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Putting Numbers on Multinationals’ Impact is Even Harder Than it Looks
Multinational companies like to describe their presence as a boon to developing countries. In a remarkable joint study, Oxfam International and Unilever Indonesia found such claims are valid—sometimes. The British antipoverty NGO and the Anglo-Dutch consumer products company were looking for new ways to help the world’s poor—and new ways to talk about the things they were already doing. Was Unilever’s Indonesia operation improving the lives of Indonesia’s poor and wider economy? If so, how much?
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BoP Health Care Gets a $10 Million Boost: What Duke’s new SEAD program could mean for you
Few universities are as active in BoP health care and social entrepreneurship as Duke. Now, thanks to a $10 million award from USAID, the university is poised to dramatically expand its impact in both fields. Duke will use the funds to launch the Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke (SEAD), a development lab that will identify and support solutions to global health challenges in low- and middle-income countries.
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- Education, Health Care
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Are you an Intrapreneur? : Take our four-point test
How is an intrapreneur different from an entrepreneur? In a corporate setting, the ‘ventures’ they lead are not always products or services, but could be other kinds of initiatives that advance organizational objectives while having social or environmental benefits. These come in many shapes or sizes. Intrapreneurs have a wider field of vision than most people when it comes to opportunities for social or environmental impact. We have found it useful to think of this in terms of four Ps: Products, Practices, People, and Public.
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Health Care Delivery for the Urban Poor: Reaching rural communities isn’t India’s only challenge
Nearly one-third of India’s urban citizens live in crowded informal settlements or slum communities. UN-HABITAT has estimated that by the year 2020, India’s total slum population will cross 200 million people. With poor access to clean water and adequate sanitation, the urban poor can be even worse off than their rural counterparts. Yet though the Indian government recognizes these health care challenges, it has struggled to find a solution.
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- Health Care
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- governance, public health
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Of Bank Accounts and Behavioural Economics: Will adaptive learning improve money management interfaces for the poor?
One of the biggest financial challenges anyone faces is the interrelated tasks of budgeting, paying, and saving from income. The rich and poor alike need help in this regard and there has been plenty of work by behavioural economists showing how reminders to follow through on savings behaviours, commitment accounts, account labelling, automatic deposits, formal commitments to friends, and other features.
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Fear Factor: Should we scare people into healthy behavior?
Fear-based marketing is a controversial topic - especially when graphic images are involved. Yet many health care organizations and advocates have used it to attract attention and change health behaviors. But is graphic fear-based marketing effective - and ethical? And should it be put to use more in BoP communities?
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- Education, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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- public health, research
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NexThought Monday : Customer Experience needs to drive vision at the BoP business, not vice versa
Base of the pyramid (BoP) organizations may arguably have some of the best intentions the private sector has to offer. But even they don’t always get it right. Many need to introduce customer experience to companies and organizations that count the BoP as customers. Customer what? Customer experience goes beyond customer service, beyond working once or twice with a representative.
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- Education
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- product design
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Weekly Roundup: Help Us Pick the Most Influential Post of 2012: Vote early and often
OK, if you’re like me you’re probably getting tired of the “Best of 2012” lists. But I hope you can handle just one more, especially because this is one list that you can influence.
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