Mission to Scale – Details, episodes & analysis

For our series finale, we’ll be highlighting the stories of scale from the 2023 Skoll Awardees. Tackling health care, democracy, climate, and racial and economic equity, listen to innovators who are working on transformational solutions to global problems.

In this episode, guests featured throughout the season reveal key strategies and advice for changemakers who want to scale up their work for the benefit of communities everywhere.

If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s winners of the Skoll Awards for Social Innovation, don’t forget to visit ⁠⁠⁠skoll.wf/3ncBHmR

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This series is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hueman Group Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spring Impact⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

With the amount of carbon dioxide the Amazon rainforest absorbs, it’s often called ‘the lungs of the earth’. Its destruction will lead to a global increase in temperature, floods and droughts. And while climate change affects us all, this is even more immediately devastating for the communities that live in the forest. 

By supporting the development of small enterprises in the Brazilian Amazon, Conexsus is solving environmental destruction and helping the livelihood of these communities. Today, Co-founder Carina Pimenta and Interim Executive Director Marco van der Ree reveal how Conexsus is using bioeconomy to help preserve our forests. 

To learn more about Conexsus visit conexsus.org

To learn more about Conexsus’ Skoll Award for Social Innovation visit https://skoll.wf/3Z8lfBe

If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s winners of the Skoll Awards for Social Innovation, don’t forget to visit ⁠⁠skoll.wf/3ncBHmR\⁠⁠

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This series is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hueman Group Media⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spring Impact⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this first episode of our special series with Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), we speak with Arne Duncan. Arne is managing partner at the anti-gun violence organization Chicago CRED and former U.S. Secretary of Education.

In our conversation, we talk about CRED’s multifaceted approach – one that involves working directly with the communities and people who are most likely to carry a gun or get shot. Arne also shares the research showing CRED’s potential to significantly reduce gun violence in Chicago by 80 percent and his vision for their program to be adapted in many urban places across the country.

If you want to learn more about Chicago CRED visit chicagocred.org

Read the article written by Arne Duncan titled “We Know How to Prevent Gun Violence, Now We Need to Scale It” here.

Purchase a print or digital subscription to the magazine here.

This series is a partnership between Spring Impact and SSIR and produced by Hueman Group Media

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The use of sales tactics is often seen as an antagonist of social impact, when in fact it can be an ally. This is why today, in our last episode of the season, we are uncovering how social entrepreneurs can become effective sales leaders. Our guest is Scott Roy, CEO and Co-Founder of the sales consulting firm Whitten & Roy Partnership

In our conversation, Scott explains what ‘decision intelligence selling’ is. He tells us how to become better at selling and managing a sales team, as well as how one can use sales tactics when fundraising. On the show, Scott also explains why becoming good at selling might be what enables your organization to scale and have a greater impact.

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Receiving financial support is probably the biggest hurdle faced by organizations looking to scale. But finding the right investor to back your company financially might be the key to scaling impact.

In today’s episode, we are exploring the potential of social impact investment in achieving scale. Our guest is Andre Bennin, Managing Partner at Rethink Education, an impact investment firm focused on backing education technology companies. In our conversation, Andre shares how he balances financial returns and social impact when deciding whether to invest in a company. We also talk about the differences between funding nonprofits and social enterprises, and discuss why social enterprises tend to scale quicker.

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Social impact bonds are a complex concept. But this episode tries to break it down and shares a success story. The key to social impact bonds is that the service providers only get paid if the project goes well — an incentive for excellent delivery.

Lerato Lehoko is the former managing director of Bonds4Jobs, a financial intermediary that implemented the first social impact bond in South Africa. In this episode Lerato explains how the private investment group Yellowwoods and the nonprofit Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator successfully set up the Inclusive Youth Employment Bond. We talk about how this bond is helping inclusive youth employment in South Africa and about the potential of social impact bonds more generally.

Listen to Ann Mei Chang’s episode here

Listen to Nicola Galombik’s episode here

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Measuring outcomes is an essential part of scaling impact. Without knowing how effective their programs are, organizations can’t make informed decisions, secure funding, or meet the expectations of investors. Yet, traditional models of measuring in the social sector often fail to listen to the very people they are trying to serve. Today’s guest is trying to change that.

Tom Adams is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at 60 Decibels, a tech enabled impact measurement company. Today Tom tells us how his experience at Acumen led him to found 60 Decibels and how this company is flipping the script on impact measurement. We talk about how traditional ways of measuring can hinder scaling and fail to listen to their beneficiaries. On the show, Tom also shares how a new way of measuring impact can enable quicker and more effective scaling.

Listen to Ann Mei Chang’s episode here

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The investment management industry has the power to direct large amounts of capital into companies creating change. Yet, many social entrepreneurs are not familiar with this sector.

Today’s guest is Darren Johnson, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Executive Committee at Impax Asset Management.

In this episode, Darren speaks of his experience as a minority in a sector where only about 1 percent of asset managers are Black. Darren also shares how social enterprises can benefit from engaging with asset management organizations, and provides his advice for leaders looking to scale.

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Applying research based evidence into programs is not always straightforward. There’s often a disconnect between what we know from research and our ability to successfully apply that knowledge into practice. The job of Implementation scientists is to study the factors contributing to this gap.

Today’s guest is Alison Metz, a Professor and Director of Implementation Practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In this episode we talk about the field of implementation science –how it is broadening its scope in some ways while remaining reductionist in others. Allison explains why she thinks that successful implementation should pay more attention to context and relationships. On the show, she also shares her advice to those wishing to use implementation science to achieve greater results.

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Earlier this year I stepped down as CEO of Spring Impact –the organization I founded over a decade ago. I decided to pass the baton to Mohamed Osman, and honestly, I couldn’t have thought of a better person to take over. Today, you will understand why.

Mohamed has dedicated his life to scaling impact, from finding a solution for the lack of water access in his hometown in Kenya, to making enormous contributions to HIV treatment and prevention at the Elton John AIDS foundation. In this episode Mohamed shares the knowledge gained throughout his career and his vision as the new CEO of Spring Impact.

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