happen in absence of the program.  Organizations often confuse this, thereby inflating the actual impact of their work.

Anant Kumar, CEO of LifeSpring Hospitals, which offer low-cost, high quality maternal and child care, spoke on the enterprise perspective of tracking metrics.  One of the key points he made was the value of democratizing data – basically, data needs to be present up, down, and across an organization so that it cannot be manipulated or modified.

Acumen Fund India’s Energy Portfolio Manager Katie Hill spoke on the social investor viewpoint.  She pointed out that the real challenge is that metrics must be understandable, inexpensive, and useful. You can read more directly from Katie in the Acumen Fund blog post on metrics.  Finally, IFMR’s Centre for Microfinance Executive Director Justin Oliver wrapped up the panel by elaborating on what gets measured, how it gets measured, and how to interpret the data.

Participants, while eager to learn how to incorporate good data gathering into their organization, also discussed the difficulties around funding data collection and being able to measure data accurately.  A general agreement on the value of data and metrics, however, pointed the way forward for experimental systems and reminded everyone the importance of starting small, but starting somewhere.

Consultancy Clinics

One of the more unique aspects of this forum were the consultancy clinics, which focused on law & social entrepreneurship, effective stakeholder communication, getting investment ready, and new forms of knowledge creation.  Matthew Nash led a dynamic consultancy clinic on knowledge creation, which I attended with the interest of understanding how TC-I could continue to serve as a platform for newly created knowledge.  The small group consisted of both academics and practitioners, allowing both sides to voice their perspectives and then discuss how to bridge existing gaps.  Mr. Nash started with the basic question of what action research agenda is needed to advance the field of social entrepreneurship in India.  While case study development is common, practitioners were concerned about the lack of usefulness for their organizations, as well as the large amount of time needed to share this knowledge.  The group discussed how to create collaborative research, use online networking forums, and engage students via practicums or internships.  As time spilled over into lunch, the clinic participants formulated a plan on how to move forward after the forum and ensure continued dialogue on this important issue.

Building an ecosystem

At the beginning of this event, speakers placed emphasis on building an ecosystem for social entrepreneurs in India.  The Khemka Forum was a bold attempt to convene the right players to do just that.  As a starting point, it was great to see the enthusiasm and seriousness with which participants approached this task.  Discussion and action will continue well beyond the Forum, and I’m hopeful in witnessing the creation of a more enabling environment for social entrepreneurs in India.  At the end of the day, there are investors, entrepreneurs, academics, donors, and the wider community who want to see innovative, market based solutions make a deep impact on India’s social issues.  With the efforts of all these stakeholders, and a concerted effort to bring others into the fray (from government to lawyers to media), the Khemka Forum is indeed a catalyst for accelerating the business of social change.

And so the cohort experiment continues, though with this blog post reaches its online conclusion. In the penultimate post in the series, Nicole discussed the critical variables involved in designing leadership programs, in a discussion that we hope was helpful in considering the development of your own leadership programs.

As we reach the end of this series, on the nature and the role of cohorts in leadership programs, we find ourselves confronting the after or extended life of our programs. In other words, what do you do once the program finishes?  Needless to say, this question demands a discussion on alumni development. Though quite challenging to administer, maintaining strong ties among alumni (both with one another and with the institution) must be considered an essential element of programs such as those we have been discussing in this series. From my perspective, indeed, this is one of the key pieces of the leadership development puzzle. In our interviews with various people involved in developing, participating in, and administering leadership programs, we have identified four essential aspects of effective and successful alumni development. In this last post of the series, we want to share our findings with you.

First , we have discovered that alumni development must be part of the program from the very beginning; new recruits should be aware from the first day of training that their commitment is a lifetime one. Or, phrased slightly differently, from the outset, participants should understand that though their training will have a limited duration, their commitment to the program and to each other will last through the course of their lives. There are various practical, strategic, formal, and informal ways that leadership programs can encourage this kind of commitment.

One organization that has been particularly effective at this is Ashoka, who have developed one of the finest alumni networks in the field of social entrepreneurship.  While the Ashoka fellows program lasts only three years, Ashoka as an institution continues to support former fellows throughout their career. They do so by providing assistance to former fellows with pro bono support, open access to Ashoka’s extended global network, and periodic extended training. While Ashoka have been innovative in creating and administrating alumni initiatives, in some measure, they have based their own model of alumni development on university alumni organizations.

As the model from which all other alumni development efforts derive, top university alumni associations have a great deal to teach us all.  Alumni networks such as those operated by Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and other top academic institutions all continue to provide support to their alumni well beyond their time at the university. Alumni remain connected to their Alma maters through targeted events such as annual reunions, web-based networks, local chapters of alumni groups, newsletters, magazines and other similar development projects.  Many of these programs are so strong, the sense of community so richly established by them, that it has become an almost unstated rule that if an alumni or student contacts another alumni, they will almost certainly respond.  Now that is really impressive!  These programs capitalize on an individual’s desire to be involved in a group of people that has shared a similar experience.  If you are looking to build your alumni network, turning to university alumni organizations would be an excellent first source.

One of things that university alumni networks are so excellent at realizing is a continued platform for interaction by former members of cohorts, or of extended cohort groups. And while there is an almost intuitive connection between alumni of a university, other organizations have also found effective ways to develop the sense of affiliation amongst their former members. Organizations can ensure that its groups remain connected in a number of ways. For instance, the Henry Crown Fellows Program has a yearly gathering for all of its alumni, an event where the fellows have the opportunity to work and network with one another over the course of several days spent on specific projects.  The key to an event such as this is that it has direction; the gathering will be much more valuable for all those involved if it is organized around a particular goal or activity, which these yearly gathering always are. Specifically, if the fellows are either working on solving a specific problem together or are being trained in some new skill set, these types of gatherings will be both individually productive and instrumental in further creating a shared sense of group. These events create a specific value for its fellows, encouraging them to fly in from distant places, to learn new skills, or apply their professional talents towards a distinct aim. These events wind up doubly productive; the new time spent on a shared activity reinforces the fellow’s commitment to the convening organization and to one another.

Third, we have found that the programs which recruit fellows with a shared mission are more likely to have strong alumni networks than those without it.  For example, at Acumen Fund we have found that even though we do not convene our alumni yearly in the way, say, the Henry Crown Fellows Program does, (though we are would be very interested do so if any potential donors would be interested) less formal “reunions” are continually under way, with fellows remaining in close proximity to one another (occasionally geographically but more often in terms of life direction). To cite another example, I mentioned in my last blog that two of the 2007 Acumen Fund Fellows at Bamboo Finance have invested in a 2008 Fellow who is building his own low-income housing development in Pakistan. This investment and renewed partnership between alumni fellows, while not generated from some form of “top down” alumni development initiative, nevertheless reflects the ways that informal alumni collaborations can wind up having the same function, if the sense of shared mission is strong enough.

Fourth, as is a common practice at universities, alumni groups can and should involve its alumni in ongoing recruiting processes.  At Acumen Fund, we do this at multiple stages of our annual fellows’ recruitment process. Acumen Fund Fellows Alumni carry out multiple rounds of resume reviews, phone interviews; attend our final round panel interviews, and recruitment dinners around the world.  We do this because we find it is a surefire way to ensure the finest new Fellows are recruited each year, to help continue to build our alumni’s networks, and to keep alumni involved and engaged in the program.

These are just a few ideas though. As I think about managing Acumen’s alumni network I would love your thoughts on ways you have worked to bring your own global alumni together. We would love to hear from you all of you and continue this conversation online.

Let me congratulate Acumen investee David Kuria, founder of Ecotact, for being named the African Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2009 by the World Economic Forum! This is fantastic recognition for David and his team’s work on bringing affordable, high quality sanitation services to thousands of people every day. Currently, Ecotact serves more than 9,000 customers daily through 10 toilets operated throughout the city of Nairobi, Kenya and other nearby locations. The toilets cost 5 shillings per use, though individuals also can pay a bit more to take a shower in a clean environment – a real luxury for thousands who travel into the city from the slums and far-flung rural areas to work in offices after long, dusty bus ride. Ecotact is showing that public-private partnerships can work on behalf of all people and we are proud to be a part of this effort.

Guest blogger Aden Van Noppen is a recent graduate of Brown University, where she earned a degree in International Development. She is also an intern for Acumen Fund, where she works to develop programs that teach college students about private sector solutions to poverty. Aden was formerly an intern for Dalberg Global Development Advisors, where she worked on the development of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.

By Aden Van Noppen

“I will develop a social enterprise major on my campus.” “Thousands of incoming freshmen will read the Blue Sweater as their first taste of college.” “We will create a viral video that reaches millions.” “Students will learn about and engage with social enterprise through the online hub we will build.” “We will change the way our generation tackles poverty.”

The seventeen student leaders who took Acumen Fund’s New York office by storm last week committed to accomplishing all these goals and more. Acumen’s inaugural Student Leaders Workshop was meant to ignite the fire under a cohort of young leaders who will return to their campuses in the fall as champions of social enterprise. The workshop and the students exceeded all expectations, and time will tell what they will accomplish together.

History tells us that college students are frequently on the cutting edge of social change. We (as a recent graduate, I still count myself among them) are often unsatisfied with the status quo and have the energy and passion to demand new ways of solving old problems. However, young people today are not protesting or rioting—instead, we are proclaiming ourselves social entrepreneurs and actively searching for the best models to address poverty. The movement for social enterprise is brewing on campuses across the country and the world, and seventeen young global leaders left Acumen Fund’s workshop last weekend inspired and driven to bring it to a new level.

We spent much of the workshop asking ourselves hard questions. What is development? How do we measure poverty alleviation? When can market-based solutions sidestep the barriers of traditional approaches? What is leadership? How do we know when to step forward and when to step back? How do we change the way our generation tackles poverty? There are still more questions than answers, but the participants now look to Acumen as an inspiring model and to each other as a dynamic group of leaders who can continue searching for the answers together.

If the last few days are any indication, their excitement, curiosity, and commitment will continue to grow. Social media tools are buzzing as they stay in touch, collaborate, and strategize. What they accomplish together is still to be seen, but I have no doubt that they will inspire many on their campuses and beyond to question the status quo and embrace a new model of fighting poverty.

In the coming months, the students will demonstrate the power of young people and of building a tribe of individuals who, as Seth Godin told us when he kicked off the workshop, “Decide to say yes.” Two days after leaving, one participant wrote, “The workshop left me with hope and inspiration. I now have a better idea of the field and how it works but most importantly, the workshop gave me the confidence to aspire and dare to dream.” These seventeen leaders will return to their campuses in the fall as extensions of the Acumen Fund team, ready and equipped to support Acumen’s mission to change how the world tackles poverty.