Last night the First Lady discussed the Social Innovation Fund at the Time 100 Most Influential People Awards; we asked Michele Jolin, Senior Advisor for Social Innovation for the Domestic Policy Council, to tell us about it:
Yesterday, the President announced
that he would ask Congress in the FY2010 budget to provide $50 million
in seed capital for his Social Innovation Fund, fulfilling a campaign
pledge. The Fund will identify the most promising, results-oriented
non-profit programs and expand their reach throughout the country.
This is a dramatically different way
for the government to do business – and it reflects the President’s new
governing approach -- finding and scaling the best social innovations;
partnering with those who are leading change in their communities; and
creating a policy environment for all these innovations to thrive.
President Obama has said that this is
an "all-hands-on-deck" moment and that government cannot solve our
nation’s problems alone. He has said that it is critical to partner
with citizens, nonprofits, social entrepreneurs, foundations and
corporations to make progress on our nation’s great challenges.
The President has also talked about finding new solutions to old
problems, and this is where the social innovation can play a unique
role.
The First Lady also talked more broadly about the need help nurture a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs who will direct their skills and energy toward solving their community’s – and our nation’s – most serious social problems:
As the First Lady said in her remarks on Tuesday to the TIME 100 Most Influential people:
The idea is simple: to find the
most effective programs out there and then provide the capital needed
to replicate their success in communities around the country that are
facing similar challenges. By focusing on high-impact, result-oriented
non-profits, we will ensure that government dollars are spent in a way
that is effective, accountable and worthy of the public trust.
The First Lady also talked more broadly about the need help nurture a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs who will direct their skills and energy toward solving their community’s – and our nation’s – most serious social problems:
Careers focused on lifting up
our communities – whether helping transform troubled schools or
training workers for green jobs or helping low-income families access
health care – are not always obvious. But, at a time when our nation is
facing unprecedented challenges, encouraging careers in public service
and social innovation are more important than ever.
The First Lady highlighted the work of a couple of young, new social entrepreneurs. One example was Rebecca Onie, a creative young woman who founded "Project Health"
to help break the link between poverty and poor health. Rebecca
organizes college students to staff Help Desks in urban medical
centers, universities and community centers. Students then connect
low-income families to other critical community and government
resources – such as housing vouchers, supplemental nutrition
assistance, and educational support.
This is just one example of the kind
of social innovation and entrepreneurship that the Obama Administration
wants to encourage and replicate in communities across the country.
The Social Innovation Fund will help do that.
We recognize that there is no ready and available source of growth
capital for programs and ideas that have demonstrated they work and are
ready to spread. This gap in the social capital markets is a good
niche for government action. The Social Innovation Fund will build a
"pipeline" of programs that have demonstrated results and are ready to
spread across the country to meet community needs. Now, more than ever,
we need to invest in programs that work and find innovative, effective
solutions to our nation’s most serious challenges.
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