In Sunday’s Boston Globe, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Jill Medvedow wrote an op-ed entitled "Harnessing our innovative ideas" which spotlights our Advancing Social Entrepreneurship report.  She congratulates Governor Deval Patrick on his recent appointment of a creative economy director and calls for a long-term investment strategy and the development of a $1 billion social impact fund (see Public Innovators’ related recommendations for a public-private social innovation fund and a National Social Innovation Foundation).  In line with our own findings in Advancing Social Entrepreneurship, Medvedow argues that Massachusetts has “the opportunity to lead with ideas, innovation, and investment, and replicate the strategies that so successfully fostered American entrepreneurialism.”

Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor recently took part in a roundtable, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and Root Cause Public Innovators, to discuss the newly released report, "Advancing Social Entrepreneurship: Recommendations for Policy Makers and Government Agencies".  Included in the panel were a government official, a social entrepreneur, two think tank policy experts representing the political left and right, and an expert on social entrepreneurship.
 

You will find here voices from government, social entrepreneurs, the private sector and other experts on ways for government officials to become public innovators.
Our contributors will highlight their experiences collaborating across sectors; share ideas on how government can best cultivate an environment that is intentionally supportive of social-entrepreneurial solutions; and ponder the potential risks of government engagement, as well as strategies for avoiding such pitfalls. Several conversations will focus on particular recommendations and social issues.
 
Check in for frequent updates on a variety of topics as we develop a dialogue on accelerating solutions to today’s toughest problems. Contributions will come from:
 

• Public Innovators
• Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship
• America Forward
• Katherine Freund, Founder of ITNAmerica
• Michele Jolin, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
• Susan Weddington, President & CEO of the Texas OneStar Foundation
• Greg Werkheiser, Executive Director of the Phoenix Project