Targeted marketing and innovation support
for knowledge organizations

Welcome to Targeted marketing and innovation support: for knowledge organizations. As an innovation professional, you have received this quarterly newsletter because you have either participated in a Calibre activity or you have requested information from us or from one of our associates on marketing and innovation support. Subscribers get discounts to Calibre events and regular free work tools. If you do not wish to receive our innovation alerts, please unsubscribe below.

WARM WISHES FOR A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas thoughts on social entrepreneurship!

After a challenging year, wth global political volatilty and the economic crisis dominating our attention and cramping our budgets, it can be tempting to cut back, bunker down, and wait for 'better times'. For many thoughtful people, however, difficult times give them pause to think about those who have it even tougher.

Some seasoned business owners, who know what it is to work 80 hours a week to start new businesses, have asked themselves: if you are going to work that hard, they say, if you are going to muster resources that scarce, if you are going to lose that much sleep, why wouldn't you work on businesses that make a difference?

Sometimes called social entrepreneurship, sometimes called 'Right Livelihood Businesses' after the Buddhist principles that inspire them, these are businesses that make money, but they do more than that. They focus on treating their human and other resources with respect and helping others, including the 4 billion people at the base of the global economic pyramid. 

These are not charities, they are businesses. But such businesses often work better than charities, because, instead of providing short-term fixes, they address the poverty that unlies much human suffering. A growing body of research suggests that programs, including businesses, that help build recipient self-sufficiency, ideally by taking innovations that solve societal problems into the marketplace, can be financially successful, provide longer-term benefits to recipient communities, satisfy the entrepreneur with evidence of impact, contribute to a thought leadership positioning for supporting organizations--and even contribute to regional stability.

For those interested in  'Right Livelihood Businesses'  (see Geri Larkin's useful little guide, Building a Business the Buddhist Way) and in particular in the skills and resources needed to start them, here are a few interesting models, resources and useful links: 

• Finca International  ( www.villagebanking.org ) sets up villager-managed banks in developing countries that offer microfinance loans for people who want to start small businesses. Women with children often want to start businesses; when they do, they send their kids to school; they pay back loans at levels unknown to traditional lenders (90-98%), and, they don't need much money to get started. (These banks can help families start businesses with loans of $1000 to $1500.) Finca has been rated one of the world's best philanthropic organizations for its impact and sustainability. It attracts many supporters.  If you are looking for a Christmas present, you can make a donationin any amount, and Finca will send an e-card to recognize it in honor of your chosen recipient.

• Stanford Technology Ventures Program REE (Roundtables on Entrepreneurship Education) (http://stvp.stanford.edu/) are held regularly in many parts of the world: Asia, USA, Latin America, Europe. The focus is on what makes entrepreneurship education effective.  REE also facilitates access to educational material, knowledge transfer, and mentoring to aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries.

• University of California Berkeley's  Haas Graduate School of Management Center for Responsible Business runs an annual Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC)  that gives young entrepreneurs the floor to present business plans, with the winner getting links to venture funding. The CRB also offers opportunities for companies to submit projects for student to work on that may give businesses new data and ideas to inform their CSR programs. Email Center for Responsible Business at respbus@haas.berkeley.edu for their Call for Projects.

• Thammasat Business School in Thailand has partnered with the Berkeley GSVC to host a regional business plan competion for students interested in creating businesses that will address social and economic problems and offer jobs and improved standards of living to people in Southeast Asia. Participants of the GSVC-SEA get a chance to meet and compete with sustainable business models from leading business schools in the region, and winners are invited to compete at the Global Finals at the Haas School, UC Berkeley. Edward Rubesch, one of the key organizers, has extended an invitation for students from Australia and other countries in the region to participate in the competition. Entry information for the GSVC-SEA can be found at www.gsvc-sea.org. For more information feel free to contact Ed directly at erubesch@alum.mit.edu.

Downloads, links and breaking news!

•  Free information, job tools and other resources on CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP will be available on Calibre Communications website early in the New Year.  Calibre Communications will be presenting at Thammasat University's International MBA intrapreneurship course, 13 March to 1 April 2009.  Get information about the IMBA at www.bus.tu.ac.th/imba.

• Contact tii@tii.org for information on the 2009 TII-Calibre Communications SCIENCE MARKETING CLINIC in Italy early in May 2009.

• Download Calibre's recent presentation, "TEN GREAT IDEAS FOR MARKETING INNOVATION" given at the Asia REE held in Sydney in July at: http://www.calibrecommunications.biz/news.htm  

• And please, HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS and a healthy, satisfying and successful year in 2009!