For more than three years, the US Department of Defense (DoD) has been improving how it innovates in the face of rapid technological change. Dozens of departmental, service, and agency initiatives have emerged to address different aspects of the innovation problem.

Ridge Schuyler believed that social networks were a unique and innovative way to fight poverty through sustainable employment opportunities. This case study describes how Ridge scaled up Charlottesville Works locally around a formalized social network model that connects unemployed individuals living under the federal poverty line to promising jobs through word-of-mouth, at little cost. 

This case aims to study the growth, evolution, and social innovation of iThrive Games, a socially minded initiative that aims to create meaningful opportunities using technology for teens to enhance the knowledge, mindsets, and skills they need to thrive through development and across the continuum of mental disorder to wellness. iThrive’s focus has been on creating “meaningful games” that is, games that promote health and well-being of teen players. 

This case study gives an overview of the creation of the Pay-for-Success (PFS) Lab at the University of Virginia (UVA). It promotes discussion of how other university institutions can scale up their own research labs with a limited budget, and also introduces students to the PFS concept and the role university research institutions can play in the social impact process.

New Delhi, India’s capital city, with a population of almost twenty-two million faces a daunting challenge: Its sacred river, the Yamuna, is one of the most polluted in the world. In fact, within the city limits, the Yamuna is primarily constituted by treated and untreated sewage and other toxic effluents. The water is rendered “dead” with zero oxygen, thus posing serious health hazards to the citizens of New Delhi. Might there be a way to cleanup and revitalize the river plain using social entrepreneurial approaches?

Diogenes pioneered the use of technology to support trustees and boards in their role as fiduciaries of employee retirement funds. Typically, a multinational corporation with operations in 30-40 countries may have hundreds of pension plans, each with their own characteristics.