Written by Ineka Hogge, student of MSc in Management (Supply Chains Logistics), Durham University and volunteer for the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation Generation Z and Scaling Social Movements At the age of twenty-two, I belong to Generation Z, defined as individuals born from 1995-2020: we are inherently digitalised in our nature as the ‘digital… Read more
Written by Antonios Saravanos, Clinical Associate Professor of Information Systems Management, School of Professional Studies, New York University. Antonios is also an Associate Research Fellow for the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation and a graduate of the MSt in Social innovation. The online labour force: worth every penny? Online services to facilitate participant recruitment for… Read more
The Social Innovation Think Tank The Social Innovation Think Tank series explores the power of social innovation in the modern world; sharing its necessity and capacity to challenge the status quo. The monthly series is hosted by Dr Neil Stott and Professor Paul Tracey, co-directors of the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation. They interview academics… Read more
Social Extrapreneurship There is growing interest in expanding our understanding of social innovation, moving beyond social entrepreneurship to address societal challenges through different decision-making levels(1) and the collaboration of multiple actors. Social extrapreneurship(2) is a novel view of entrepreneurship: it can be defined as multi-sectoral collaboration to tackle social challenges through innovative solutions. However, as… Read more
Recently we noticed a blog from the well-established incubator programme Village Capital explaining why they no longer hold demo days. The author, Ross Baird, points out that “I’ve never seen an investor make an investment decision, ever, as a result of a pitch”. This statement is self-evidently true. And at Cambridge Social Ventures we have never held… Read more
Social entrepreneurship is all the rage. Delivering social impact through enterprise is lauded by politicians, policy makers and practitioners. Not only should you do well, you should do good as well. It is a message that resonates with many aspiring entrepreneurs as well as social organisations looking to make more impact or strapped for cash… Read more
When issues of women rising to leadership positions arise within organisations there is much squirming in the seats by senior managers (male and female) who invariably believe (or at least articulate) there is no problem here as ability always trumps gender. Since the term ‘glass ceiling’ was coined in 1984 to illustrate the invisible yet… Read more
Today many organisations want to be virtuous. It is a post-financial crash zeitgeist. Greed and exploitation is passé, so we are told. Being nice to people, the planet and making a profit is becoming de rigour. But can we really foresee a time when the Wolf of Wall Street becomes a lamb? Is being virtuous… Read more
Western governments have finally begun to pay close attention to tax avoidance by multinational corporations in rich countries. But where does that leave poor countries, where the effect is arguably much more devastating? In the midst of last month’s investigation by the UK Commons’ Public Accounts Committee into PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the committee chair Margaret Hodge concluded… Read more
Making a difference to society is a noble aim, and leaders shouldn’t be put off by a few bumps along the way. If my experience in social innovation has taught me anything, it’s that making social change is not for the faint-hearted. Making a difference and achieving change requires stamina and resilience as well as… Read more