We all have a story. Whether that is growing up in rural farmland or hearing the unending deluge of car horns in the high-rises of a major city, people are hooked by the captivating and unique details of where you come from.

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Our social sector has reached a critical juncture in its ability to address society’s most pressing needs. Economic crises, natural disasters, declines in philanthropic support, and a variety of societal factors have created an untenable situation for many nonprofit organizations. Faced with increasing demand for their services, these organizations are often unable to scale their programs and services to further their missions and broaden their impact. Despite the continuous growth in the number of organizations and service providers, the sector is still unable to build capacity, acquire the necessary resources, and achieve the outcomes needed to truly provide societal benefit.

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Social media can be loosely defined as ‘a group of internet based applications which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organizations, communities, and individuals.' Over the last several years, social media has become a powerful source of news updates through different sources, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and many more. Whether personal or business, there are different platforms for all types of interests.

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Social Innovations through the Public Sector: University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government Awards Public Policy Challenge to New York University for development of a mobile app providing timely student attendance information to support teachers and empower caregivers to assure all children are present in school.

One of the biggest opportunities for community and social impact is through innovations in the public sector, and understanding how to move policymakers and stakeholders to make them happen. On Sunday April 22, 2012 at the National Constitution Center, five student teams competed to win $15,000 to support their proposed public sector innovation through a national invitational competition organized by the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government. The competition was held as part of the school’s celebration of its 75th anniversary. The five finalists, who had competed locally to advance to the final round in Philadelphia, presented useful and scalable ideas to save local government funding and address a social or environmental issue facing their local communities. All proposals included a thoughtful analysis of how to address policy issues and barriers to implementation. The Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal was a proud supporter of the Public Policy Challenge along with WHYY, the National Constitution Center, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, GOVERNING Magazine, Dr. G. Geoffrey & Mrs. Loredana Cromarty, and sponsor organizations Deloitte Consulting and Knight Foundation.

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In 1997, the U.S. unemployment rate had fallen to a 27 year low of 4.9% and McKinsey’s coined term of “War for Talent” described the challenges that organizations were expected to have over the next 20 years  with attracting and retaining staff. Fast forward to 2010’s global unemployment situation and many wonder if the “War for Talent” is still relevant.

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I am in Washington, DC this weekend for the annual American College of Nurse Practitioners policy conference. As you might guess, health care reform is a big part of the agenda. Many are disappointed that reform has not yet been achieved, and are unsure what the next steps are going to be. We heard a troubling statistic about how many Americans are forced to declare personal bankruptcy as a result of health care related costs. That and any number of other stats should be enough to encourage any of us to put aside our political disagreements and come to together to make something happen. I don't think anyone (or at least no one that I know) would contend that the legislation that was working its way through Congress was a perfect solution. But what is troubling is the extent to which its demise appears to be a function of politics more than true philosophical concern for its potential impact. For instance, consider that the individual mandate was actually originally, in the early 90s, a creation of the Republican party (). However, once the Democratic party adopted it as a cause, the Republicans rather suddenly and completely opposed it. And both sides are guilty of such partisanship. It's very discouraging, even for a dedicated policy wonk. It's one thing to disagree based on actual principles. It's another entirely to disagree just because your party affiliation dictate that you do so.

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Toyota has long been the gold standard among business world thought-leaders for how it has managed to exemplify a seemingly impossible collection of achievements: optimal efficiency, optimal quality, and optimal profit. As it turns out, Toyota's seemingly impossible success may be turning out to have been actually impossible. Without commenting too deeply on the issue, because I don't know enough about it to come to any reasonable conclusions, it appears as though something in their famously regimented production and control systems fell by the wayside. With Toyota's image terribly tarnished for years and years to come, what companies do you think might take up the place at head of the line for quality and accomplishment? What do you think are the likely lessons to be learned from this experience?

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Did you ever watch those science fiction movies where someone goes through a black hole ending up in an alternative universe where everything is reversed? That’s a little bit how I felt when I woke this morning and found out that a republican had won Ted Kennedy’s senate seat in Massachusetts. My initial reaction was one of shock and awl. Why?... How could this happen?... Massachusetts hasn’t had a republican senate since 1979 and the last time a republican held this particular seat was 1953. It’s a bit like the New York Yankees loosing to my brother’s old tee ball team.

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I don't know if this strictly falls within the framework of "disruptive innovation," but I have been struck by all of the news accounts about the volume of charitable giving via text message since the earthquake in Haiti. At least one report I've listened to on NPR has referred to this trend as a "game changer" in how individual people can participate in charity.  This is a great example of how technology can be leveraged and applied in innovative ways to simplify and enhance a practice that is as old as time.  One of the stories I heard last night noted that text-based donations are a huge boon to smaller organizations, which may lack the infrastructure to engage in broad online, telephone or direct mail charitable drives the way their larger counterparts are able to.

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I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the Forum on the Future of Nursing: Community Health, Public Health, Primary Care, and Long-Term Care, which was hosted by the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of a series those organizations are conducting. Following the conclusion of the series, a committee convened by the IOM will issue a report on elements such as:

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