Laura Callanan, currently of the Institute of Business and Social Impact at Berkeley, and one of the most thoughtful and experienced folks working in the impact investing field, has crafted a great piece warning of the magical thinking that so many people use when working at the intersection of commerce and positive social change.
https://businesssocialimpact.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/social-innovation-with-our-eyes-wide-open/
We all know the shortcomings of public and corporate silos and intuitively understand that weaving together the best elements of each in the form of "innovative hybrids" like social impact bonds and impact investing is necessary to address some of the complex problems facing the world.
But I agree with Laura that we need to create structures that really work rather than just assuming that somehow magic will happen when we pull together commerce and social change.
https://businesssocialimpact.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/social-innovation-with-our-eyes-wide-open/
We all know the shortcomings of public and corporate silos and intuitively understand that weaving together the best elements of each in the form of "innovative hybrids" like social impact bonds and impact investing is necessary to address some of the complex problems facing the world.
But I agree with Laura that we need to create structures that really work rather than just assuming that somehow magic will happen when we pull together commerce and social change.