From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Innovation

Course Description

The challenges facing our world are increasingly complex and affect corporations, communities, citizens, and the natural environment. For many companies, even those with strong traditions of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, there is a growing consensus that current models of corporate engagement in society are no longer sufficient. They see that new approaches are needed. Fortunately, the past decade has seen an explosion of interest and development in social innovation—a discipline that employs entrepreneurial knowledge and methods to develop solutions to pressing social issues. This course combines learnings from the real-world experience of business leaders with analysis and practical applications. These leaders, who have developed and led social innovation efforts, share the theories, strategies, and management frameworks that are driving new models for business engagement in society. You will learn from firsthand accounts and interaction with key executives who’ve led social innovation initiatives. They hail from leading organizations and brands including, Campbell’s, Dunkin Brands, Verizon, Salesforce.com, FIFCO, Barclays and more. In addition to online interactions, there will be opportunities for in-person touchpoints for anyone in the Greater Boston area; with the potential for meetups elsewhere in the future.You will learn the key steps and apply the management frameworks to your organization. You will also develop a clear, practical understanding of the process, knowledge, and skills required to develop social innovation efforts. Finally, you'll learn to address key related challenges including business growth, innovation, employee engagement and retention, social impact, and connection to society. This is a course for anyone interested in understanding and acting on the new frontier of Corporate Social Innovation. No matter where you sit inside your company, you’ll be able to apply the lessons from companies in the field to develop the practical steps needed for the specific needs of your organization. This new context is driving companies – large and small – to think beyond Corporate Social Responsibility and to view business opportunities through the lens of social innovation.