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Development Engineering: Scaling Tech Solutions from Ideation, to Pilot … to the World?
Scaling technologies that promote economic development is challenging. That's why UC Berkeley established the Development Impact Lab. Natasha Beale, the lab's manager, discusses the concept of "development engineering" and gives examples to illustrate that large-scale impact is indeed possible with the right mix of targeted funding, technological innovation and rigorous field work.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Is Higher Ed the Next Big Frontier for Impact Investing? Some Funders Think So
Impact investing, with its promise of both financial returns and measurable social benefits, is one of the hottest trends in philanthropy. But as more legacy foundations look to harness the "other 95 percent" of their capital to their mission, and as newer business-minded donors flood into the field, plenty of questions remain about where and how impact investing is likely to be most useful or effective.
- Region
- North America
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Liberia’s broken education system: will school choice work?
Liberia is trying to solve perennial education problems by outsourcing the management of hundreds of schools to the private sector.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Harvard Business School Announces Social Enterprise Loan Repayment Assistance Program
The School’s Social Enterprise Initiative and MBA Program announced today an expansion of the program to include for-profit social enterprise positions. Beginning with the October 2017 application cycle, the program will support alumni working with a nonprofit, public sector organization or for-profit social enterprise.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- North America
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Social Enterprise’s Achilles Heel: How the Information Deficit Limits Scale and Impact in India
While academic writing around social entrepreneurship has risen exponentially in the West, the same has not been true for Africa, Latin America and India – where there's also a general lack of information concerning diverse business models, innovative approaches and lessons learned, according to Devanshi Vaid. That's why India Development Review was created.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
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A Toolkit to Identify Sustainable, Market-Based Energy Solutions in Off-Grid Areas
The MIT D-Lab, working with Mercy Corps, developed the Energy Assessment Toolkit to help organizations with strong connections in off-grid communities assess local energy needs, and select and implement market-based solutions that meet those needs. The toolkit includes surveys and interview guides that an organization can use to gather information from a range of stakeholders.
- Categories
- Education, Energy, Entrepreneurship
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Study Calls on Impact Investors to Close Educational Attainment Gaps
According to a recent Global Impact Investing Network survey, impact investments in the education sector accounted for only 2 percent of global impact investing assets under management. The report further suggests that foundations can play a catalytic role in ensuring the flow of capital to educational organizations and for interventions designed to boost equitable access to higher education for underserved populations through the provision of "blended capital" (a combination of grants, "patient" or more affordable equity, and/or debt capital).
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Rural Knowledge Meets Tech Innovation: What Ultra-Poor Entrepreneurs Can Teach the World
What happens when Barefoot College, a global NGO which trains entrepreneurs in poverty-stricken rural areas, melds its expertise and values with tech innovators like Apple? It sparks the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur who has much to teach the world, says Scot Bolsinger – along with new opportunities for rural communities to share and connect in ways never before possible.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship, Technology
