Publications

April 2007 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade: An Agenda for Fighting World Poverty (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Eric D. Werker and Renee Kim

At the 2005 Group of Eight summit, world leaders agreed to relieve the world's poorest countries' debt burdens and double aid to Africa by 2010. The announcement raised questions whether debt relief would really help the poor. By examining past aid trends and policies... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; International Relations; Nonprofit Organizations; Poverty; Welfare; Africa

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

Innovation happens fast and slowly. The GPS applications so prevalent today to guide us from Point A to Point B took their first baby steps nearly three decades ago when President Ronald Reagan encouraged the release of military GPS signals free of charge. Will a key... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

2006
Chapter

Interorganizational Cooperation between Not-for-profit Organizations: A Relational Analysis

By: Julie Battilana and Metin Sengul

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Cooperation; Mathematical Methods

Find at Harvard

17 Feb 2015
HBS Case

HBS Cases: The Battle for San Francisco

online than with the community outside their door. Companies often limit their community engagement to contributions to nonprofits or organizing volunteer opportunities. "Traditionally, the way these companies engage is through a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

May 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Together for Sustainability

By: Ranjay Gulati, David Shin and Emily Tedards

This case documents the origin and development of Together for Sustainability (TfS), a chemical industry initiative dedicated to raising sustainability standards throughout the industry’s supply chains. In 2011, six Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) from some of the... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Accountability; Chemical Industry

June 2006 (Revised July 2009)
Case

MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Michael E. Porter and Spencer Wallace

Set in 2004, as Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) President Tom Sommer contemplates the future direction of a successful medical device cluster association. Focuses on the formation of cluster organizations and their roles and effectiveness,... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Industry Clusters; Nonprofit Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Cooperation; Massachusetts

December 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Montana Land Reliance

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Thomas Patterson

The Montana Land Reliance is a small not-for-profit organization in the business of creating conservation easements on private lands in Montana. The easements preserve the scenic character and recreational value of the lands by precluding subdivision and other forms of... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Business or Company Management; Natural Environment; Nonprofit Organizations; Property; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Montana

Find at Harvard

01 Jun 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Social Reporting

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered: What's the best way to report nonfinancial metrics? How can nonprofit... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

20 Mar 2000
Research & Ideas

No Place Like Home: America’s Housing Crisis and Its Impact on Business

CEO of the Enterprise Foundation, a nationwide housing and community development nonprofit organization. Harvey explains that exorbitant housing costs encourage young, professional workers to look elsewhere for jobs, threatening the... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

14 Dec 1999
Research & Ideas

From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as a Beta Site for Business Innovation

to government and nonprofit agencies. Businesses have little involvement in how these donations are used. In fact, this model actively discourages companies from taking an interest in results. Companies receive their benefits up-front... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

March 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad—a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of... View Details

Keywords: Managing Diverse Teams; Leadership Transitions; Global Innovation; Music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition

July 2010 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Public Architecture

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason

Public Architecture is a non-profit architecture company dedicated to creating social and professional change through design for the public good. Public has focused on three strategies to create change: 1) promoting the design community's commitment to pro bono work,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Integration

October 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Appalachian Mountain Club: Transforming Governance

By: Walter J. Salmon and Jaan Elias

Starting in 1988, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) began a controversial transformation in management and governance. For its first 112 years, the AMC's structure had resembled that of a country club--volunteer leaders directed the club's operations and its small,... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Transformation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Labor and Management Relations; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 9, 2016
Article

How a 10-Year-Old Boy Gave 13,000 Young Adults the Chance to Get Ahead

By: Gerald Chertavian

Keywords: Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Competency and Skills; Income

Read Now

August 2011 (Revised November 2015)
Case

CFW Clinics in Kenya: To Profit or Not for Profit

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

Ten years after having launched a chain of non-profit health clinics, its founder is now debating the merits of scaling the operation by converting to a for-profit enterprise. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Model; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Transformation; For-Profit Firms; Health Industry; Kenya

23 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Medical Debt Won't Make Everyone Happier

15 state or local governments had passed programs to pay for about $8 billion in medical relief. Five more are considering moves that would bring the total to almost $13 billion. Many work with a nonprofit called Undue Medical Debt... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

January 2022
Case

VidyaGyan: Bridging the Rural Urban Divide

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Rachna Chawla, Kairavi Dey and Anjali Raina

Set up in 2008, VidyaGyan was a residential school for children in grades 6-12 from low-income rural families in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It was the brainchild of Shiv Nadar and Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, who recognized the enormous potential hidden... View Details

Keywords: Non-profit; Education; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Wealth and Poverty; Demographics; Equality and Inequality; Performance Evaluation; Opportunities; Education Industry; South Asia; India

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (D): Emergency Medicine After September 11

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

The all-risks-ready emergency room prototype project becomes widely accepted as a need after September 11, 2001. The already operational medical informatics system, Insight, comes under heavy demand after its strong performance during crises and is noticed by various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Technological Innovation; Higher Education; Performance Productivity; Health Industry; District of Columbia