April, 2011

By Luke Sossi, Enterprise Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic States District, Microsoft Corporation

Although our office in Pittsburgh is relatively small, we strive to think of ways our team can have a bigger impact in the community with our technology. On April 12^th, a team of Pittsburgh Microsoft employees had the privilege to visit the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to donate and install Xbox units in each of the 24 rooms that make up the Adolescent Medicine Ward and a Kinect unit in the ward’s lounge.

This initiative came about in early 2010 when I came home from work to meet my wife of 24 years. She told me that she was reading about a local blogger’s effort in obtaining “gaming devices” for the Transplant Ward of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She looked at me and said “What are you going to do about this?”

The next day, I put the call out to the local Microsoft team members to see if they would be willing to join me in this effort. Over the next 60 days, we teamed up with the blogger, Virginia Montanez and the Mario Lemieux Foundation (MLF) and created an initiative officially called “Make Room for Kids.” I was so thrilled that the Microsoft Pittsburgh employees completely embraced this idea and through Microsoft’s employee Give Program, we were able to donate 24 Xbox consoles which were installed in every room of the transplant ward. You can get an idea of the impact that the team made last year by watching this video. As a result of these initial efforts, Make Room for Kids became an official program under the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

Since the local team was so moved by the effort, I began to work with the Mario Lemieux Foundation to determine how we could achieve something even bigger in 2011. Working with Virginia and MLF, we created a video that highlighted our new ambition which was to furnish Xbox units to the Adolescent Medicine Ward of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The kids in this ward are what the hospital calls their “frequent flyers” -- many of them have conditions that require them to frequently come back to the hospital. The video from the Transplant Ward donation was shown at the Microsoft Mid-Atlantic States District meeting in September 2010 right before the kickoff of the company’s Giving Campaign. I was shocked and humbled with the response that we received from the district; we received more than $7,500 through employee donations and Microsoft matching. With this money, we were able to outfit every room on the Adolescent Medicine Ward with an Xbox which were installed on April 12.

After the install was finished, I had the opportunity to visit the Epileptic Ward at the hospital where the medical staff is considering using gaming devices to stimulate brain activity in patients. It was such an incredible moment to see those young patients and I’m happy to announce that because there was money left over from the install, we will be able to return to this unit in the next couple of months to outfit it with Xbox consoles as well.

Microsoft is really dedicated to helping local communities, and I am so thankful that I work for a company which can make donations like this possible. Furthermore, I am so appreciative of all the wonderful employees that really embraced this initiative and are passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.

On May 2^nd as part of MIT's 150 year anniversary celebrations I will be speaking to students who have entered the MIT IDEAS Competition and Global Challenge - which support innovation and entrepreneurship as a public service.    This year more than 80 teams have entered ideas that address barriers to well-being in communities in 24 countries.  Forty six of them have qualified to enter final proposals. What is unique about this is that the competition is sparking collaboration among students at MIT and the worldwide MIT alumni network as well as communities around the world.  You too can join the effort and support the next crop of innovators by casting your votes for teams through April 25^th at globalchallenge.mit.edu.  Opening up the participation to the larger community is interesting and an innovative way for a university to engage a much larger audience.  Over the last decade we've seen more and more universities and companies launching competitions to develop 'ideas' to solve some of the most intractable social problems  that we face.

So do we really think that a team of undergraduate or graduate students can develop a solution to the environmental crisis in the Niger River delta? Can mobile phones transform how teachers engage with a classroom of students?  Is there a way to capture and store enough rainfall to help Indian communities avert acute water shortages?  The answer is that solutions are being developed but what is not yet clear is how far these ideas can be taken for scalable impact.

Over the last ten years IDEAS - which stands for Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Action, and Service - has made more than $260,000 in implementation awards to 64 teams working in 29 countries. Of these, nearly half are still moving forward - at least 3 have incorporated as for-profit ventures, 5 as non-profits, and no less than 8 resulted in technology transfer programs. The remaining 14 or so are too nascent to say. Some of these - like the Kanchan Water Filter project - are achieving impressive results: by 2010 the project had distributed 24,000 units to Nepalese households, representing 200,000 people who now have access to safe drinking water.  To achieve these kinds of outcomes, teams have used their implementation awards to leverage more than $4.2 million in follow-on funding from sources such as the World Bank, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Clinton Global Initiative University. You too can join the effort and support the next crop of innovators by casting your votes for teams through April 25^th at globalchallenge.mit.edu.

At about the time IDEAS was getting off the ground in 2002, I started the Social Enterprise Laboratory where we invited social entrepreneurs from around the world to submit their ideas and then selected 10-15 per year and matched them with student teams from leading universities such as MIT, Harvard, Kellogg, Thunderbird, Berkeley and University of Washington to help them with their business plan.  These business plans were then evaluated by our Board as well as a number of business leaders for investment.  Since then student competitions on college campuses have exploded and we are seeing some interesting results that are leading to innovative businesses.

Microsoft launched the Imagine Cup nine years ago to encourage students from around the world to use technology to address societal problems and for the last several years the focus has been on the Millennium Development Goals.  Over 350,000 students from around the world participated in this year's competition with the worldwide finals taking place in New York City in mid-July I had the great pleasure of meeting the US finalists on April 10^th and learning about their projects and sharing with them some of my thoughts on how they can ensure their ideas have real-world impact. 

What is of great interest to me is how these innovations are happening outside of the confines of major corporate research labs and represent collaborations with a myriad of resources including nonprofits to go from the idea phase to scalable impact.  The GINA system, the winning application at the Czech finals of the Imagine Cup this year, is one such example. GINA is an interactive map for mobile devices that permits navigation in difficult terrains, team coordination, and effective exchange of geographic information.  Affected areas are indicated in a map that is updated every minute in real time and provides all the teams with the instant access to the latest information. Healthcare teams working directly in the field are able to view the map with the latest data on the mobile devices and increase their efficiency in saving human lives. GINA has helped rescue teams in Haiti track the progress of the cholera epidemic and is being used in Japan for search and rescue efforts right now.

Today's students are at the helm of generating new ideas to solve intractable social problems - and it's clear that, not even out of school in some cases, they are sparking change. This innovation is taking place through student competitions such as IDEAS and the MIT Global Challenge and it's exciting to watch - I call this the generation that has the courage to be creative for social change and the drive to work toward results.    

Guest Post by Chelsea Badeau, Executive Producer
Xfinity.com, Comcast Interactive Media

I’ve been lucky. Real lucky. I grew up in a middle-class home and always had access to technology. While I may not have had the latest computer or top-of-the line equipment, I always had access and that is what is most important. Most people know that low-income youth in America face a myriad of issues, including lack of nutritious food options, fewer educational opportunities and exposure to violence and drugs. But, in an age when so many of us are literally “connected” 24/7, it may seem surreal that 23% of U.S. kids don’t have access to the Internet and more than 8 million don’t have regular access to a computer. Unfortunately, these statistics are real and that is why Comcast is so invested in helping increase digital literacy and access to technology.

As the Executive Producer of Comcast’s online customer portal (Xfinity.com), I see just how important digital literacy is to our economy and the future of our children. Employers expect job applicants to be digitally competent and without these skills, young people will have limited employment options.

On Monday, April 11, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) kicked off their “Faces of the Future” campaign to get the word out about the technology access issue and raise money for Club Tech, a program designed to bring technology access and skills training to children across the United States. Currently, nearly one million kids and teens participate in the Club Tech program every year at more than 3,600 Boys & Girls Clubs around the world. In 2009, more than 800,000 young people were served through the Club Tech programs and resources. 

Last year, Comcast joined Microsoft as a national sponsor of the Club Tech program, and over the four years ending in 2013 will provide approximately $50 million of financial and in-kind support to BGCA and local Clubs across the country. In 2010, Comcast provided $1.4 million to 90 local Clubs, in addition to $18.5 million of in-kind support in the form of PSA airtime and donated products. In addition to supporting BGCA’s Club Tech program, Comcast has donated computers to create labs in many of the clubs and has also provided key grants and financial support to other BGCA clubs and events.

When I joined the corporate board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia (BGCP) in 2008, I didn’t initially realize the depth of this technology gap. This past week, I was able to see firsthand the difference technology can make in the lives of children. On April 13^th, Microsoft Corp, Comcast and BGCP hosted a grand opening of Philadelphia’s first Club Tech Center of Excellence at the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club. The children’s faces were animated with excitement and joy at the sight of their new computer lab. This center combined with the Club Tech program will open many doors for these children.

“We are thrilled to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the launch of their Club Tech Center of Excellence right in our backyard in Philadelphia," said Charisse Lillie, Vice President of Community Investment for Comcast Corporation and Executive Vice President of the Comcast Foundation. "The Center’s leading edge technology will provide our local youth with access to the resources they need to build their digital literacy skills and put them on track to have a bright and successful future.”

Through this Center of Excellence, Boys & Girls Club members will have access to the latest Microsoft technology, including Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010, and cutting-edge hardware. The Club Tech program offers a curriculum that includes Microsoft software training and experience with Web design tenets, graphic design techniques, robotics, animation and digital film editing and digital music composition through the Digital Arts Suite. The program is designed to create a long-term development plan for Club members. All resources and programs are also made available through www.myclubmylife.com, BGCA’s website for teens. To learn more about BGCA’s digital literacy program, visit www.bgca.org/clubtech.

“Technology is a priority area of our current comprehensive fundraising campaign, Be Great, Philadelphia! The donation of this state-of-the-art Technology Center not only helps us to reach our campaign goals, but offers our members an extraordinary experience to develop the skills they need to succeed in life and helps inspire them to reach their full potential to be great,” said Jeffrey Waldron, President & CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. “Microsoft and Comcast have been great partners to our organization and we are truly appreciative of their support and generosity.”

Local Boys & Girls Clubs also frequently serve as hosts for the Comcast Digital Connectors program and as partners in Comcast Cares Day, Comcast’s annual nation-wide day of community service.

The more awareness we can all generate about the importance of providing technology and digital literacy training to our youth, the better chance all of our kids will have in life. For every 10 ‘likes’ the Boys & Girls Clubs of America gets on Facebook between now and April 22, a Club Member receives Microsoft Office 2010. Visit facesofthefuture.org to learn more. Let’s take luck out of the equation and make sure all of our children have access to technology!

Additional information about Comcast’s partnership with BGCA and commitment to digital literacy is available at:

http://www.bgca.org/meetourpartners/Pages/Comcast.aspx

http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/About/InTheCommunity/Literacy/digital-literacy.html

http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/About/InTheCommunity/Literacy/bgamerica.html

If you were to bing social entrepreneurship what would you find?

The first result gives you a definition from Wikipedia "a social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change" while the second result is a PBS feature on social entrepreneurs called "The New Heroes".

So what do you think of when you hear the word "Hero"? A police officer?  A fireman?? Maybe Superman or Superwoman? How about former Seattle Sonic and current Boston Celtics star guard, Ray Allen, who sank a 3 pointer - and the hopes of Knick Fans- two nights ago to win game 1 in the NBA playoffs?

Last week I caught a glimpse of a new type of hero in the making, as students from all around the United States showcased their ideas at the US Finals for the Imagine Cup.  No one was wearing bright colored suits, no logos, nor 50,000 screaming fans, and no one looked as if they could leap tall buildings in a single bound, but potential heroes nonetheless.

 "Team Lifecode" consisted of students from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. A friendly young woman named Melissa greeted me and introduced the team's project "Procur", an intelligent humanitarian supply chain of the future.

Team LifeCode couldn't have picked a more relevant topic to innovate around given the number of catastrophic disasters over the past few years with the earthquake in Haiti, and most recently the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Procur uses a Windows Azure cloud based system to host a web-based and and mobile (Windows Phone 7) application.  Bing Maps is used to create an easy means for users to donate and track their donation to relief efforts for a natural disaster:

Team LifeCode was one of many who recognized a social problem and used entrepreneurial principles to seek social change, bringing the definition of Social Entrepreneurship to life. Where people like Ray Allen can represent heroism to sports fans and community advocates like myself, I can't help but be drawn to a new generation of heroism who puts imagination into action in hopes to make a change.

What do you think? Will we find our next heroes from the ranks of our budding social entrepreneurs? Let us know your thoughts on the comments below, or contact us on Facebook or Twitter.

Change is inevitable in the world in which we live. Major disruptions are taking place economically, politically, socially, and technologically. While at times disturbing, these disruptions can spur the creative process and create opportunities to reimagine what we can do for the good of society as individuals, as organizations, and as communities. 

I recently heard Malcolm Gladwell challenging the notion that the recent Middle East uprising are a Twitter and Facebook revolution.  He instead pointed out that the Iron Wall came down during a time when most people in what was then East Germany had no access to information yet over a million people were mobilized many more then showed up in Tharir Square.  Yet on the other hand we also know that how we consume and contribute to information flow has fundamentally changed. 

What is common among the recent events in the Middle East is that they are leaderless uprisings with no visible leader in the mold of a Gandhi or King. 

Why is that the case, what has changed?  I would posit that the changes in how we consume and contribute information is at the center of these changes.  We are no longer at the end of the information flow pipe as consumers of information rather we are at the center of information flow.  We are both creators and consumers of information and actively adding to the body of knowledge.  This I believe is a fundamental reimagining of the world and the opportunity it opens up for those of us in the development space is  exciting.

These disruptions also prompt penetrating questions: For example, who are the experts? Are they the ones we have traditionally thought of as having expertise, or are they the people living in villages who, through the use of mobile technology, can provide data and information needed to diagnose health problems or make payments on microfinance loans in real time?  What is the role of experts and specialists when technology is making critical services more affordable and accessible? 

What are the new appropriate models of partnerships? As nontraditional approaches are becoming more pervasive, we see increased collaboration among large companies and nonprofits that often leads to unexpected positive outcomes. While many organizations are struggling, the ones that are creating greater value through collaboration-NetHope, for example-are seeing their membership grow.

Today nonprofits are increasingly thinking of businesses as essential partners in scaling up their impact and in achieving sustainability. Social entrepreneurs are realizing that not all breakthroughs will be exploited effectively by large corporations and that some early stage adoptions and innovations will come from them. Further, governments will have to be mindful about the timing and extent of policies that will be needed to help with these innovations that are taking place outside of the norms.

These disruptions are blurring the lines between charitable contributions, venture funding, and direct funding. Organizations can now access multiple modes of funding, and funders are increasingly being pushed to rethink their funding purposes and the outcomes they seek.

Nonprofit organizations are being forced to rethink the financial and social returns on their development investments. They can now share their research and learning more broadly, so they have the opportunity to reassess who is being served by their work. Is it the organization itself? The end recipients? The larger community? Or the entire development ecosystem?

In the same way, as services are being made more accessible institutions  have to think of themselves not as isolated islands of privileged expertise, but as vital and precious elements in an ecosystem of different organizations that contribute to their evolution as well.

We must also reimagine the role of volunteers. Volunteerism is increasingly a long-term strategic commitment and investment by an individual or group of individuals and not merely a one-way act. Organizations and their volunteers are increasingly able to form strategic relationships toward specific goals.

Finally, we must reimagine the role of technology in nonprofit work. Technology is not simply a transactional tool that allows organizations to accomplish discrete tasks more efficiently. It can be-and must be-a transformational tool that organizations view as a powerful strategic ally in the successful pursuit of their mission.