NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

After several months on hiatus, I’m glad to reprise our monthly awards for the best of the best on NextBillion for the month gone by.

I’m not sure if we should give these awards a name, ala the Oscars, the Emmys or the Dundies (for you fans of The Office). What about the NextBillies? Well, maybe not … I’m open to suggestions.

When it comes to the “most read” posts of the month, one disclaimer. Because articles posted near the end of the month do not have the advantage of time for readers to discover, I try to look at these on a proportional basis, and not just by the hard numbers. An example would be if a post has, say, three days on the site but registers in the top ten for the month. I’m also adding a few new award categories to the mix.

Most Read

Lessons from SOCAP: It’s Time to Get Serious: Why An Insular Culture is Chaining Impact Investing and How to Break It By Max Pichulik

The People Want Business with a Purpose (Will Social Intrapreneurs Deliver?): Ashoka and Accenture are looking for changemakers inside large multinationals By John Converse Townsend

The Dashboard Shift: A New Way to Present Data, Impact: Several new dashboards are blending data and storytelling in new ways By Heather Esper

Why Should Banks Reach Out to Social Entrepreneurs? : That question will be front and center at the world’s largest banking conference By: Konstanze Frischen and Felix Oldenburg

Hiring For My Startup: 4 Things I Wish I Had Done By Saba Gul

Most Commented

Lessons from SOCAP: It’s Time to Get Serious: Why An Insular Culture is Chaining Impact Investing and How to Break It By Max Pichulik

Speaking of comments, we’re always looking for more. But even if you only have time to give the article a “star,” or to give another commenter an up arrow (or even a down arrow if you disagree), I welcome it. So please comment early and often.

A Hidden Gem

Here’s a post that you might have missed, but one that I think is worth your time.

Off the Grid Solutions in Mobile, Solar Schools: Four mini case studies of business, nonprofit, CSR, models By Erin Butler

Congrats to the award winners and to all NB contributors during October!