Entrepreneurs are often seen as engines of growth (i.e., they harness opportunities and innovation to fuel economic advancement). Social entrepreneurs, like their business counterparts, are similarly focused; they tap into vast reserves of ambition, creativity, and resourcefulness to solve large, intractable problems. [i] Social entrepreneurs pioneer innovative, effective, and sustainable approaches to meet the needs…
Entrepreneurial activity is often supported by political leaders believing in free markets, championed by social groups, reinforced by infrastructure at universities, embraced by venture capitalists, and is integrated into local, state, and federal governments. The term “entrepreneur” could refer to anyone who starts a business; however, in this blog post, I prefer to use a…
This post outlines three keys to entrepreneurial success: finding opportunities, conducting feasibility studies, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Finding Opportunities [i] An important first consideration is where aspiring entrepreneurs find opportunities – what one author calls “finding fertile ground.” Certain knowledge conditions are favorable for start-up businesses. For example, when knowledge is not complex, entrepreneurs can…
A blockchain is a digital, public ledger of transactions that are recorded publicly. A blockchain is constantly growing as ‘completed’ blocks are added to it with new sets of recordings. The blocks are added to the blockchain in a linear, chronological order. The blockchain is the underlying ledger system in digital currencies such as bitcoin….
CSR (also known as corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, or building a sustainable corporation) reflects a company’s policies and procedures that respond to the social needs of various stakeholders. The term has become a new corporate disclosure and is showing up in stock indexes, internal and external reports, and community actions. Companies want to tell…
What are you reading these days? People obviously read for a variety of reasons and their choices tend to marry their intent for the reading. Pleasure, informational, even social affiliation often work as motives. Below are a handful of recommendations addressing the tremendous challenges we face in our communities. These fiction and nonfiction recommendations are…
This blog post provides insight on SP3’s approach to improving upward mobility in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. Upward mobility refers to an intergenerational movement from one social level to a higher one and all the related benefits a group of people gain from this upward movement. In 2013, a Harvard University/UC Berkeley study found that Charlotte-Mecklenburg ranked…
Cattle get a bad rap when it comes to environmental and health outcomes. They are blamed for consuming lots of water (some say as high as 2500 gallons of water for one pound of beef), for being unhealthy, for contributing to global climate change through their bovine burps, flatulence and even bad breadth, and their…
by Dr. Krista Singleton-Cambage, Founder and CEO, Sustainability Connections This week the annual climate change gathering kicks off, with delegates from around the world descending on Bonn, Germany. The rotating host country this year is Fiji and, in an interesting partnership, they are bringing the Pacific to Europe to hold the meeting near the UN…
This is a summary of the last several weeks’ blog posts dedicated to getting people to care, act, and adapt to human-caused conditions of climate change. Imagine owning property on the North Carolina coast and knowing it will be underwater in 15 years. Insurance companies will not insure the property as current projections show that…
