“We got [the ban on land-mines] to be a competition ... a campaigner would go to their government and say 'this was done here, this was done there ... what are you going to do?'”
Jody Williams
Assessing an organization's impact on a large-scale societal issue such as poverty is a complex and costly effort.
In addition, there has been little agreement on a set of hard-and-fast metrics to measure social performance. In the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake, for example, a disaster relief organization could be expected to provide data on short-term results, such as the number of people sheltered and fed.
But it would be much more difficult to measure how that organization’s emergency relief efforts play a role in its overarching, long-term mission of finding lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. Because there are so many players involved in the relief effort—governments, other nonprofits, and business—it's difficult to isolate the influence of any given organization.
May 20 - 26, 2013
Editor's Pick
These Three Charts Show How The World Could End Extreme Poverty By 2030
Washington Post
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said the world can end extreme poverty in 17 years. But do the numbers add up?
Apr 29 - May 5, 2013
Debate
Forum 2013
Skoll Original
Delivery 2.0: How Governments can Deliver Better, Faster, and Cheaper
Many outcomes require a number of government agencies to work together toward a common goal. This is notoriously difficult to pull off in a world of silos, disparate agendas, and competition for funding. Governments typically respond by setting up committees or task forces that tend to represent their own interests. Little progress is made in meetings, and even less between them. What can be done?
Apr 15 - 21, 2013
Debate
Forum 2013
Skoll Original
Delivery Lessons from China
We live in the age of the hyperefficient supply chain. Using advanced technology and worldwide logistical networks, multinational companies have perfected the art of shipping parts and finished products to all corners of the globe, quickly and profitably. So why does the social sector still suffer from a delivery problem?
Debate
Forum 2013
Skoll Original
Leading for Results
While in office I quickly learned that if my government was going to deliver, I first had to change the system of government itself. This is why I set up the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) to coordinate, manage, and monitor activity on our priorities across government.
Debate
Forum 2013
Skoll Original
Toward a Global Science of Delivery
The hallmark of delivery excellence is consistency. Companies achieve this through a relentless focus on the details of execution, along with a capacity to adapt as conditions change. Development agencies need to learn from the seriousness with which the most successful private companies have tackled delivery.
Debate
Forum 2013
Skoll Original
Delivery as a Management Problem
For instance, in Ethiopia, the government collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify bottlenecks in the agriculture system, from seeds to farmers to manufacturing to market to consumers. They worked together with international-development partners and local agencies to revamp priorities and investments, leading to a revised slate of initiatives they have agreed to pursue jointly.
Apr 8 - 14, 2013
Editor's Pick
Forum 2013
Michael Green: Announcing the Social Progress Index
What is a successful country? This is an age-old problem that social scientists and economists have long grappled with, even long before Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations nearly 250 years ago. In recent decades a broad consensus has emerged – within the worlds of politics and the media – that economic growth, measured as GDP, is the measure of success that really matters. But that consensus is breaking down.
What is a successful country? This is an age-old problem that social scientists and economists have long grappled with, even long before Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations nearly 250 years ago. In recent decades a broad consensus has emerged – within the worlds of politics and the media – that economic growth, measured as GDP, is the measure of success that really matters. But that consensus is breaking down.
Article
Forum 2013
Forum 2013
Social Innovation in Acceleration: Building the Social Impact Bond Ecosystem
Over the last few years we have seen the climate of fiscal austerity in state and local governments lead to the cut back or elimination of vital services – especially prevention-oriented services. The downturn in the economy reduced tax revenues, and forced government leaders to curtail vital social spending.
Article
Forum 2013
Forum 2013
Connecting the Dots for Basic Health Care: A Skoll World Forum Update
If you live in a rural community in India and someone in your family is dying, you might sell your buffalo and travel two thousand kilometers to save that person’s life. But when it comes to basic health services, unless those services are available in your village, you may never receive preventative care.
