Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast

Buildings represent an ideal opportunity for reducing energy use through clever design. In this audio lecture, Amory Lovins explores the many possibilities that building design offers us to "think outside of the box" in order to save energy. He shares numerous examples of effective design and even a few cases where smart energy design actually costs less to build, not more. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/amory_lovins_-_energy_efficient_design_for_buildings_-_part_1

The annual World Social Forum is the centerpiece of an international effort to promote globalization based on peace, sustainability, and solidarity. In this audio lecture, Founder Oded Grajew describes the early planning and growth of WSF, and explains the core ideals that led to positive change and strengthened his belief that a better world is possible. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/oded_grajew_-_another_world_is_possible

In nonprofit management, organizations should approach corporations as they would clients and offer tailored marketing operations that serve their needs. That's the advice Nancy Lee delivers in this audio lecture. Speaking to an audience of nonprofit executives during the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Lee shares the lessons from 20 years of building nonprofit-corporate partnerships that both serve corporations' objectives and enhance nonprofits' mission delivery. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/nancy_lee_-_harnessing_corporations_in_nonprofit_managment

How do we look after the global public good in a society where globalized businesses aren't subject to international control? In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen explains civil society organizations' role in creating necessary structures and rules to fill the gaps in current global governance. Suggesting cooperation between academic, business, and social actors, Eigen uses Transparency International's policies as examples in the fight against corruption and environmental abuse. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/peter_eigen_-_civil_society_in_global_governance

Addressing a huge nonprofit management challenge—boards' rampant and growing disengagement—consultant William Ryan suggests in this University podcast a new framework that will enhance efficiency in nonprofit governance. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford University, Ryan demonstrates how the "governance as leadership" approach sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board, and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/william_ryan_-_nonprofit_management_and_board_governance

Solving the world's big problems takes large-scale solutions, says Fazle H. Abed, founder of Building Resources Across Communities in Bangladesh. In this audio lecture, Abed outlines the development and market perspectives that have enabled his organization to expand and meet his country's needs in key areas, including microfinance, agriculture, and education. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/fazle_h._abed_-_thinking_big_and_scaling_up

In nonprofit management, as in business, organizations should make decisions based on facts as well as careful evaluation of their specific situation—so argues Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Pfeffer says that few organizations actually employ "evidence-based management," but that those that do trump the competition. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/jeffrey_pfeffer_-_using_evidence_in_nonprofit_management

Ashoka's founder, Bill Drayton, believes that everyone can be a changemaker. In this audio lecture, he reflects on many of the early influences that helped him understand how to advance true social progress. From these beginnings, he traces his own path in public service, and describes the founding of Ashoka, which has grown into a flourishing network of social entrepreneurs who can serve as role models for further progress in promoting social justice around the globe. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/bill_drayton_-_global_social_entrepreneur

Nonprofit management should include negotiation in its toolkit, yet few professionals are skilled at doing it. In this University podcast, Margaret Neale, Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, explores the psychological barriers to successful negotiation and suggests a disciplined process for a rewarding negotiation experience. She delivers her talk to an audience of nonprofit executives at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/margaret_neale_-_nonprofit_managment_and_negotiation

Microfinance, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, has proved to be an effective strategy for raising millions of families from poverty worldwide. Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered the microloan revolution in Bangladesh, explains in this audio lecture how he saw rural poor and women struggle against deeply institutionalized economic systems, and realized the massive change that small loans could provide. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/dr_muhammad_yunus_-_reaching_the_full_potential_of_microfinance

As a leading thinker on corporate social responsibility, Oded Grajew is challenging businesses, consumers, and governments to join in acting ethically towards a sustainable social good. With early roots in the Brazilian toy business, Grajew now heads the Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility. In this audio lecture, he shows that business can be a powerful force for positive change and shares methods of enlisting everyone's help to build a sustainable society. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/oded_grajew_-_beyond_corporate_social_responsibility

Social Accountability International President Alice Tepper Marlin has been leading the push to create a credible, comprehensive, and efficient verification system for assuring humane workplaces around the world. In this audio lecture, she describes the strategies the Social Accountability International's SA-8000 standard has used to get global supply chain stakeholders operating on the same page when it comes to providing employees with safe, equitable, and financially beneficial working conditions. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/alice_tepper_marlin_-_setting_the_standard_for_the_global_economy

Transparency International is a global network with a mission to create a world free of corruption. In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen chronicles the experiences that led him from a directorship at the World Bank to the head of a movement to strengthen civil society by stamping out corruption. He reports on new incentives for good conduct that have made the elimination of corruption a cornerstone in the international effort to promote global equity. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/peter_eigen_-_champion_for_accountability

Muhammad Yunus started a movement that has lifted millions out of poverty. When he formed the Grameen Bank in 1983 and started giving out microloans, Yunus bridged the divide between business and social needs. In this audio lecture, he describes how he created microcredit, collateral-free lending, and began offering other business services to the poor. Yunus lays out the path to his extraordinary vision and success, which is driving global social change. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/dr._muhammad_yunus_-_banker_to_the_poor

The beginnings of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) were fraught with uncertainty. Initially surviving entirely on donations, it has since earned back two pennies for every one it has spent on welfare activities, and is today the largest, self-reliant international NGO, employing more than 97,000 people. In this audio lecture, Fazle Hasan Abed reminisces about the organization's humble beginnings and shares the organization's achievements. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/fazle_h._abed_-_innovator_for_the_poor

How can philanthropy have a greater impact on social problems? In this audio lecture, Katherine Fulton,  Monitor Institute president, envisions a new era in which philanthropy will reclaim the American dream for communities that have been left behind. In a talk sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fulton reviews how philanthropy has changed over the last 10 years, and how the public and private sectors can work together to create social change. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/katherine_fulton_-_finding_philanthropys_new_sweet_spots

Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, changes traditional principles of banking by putting poor people's needs first. Today, Grameen Bank is a powerful organization that supports poor people by providing microloans, credits, and banking services. In this audio lecture, Yunus describes the reasons behind his philosophies and how they have led to the launch of new enterprises in various industries in Bangladesh. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/muhammad_yunus_-_creating_a_poverty-free_world

If sustainability is to be woven into all human activities, tomorrow's leaders will be required to understand how their organization interacts with its environment. In this audio lecture, Stanford Graduate School Professor Bill Barnett looks at the new leadership challenges facing executives in business, government, and nonprofit organizations with an environmental purpose. Barnett now offers the first of its kind executive education leadership program designed to advance environmental responsibility across sectors. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/bill_barnett_-_preparing_environment_conscious_leaders

Based in Silicon Valley, Kiva is an innovative social enterprise that uses the internet to connect lenders with small businesses around the world. In this audio interview, Jessica Flannery talks with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman about starting the organization, and reflects on some of the reasons for its rapid growth and success. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/jessica_jackley_flannery_-_redefining_microfinance_in_the_internet_era

Environmental sustainability is an area ripe for social entrepreneurship. In this panel discussion at Stanford, industry experts discuss the challenges and opportunities for enterprising business minds in the area of climate change. They consider how new economies like China and India are tackling the problem, and whether entrepreneurs should lead with "impact" or "profitability" in pitching solution-oriented ideas to investors. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_climate_of_capital_change_-_social_entrepreneurship_and_the_environment