Archive for 2014
5th European Microfinance Award on Microfinance and the Environment
The objective of the 5th European Microfinance Award on Microfinance and the Environment is to highlight opportunities for microfinance to improve environmental issues in the South and encourage the industry to find innovative solutions for global environmental concerns. The award of €100,000 from the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs – Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs will be…
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What is Social Innovation?
I like the way Social innovation is enjoying growing recognition all over the world. I really think it is the future to solve many of our current social and environmental problems, and that is the reason why I support it and share methodologies, case studies and all kind of information of all those that want to…
Read MoreThe Five Monkeys Experiment: "this is the way things are done here"
Have you ever wondered why people do things for no good reason? Ever looked around and wondered how habits and obscure social norms formed? Have you ever asked the why of a norm or a practice and you were told: Because “this is the way things are done around here”? The 5 monkeys experiment reminds…
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Designing for Generosity
Amazing and inspiring talk from Nipun Mehta, the founder of ServiceSpace (formerly Charity Focus), an incubator of projects that works at the intersection of volunteerism, technology and gift-economy. What started as an experiment with four friends in the Silicon Valley has now grown to an global ecosystem of over 350,000 members that has delivered millions…
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Measuring the Happiness of the Planet: Which countries are the happiest?
Lately, I have been exploring ways to link two of my passions: how to have social and economic impact (improving people´s lives) and how to be and make people happier. After all, how good is increased social and economic development if the result isn’t increased human satisfaction. One factor that is increasingly being cited as…
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10 Reasons Employees Really Care About Their Jobs
Want your employees to really care? First you have to really care about them. I have been talking a lot lately about happiness with my friends and colleagues. The happiness book that I have been writing has had that “positive side effect”, getting feedback and ideas about the importance of the search of wellbeing, happiness…
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We have created a Course where you can learn to Change the Word: You can also be a Change Agent!
After working in the design and preparation of this course for about a year, the EOI Programe: “Becoming Change Agents: Values and Skills for the Future” is now launched! I am really proud of being part of this amazing course and to do it together with three international experts (Daniel Truran, Leda Scott and Gonzalo de la…
Read MoreSocial Innovation Definitions
What is social innovation? I have put together the definitions proposed by key researchers and actors A novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals. (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller, 2008,…
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What is Social Impact Investing?
Social investment is the provision and use of finance to generate social, or social as well as economic, returns. Over the last ten years various forms of social investment have grown rapidly and new forms have been introduced. This growth reflects a range of developments on both the demand side (a new generation of social…
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The power of citizens (Citizen 2.0): 17 examples of government social media innovation
The internet has changed the way information is relayed and how people use it. We have gone from an era of broadcast dominated by passive reception to an era of digital natives, where communication is interactive and instantaneous. This new generation has grown up with the Internet and expects continuous participation. This evolution towards new communication…
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