In the Spring 2019 Stanford Social Innovation Review, you’ll find two articles written by three thought leaders who see promise in StriveTogether and our Cradle to Career Network.
Jim Shelton, the former head of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s education division and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, encourages investors to place “big bets” on “population-level” change. He cites the work of economists Raj Chetty, Emanuel Saez and others whose data show that despite significant investment “the place where someone grows up and the color of one’s skin” affect economic mobility. He argues that place-based progress demands systemic and comprehensive solutions. He then points to StriveTogether for “providing the infrastructure” to learn and scale practices.
I hope investors will heed Shelton’s advice and place big bets on population-level changes that have the biggest potential impact for every child and community member.
In the same issue, Tara Dawson McGuinness and Anne-Marie Slaughter write about public problem solving. McGuinness is a senior fellow at New America and teaches public problem solving at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Slaughter is the CEO of New America and the former dean of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
McGuinness and Slaughter focus on the need to eliminate social and economic challenges, rather than just managing symptoms of these problems. They lift up different approaches that have four common elements:
- People-centered
- Experimental
- Data-enabled
- Designed to scale
While these concepts aren’t new, the authors share how these four elements are being combined by innovators to change how problems are identified and solved. This work “reflects a bigger movement” involving public, civic and philanthropic problem solvers. McGuinness and Slaughter go on to describe social entrepreneurs and different pathways to spreading successful strategies. They write, “StriveTogether, a network that builds communities’ capacity to tackle outcomes for children from cradle to career, has demonstrated real impact.”
It’s great to see our work highlighted so positively by nationally renowned thought leaders. This recognition reaffirms that we are on the right track in creating real change that will ensure every child has every chance to succeed.
I encourage you to share these stories with your networks and supporters. By partnering with StriveTogether’s Cradle to Career Network, investors are placing a big bet on problem solvers showing real impact.
