Africa: Bidhaa Sasa (Kenya) in, 198; Ebola epidemic (2015) in, 20, 56–57, 98, 145, 215; Eco‐Fuel Africa of, 112, 145; Ghana, 185; Jibu (East Africa) of, 122; Liberia, 3, 98, 145–146; M‐Kopa Solar (Kenya) of, 126; M‐Pesa (Kenya) in, 225; Mercy Corps’ PRIME program in Ethiopia, 202–203; mHealth moratorium in Uganda, 134; Off Grid Electric (Tanzania) of, 116, 118, 138–139, 207, 225, 226; Uganda, 99, 134; UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) work in, 225–226; Zipline (Rwanda) in, 147. See alsoDeveloping countries; South Africa
Assumptions: Harambee’s approach to testing, 65; killer, 94fig–96; minimum viable products (MVPs) to validate your, 68–72; PlayPump’s failure due to poor, 66; questions to ask about your, 66–67; testing our small to big transition, 153. See alsoIdentify assumptions
Bangladesh: BRAC based in, 144, 151, 170–171, 183, 227; microfinance pioneered in, 144; oral rehydration therapy (ORT) in, 171–172; Simprints work in, 120–121; VisionSpring’s partnership with BRAC in, 151, 182–183. See alsoDeveloping countries
Barriers to social innovation, 6, 20–22, 193–201, 230–232
Behavioral science: description of, 113; maximize value to build on exiting research on, 112–114; Piyush Tantia on “turning art into science” of, 113; red drink research (Australia), 113–114
Being proximate: as essential precursor to a good solution, 42; how Proximity Designs practices, 39–41; how Kudoz platform practices, 41–42; why it matters for mission‐driven work, 40–42
Build, measure, learn feedback loop: collecting data to drive the, 98–100, 107–108; description of the, 75–77; iteration using the, 77–78, 97; as Lean Startup building block, 62. See alsoValidated learning
Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) initiative, 212–213
Children/youth: Harambee’s work with disadvantaged, 63–65, 67–68, 71–73, 79–80, 100, 258; IDEO.org working to increase parental engagement with, 48; Luminos Fund working to help out‐of‐school, 48. See alsoEducation
Cultural transformation: the changes required for making, 232–234; goals that drive, 232, 233fig, 234–235; incentives that drive, 232, 233fig, 235–238; people that drive, 232, 233fig, 238–239
Culture of innovation: barriers to, 230–232; building a, 230; cultural transformation required for, 232–239; understanding that failure is part of, 239–242
Customers: ARC’s Kuja Kuja for real‐time feedback from, 100; designing with users and, 108–110; identifying your primary, 44–48; millennial generation, 243; support of companies engaged in social good by, 243–244; tech companies working to increase online, 185; Value Proposition Canvas tool for strategizing for your, 45–46fig. See alsoValue
Cycle of poverty: challenge of breaking the, 2–3; EARN’s focus on microsavings to break, 29–30; J‐PAL work to end, 59, 173; randomized control trials (RCTs) on microcredit impact on, 156
Design: collaborating with users on, 108–110; in context, 110–112; enforced waterfall model and changes to, 49, 194; plan‐execute, 16fig–17; test‐iterate, 16fig, 17; theory of change articulated during process of, 160–161. See alsoHuman‐centered design (HCD)
Design for Extreme Affordability class (Stanford University), 37, 122–123
Developing countries: Cambodia, 121, 145; changing landscape of funding in, 135–137; cycle of poverty in, 2–3, 29–30; disease tracking challenge of, 151; Myanmar, 1–5, 37, 39–40, 108, 152, 165, 170; partnerships for last‐mile distribution in, 150–152, 182–183. See alsoAfrica; Bangladesh
Education: FirstGen used to increase student diversity in STEM, 46; Kudoz platform’s options for, 41–42; Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL) schools reforming, 146; Summit Public Schools, 18, 19, 99, 148, 164, 203, 233; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on quality of, 27. See alsoChildren/youth
Failure: pressure to grow can result in, 88–90; the lessons learned from, 15, 85, 86–88; plan‐execute design approach often leading to, 16fig–17; reluctance of organizations to admit, 239–240; understanding that is it part of innovation, 239–242. See alsoMarket failure; Policy failure
Financing innovation: challenges, 193–201; examining the need for, 191–192; financing rounds, 205–206; flexible sources, 203–204; hybrid structures, 206–207; innovation windows, 202–203; unrestricted funding, 201–202. See alsoFunding
Financing issues: having a grand master plan, 194–195; overhead costs, 195–196; reporting and compliance, 200–201; silos, 196–197; spending on programs versus solutions, 197–199; staying on mission, 201–202
Foundations: Bezos Family Foundation, 47; Bill and Melina Gates Foundation, 135, 215, 219, 227, 228, 253; challenges for innovation related to funding by, 193; comparing venture capitalist funding to that of, 210–211; Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, 98, 204, 214, 238; Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF), 136, 212; Ford Foundation, 212–213; Grameen Foundation, 116; Key Facts on U.S. Foundations on, 213; lessons of this book for, 209; Mulago Foundation, 137, 204; Rockefeller Foundation, 227; San Diego Foundation, 109, 233; Skoll Foundation, 182, 204, 214; Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (Alfred Hospital) [Australia], 113–114
Funder messages: on blended finance, 224–226, 251fig–254; on development impact bonds (DIBs), 222–223; on donor collaboration, 226–227; on outcomes‐based incentives, 216–217, 223–224; on paying for outcomes, 216–217; to reimagine funder‐recipient relationship, 210–211; on social impact bonds (SIBs), 220–222; on tiered funding, 213–216; on unrestricted funding, 212–213
Funders: drawn to creating something of their own, 57; enforced waterfall model used by, 21, 49, 194, 230; Fund for Shared Insight as donor collaborative of, 126; incubator for innovations, 228; insight into mindset of Silicon Valley, 204; lessons of this book for, 209; risk‐averse mindset of social sector, 209; social innovation requires real change from, 192; undesired interventions related to agendas of, 49, 105–106, 191, 193. See alsoDonors; Venture capitalists (VCs)
Funding: as barrier to social innovation, 191–192; of childhood immunization, 135–136; foreign aid and philanthropy percentage of, 135; mission‐driven organizations and changing landscape of, 134–137; need for revolution in social good, 209–210; outcomes‐based payments or follow‐on, 216–217, 223–224; tiered, 213–216; unrestricted, 212–213. See alsoFinancing innovation; Funders
Goals: benchmarking, 35; caution against having unclear and conservative, 29; characteristics of a well‐defined, 34–35; driving transformation of innovation culture, 232, 233fig, 234–235; Google’s OKRs (Objectives and key Results) system to track, 235; identifying your North Star, 33–36, 83; Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 27; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [UN], 20, 27. See alsoMission‐oriented goals
GoodHire platform (Inflection): employment‐screening services of the, 140–141; True Me feature of the, 141
Google: A/B tests deployed by, 97; Astro Teller as head of X of, 33–34; author’s time at, 4, 15, 28; OKRs (Objectives and key Results) system to track goals at, 235; Web search improvements by, 53
Google Doc (Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg), 107–108
Government: America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (2010), 218; growth through adoption by, 147–148; lessons of this book for agencies of, 209. See alsoGrants; Policy failure
Grand Challenges for Development: formation and members of, 215; stimulating innovation ideation, 56–57; USAID Ebola Grand Challenge, 56–57, 216; USAID Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge, 111, 206
Grants: description of government, 145–147; financing challenges related to, 198, 200; for‐profit social enterprises using, 207; as growth engine, 145–147; negotiating innovation window for, 203; reporting and compliance requirements of, 200–201; restricted, 204; USAID Lab’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), 111–112, 138, 140, 200, 207. See also Funder types; Government
Growth: accelerating, 153; Amazon’s state of uncertainty during its early, 32–33; exponential (or hockey stick), 30–32; of global population, 129, 130fig; hockey stick, 30–32; inverse hockey stick, 131fig; Kevin Starr’s framework for, 137–138; mobile phone adoption, 99, 129–131, 133; partnerships for, 150–152, 182–183; as pillar of social innovation, 91fig, 92–94, 132; pressure on mission‐driven organizations for, 88–90, 132; types of engines for, 138–150. See alsoEngines for Growth
Growth hypothesis: description of the, 67, 91–92; how to validate the, 129–153; Kevin Starr’s framework applied to the, 137–138. See alsoHypotheses
Human‐centered design (HCD): Civilla’s work to transform social change using, 124–125; for designing with users, 108–110; ideation techniques stemming from, 54; Kevin Schneider’s class on, 42; online tools and case studies, 108; synthesizing interviews and observations using, 47–48. See alsoDesign; IDEO.org
The hybrid gap: closing the financial, 249–256; description of the, 244, 245fig; new hybrid entities, 256–258
Hypothesis testing: collecting data used for, 98–100, 107–108; identifying assumptions for, 66–67, 94fig–96; Nexleaf Analytics’ experience with, 69–70; observing actual behavior when, 69–70; randomized control trials (RCTs) for, 95–96; success criteria for, 101t–102. See alsoMinimum viable products (MVPs)
Ideas: brainstorming, 53; building on existing, 57–59; characteristics of great, 55–56; fallacy of the “big idea,” 54; struggle to think out of the box, 192. See alsoSolutions
Ideation: Health in Harmony example of, 54–55fig; human‐centered design (HCD) for, 42, 48, 54, 108–110, 114; identifying solutions through, 54–59; as only one step in achieving social good, 60; USAID Grand Challenge for innovative, 56–57
Identify assumptions: basic building block of Lean Startup, 62; process to, 65–68, 90–94; to test first in order to eliminate risk, 94fig–96. See alsoAssumptions
Impact: breaking down precursors to, 161–162; collected data used for greater, 98–100, 107–108; complexity of measuring, 22; cost to deliver, 157–158; foreign aid, 156–157; ideation as only one step in reaching, 60; innovation as the path to, 14; iterating for good and, 77–78; as measure of success, 156–158; microcredit, 155–156; priorities that may interfere with, 59–60; as pillar of social innovation, 91fig, 92, 93–94; responsible, 175–177; theory of change to model, 159–161; as ultimate aim of social sector, 157; when working with constraints, 165–166. See alsoInterventions; Lean Impact; Social good
Impact hypothesis: description of the, 67, 68, 92; how to validate the, 155–180; minimum viable products (MVPs) to test, 68–72
Impact success factors: breaking down to reduce risk, 161–162; as core to testing a solution, 156–158; identifying what matters, 169–170; measuring intangibles, 166–167; for multidimensional problems, 168–169; principle of relentlessly seeking, 23, 37, 60, 170–172; randomized control trials (RCTs) to evaluate impact, 172–175; responsible impact as, 175–177; theory of change on, 159fig–161; using early indicators, 164–165
India: Aravind Eye Hospitals in, 142; National Deworming Day in, 148; clean cookstoves in, 69–70; d.light solar lanterns in, 37; social enterprise selling handicrafts from, 69; VisionSpring’s “vision entrepreneurs” in, 182–183
Innovation: author’s definition of 13–14; culture of, 230–242; financing, 191–207; for good, 6–7; USAID Lab’s goal for “breakthrough,” 28–29; as the path to impact, 14; Silicon Valley, 4–5, 81–82, 97, 115; understanding the nature of, 13–14; USAID Grand Challenge for Ebola, 56–57, 216. See alsoSocial innovation; Technology
Iteration: minimum viable products (MVPs) used for faster, 96, 97; prototypes and feedback loop for faster, 96–98; for social impact and good, 77–78. See alsoBuild, measure, learn feedback loop
Last‐mile distribution problem: as challenge in developing countries, 150–152; technology as a solution to, 150–151; VisionSpring–BRAC partnership to solve, 151, 182–183
Lean Impact: Independent Sector workshop on, 136; inspiring our pursuit of social change, 7; The Lean Startup influence on, 14, 25; principles of, 22–23; scientific method as basis of, 14–15; TEDGlobal 2017 workshop on, 35–36; test‐iterate approach to design applied to, 16fig, 17; transforming for social good using, 8; workflow of, 24fig–25. See alsoImpact
Lean Impact community, growing out of the Lean Startup movement, 83
Lean Impact methodology: barriers for adoption, 6, 20–22, 193–201; overview, 24–25; principles of, 22–23; validating to drive, 7–8
Lean Startup building blocks: 1. identify assumptions, 62, 65–68; 2. minimum viable product (MVP), 8, 62, 68–72; 3. validated learning, 62, 72–75; 4. build, measure, and learn, 62, 75–78; 5. pivot or persevere, 62, 78–81. See alsoSocial entrepreneurs; Solutions; specific building block; Success
Lean Startup movement: adoption for social good, 81–82, 115; Lean Impact grassroots community origins in, 83
The Lean Startup (Ries): continuous innovation in, 6, 61; focus on the process of testing and validation, 23; how pivot is defined in, 79; validated learning pioneered by, 23; widespread influence of, 14, 18, 25, 233. See alsoLean Startup building blocks
Market failure: advanced market commitments (AMCs) used to address, 217, 219–220; can impede adoption, 179, 180; collective action to address 184–186; solutions that are derailed by, 181. See alsoFailure
Minimum viable products (MVPs): building, 62; document hypothesis before deploying an, 72; faster iteration and testing using, 96, 97; the Google Doc that was an accidental, 107–108; killer assumptions and hypotheses to be tested by, 94fig–96; as Lean Startup building block, 62; lessons from failed, 241; reducing risk through, 69; speeding up feedback loop using, 8; tiered validation for impact, 162–163; to validate your assumptions, 68–72; to validate the value hypothesis, 114–124. See alsoHypothesis Testing; Testing; Validated learning; Value
Mission‐driven organizations: mission achievement, 186–187; building a culture of innovation, 230–239; challenge of obtaining honest feedback by, 70; desire to make a bigger difference, 62–63; limits of charity for funding, 134–137; three pillars of social innovation for, 90–94; “pioneer gap” problem of, 199–200; pressures to grow to soon for, 88–90, 132; working under conditions of extreme uncertainty, 65. See alsoNonprofits
Mission‐driven work: danger of unintended consequences during, 40–41; personal and organizational priorities that may interfere, 59–60; why being proximate matters when doing, 40–42. See alsoSocial innovations
Mission‐oriented goals: achieving your, 186–187; for driving cultural transformation, 232, 233fig, 234–235; ends versus means dilemma of, 35–37; fallacy of the big idea to fulfill, 54; financing challenge for, 201–202; plan‐execute vs. test‐iterate approach to, 15–17; vague wording typical of, 28. See alsoGoals
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), 203, 218
Myanmar: as the beginning of new journey, 3–5; Cyclone Nargis (2008) damage in, 1, 40; energy needs being met in, 37; Koe Koe Tech in, 152; Proximity Designs’ work with smallholder farmers in, 39–40, 105, 108, 165, 170
Nonprofits: barriers to Lean Impact adoption by, 20–22; building a culture of innovation in, 230–239; donors holding the purse strings for, 21; enforced waterfall model of funding, 21, 49, 194, 230; faith‐based, 205; lack of research by individual donors, 258–259; natural tension with goals of academia, 58; number and growth of US, 136. See alsoMission‐driven organizations; Social entrepreneurs
Pivot or persevere: evaluating progress to decide whether to, 81; by Harambee to find a solution, 79–80; how Eric Ries defines, 79; as Lean Startup building block, 62; TOMS Shoes’ social good, 80, 142; when you haven’t reached your targets, 78–79
Policy failure: collective action to overcome, 186; can impede adoption or reverse progress, 179, 180; solutions that are derailed by, 181. See alsoFailure; Government
Problem identification: the 5 Whys for understanding and, 50; Health in Harmony’s example of, 49–51; interviewing customers for, 44–48; “radical listening” to community members for, 49–50; Value Proposition canvas for, 45–47
Problems: cycle of poverty, 2–3, 29–30; deforestation of Indonesian Borneo rain forests, 49–50; designing solutions by considering context of, 110–112; identifying the, 44–51; impact on multidimensional, 168–169; last‐mile distribution, 150–152, 182–183. See alsoPolicy failure; Solutions
Proximity Designs: design process for new product or service by, 41; d.light solar lanterns sales by, 170; engaging Myanmar farmers to design affordable treadle pump, 39–40, 108
Relentlessly seek impact principle: avoiding attachment, 60; balancing personal and organizational priorities versus the mission, 59–60; BRAC example of, 170–172; d.light example of, 37; Lean Impact principle of, 23
Research & Development (R&D): government reliance on tech community for, 205; importance of investing in, 196; competitions including some funding of, 218, 220; randomized control trials (RCTs), 57, 95–96, 172–175. See alsoHypothesis
Ries, Eric: definition of pivot, 79; The Lean Startup by, 6, 14, 18, 23, 25, 61, 79; lessons learned at a failed startup, 15; popularizing new approach to continuous innovation, 6; The Startup Way by, 6, 82, 163; Steve Blank’s influence on, 61; building an MVP diesel engine at GE by, 163
Silicon Valley: fast iteration in, 97; funding for R&D by, 205; hubris pervasive in, 4–5; insight into mindset of donors in, 204; interest in expanding internet access, 185; Lean Startup for good adopted by, 81–82, 115; “Move fast and break things” adage of, 175. See alsoFor‐profit businesses; Technology
Smallholder farmers: Babban Gona work with, 254; desalinating water for 219; example of success criteria for, 101–102; myAgro work with, 34; Myanmar program for, 2; One Acre Fund work with, 86–87, 165; programs to raise incomes of, 90; Proximity Design work with, 39–40; sourcing coffee from, 247
Smart Impact Capital (CASE at Duke University), 197
Social change: applying innovation to, 4–5; a call to action by funders for, 228; Civilla’s use of HCD to transform work of, 124–125; theory of change for, 159fig–162; working together towards, 8, 259–260. See alsoSocial good, Systems change
Social good: purchasing from companies based on, 243–244; innovations for, 6–7; iterating for impact and, 77–78; Lean Startup for, 81–82; need for revolution in funding of, 209–210; responsible impact for, 175–177. See alsoImpact
Social innovation: applying Silicon Valley innovation to, 4–5; appreciating the difficulty of, 4; barriers to, 6, 20–22, 193–201, 230–232; building a culture of, 230, 232–239; ends versus means for, 35–37; financing, 191–207; three pillars of successful, 90–94; mindset required to scale, 32; the need for, 19–20; responsible experimentation for, 175–177. See alsoInnovation; Mission‐driven work; Technology
Social sector: need to engage stakeholders in, 124–125; IDEO.org’s DesignKit for, 108; impact as the ultimate aim of, 157; mistake of measuring success with vanity metrics by, 153; risk‐averse mind‐set of the, 209. See alsoNonprofits
Society: corporate social responsibility (CSR) to benefit, 209, 244; the hybrid gap in serving, 244, 245fig; increased accountability of business sector for, 246–247; triple bottom line to benefit, 245–247
Software development: Google Maps, 4; transition to lean approaches by, 5–6, 97
Solar systems: d.light solar lanterns, 36–37, 121, 170, 202; M‐Kopa Solar, 126; Off Grid Electric, 116, 118, 138–139, 207, 225, 226
Solutions: build, measure, and learn to improve, 62, 75–78; derailed by market and policy failures, 179–180, 181; designed with beneficiaries, 110–112; emotional attachment to, 66; ideation for, 54–57; importance of validating impact for, 156–158; knowing when to pivot or persevere, 62, 78–81; the need to hold on lightly to any, 60; paying for outcomes of, 216–217; building on proven, 57–59; scalability of technology‐based, 150; spending on programs versus, 197–199; systems change required for, 188–189; USAID Grand Challenge to find Ebola outbreak, 56–57, 216; what is required to find the best, 59–60. See alsoIdeas; Lean Startup building blocks; Problems
South Africa: Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator of, 63–65, 67–68, 71–73, 79–80, 100, 258; Reel Gardening of, 111; Tenofovir’s FACTS 001 trial in, 95–96. See alsoAfrica
Start small principle: to collect data and learn more quickly, 85, 98–100, 107–108; to validate three pillars of social innovation first, 90–94; and expand based on validation, 102–103; Lean Impact principle of, 23; pressure to grow instead of, 88–90, 132; staging risk, 94fig–96; success criteria when, 101t–102. See alsoGrowth
Startups: author’s failed, 15; hockey stick projections for, 30–32; Silicon Valley hubris of, 4; measures of success by, 158. See alsoFor‐profit businesses
Success: in business world, 90; determining, 78; establishing criteria for, 101t–102; impact as measure of, 156–158; plan‐execute versus test‐iterate designs leading to, 16fig, 17; speed of build, measure, and learn cycle as key factor for, 62, 75–78; three pillars of social innovation required for, 90–94
Systems change: A4AI (Alliance for Affordable Internet) example of, 185–186; mission achievement and, 186–187; EYElliance example of, 183–184, 186; FoodCorps example of, 188; Health Leads example of, 188; Skoll Foundation focus on, 182. See alsoSocial change
Think big principle: EARN’s example of, 29–30; establishing goals for, 33–35; importance for overall impact, 29–32, 129–134, the Lean Impact principle of, 23
United Kingdom: BIT (Behavioural Insights Team) of, 113; Charity Commission of the, 259; Department for International Development (DFID), 225–226; Reprieve of, 81, 166–167, Social Finance’s SIBs, 220–223
US Supreme Court’s same‐sex marriage decision (2015), 187
USAID Lab (Global Development Lab): author’s time as first executive director of, 28; description of, 28–29; Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) of, 111–112, 138, 140, 200, 207, 214, 225; Global Innovation Fund (GIF) created by the, 200, 204, 214, 253–254; Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) of the, 253; working with local innovators at, 111; sharing failures at, 239–240, 241
USAID (US Agency for International Development): Agricultural Extension Support Activity of the, 203; Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to increase collaboration by, 211; constraints on, 193; Desal Prize awarded by the, 218–219; Ebola Grand Challenge, 56–57, 216; Global Grand Challenges’ participation by, 216; learning about data collection challenges during Ebola outbreak, 98; Mark Green’s “going out of business” commitment, 187; reporting and compliance requirements of, 200–201; Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge by, 111, 216
Validation: as core to the Lean Impact methodology, 7–8; description of, 83; with stakeholders, 124–125; minimum viable products (MVPs) for assumption, 68–72; starting small as essential for, 85–90; three pillars of social innovation that require, 67–68, 90–94; tiering process of, 94–96, 162–163; as working best when starting small, 85
Value: an accidental MVP that demonstrated, 107–108; designing by users to maximize, 110–112; designing with users to maximize, 108–110; engaging stakeholders to validate, 124–125; gauging traction, 126–127; importance of validating, 105–106; net promoter score (NPS) to measure, 125–126; as pillar of social innovation, 91fig–92, 93–94; using behavioral insights to maximize, 112–114. See alsoCustomers; Minimum viable products (MVPs)
Value hypothesis: description of the, 67–68; minimum viable products (MVPs) to validate, 68–72, 114–124
Value Proposition Canvas: description and functions of, 45–46fig; used in Hacking for Impact class, 45–46