Center History

The Context: Closing the Gap

In the fall of 2008, the Smith School released a report concerning the disparity between businesses and business schools in the area of social and environmental responsibility. Professors Rhonda Reger and J. Robert Baum analyzed the content of nearly 100 corporate and business school web sites. What they discovered was that business schools are lagging behind many companies whose stance toward social responsibility and corporate accountability is more ambitious and forward thinking. Dean Anand and the faculty at Smith believe that business schools around the country should be LEADING the discourse on social responsibility, not following it. This, along with the growing demands of students, corporate constituents, and alumni to make social and environmental impact a priority, became the impetus behind the Center for Social Value Creation.

The center formally launched in September 2009 with the Leadership for a Better World conference in Washington, D.C.  Highlights of 2009-2010 included:

• The successful expansion of the Social Venture Consulting program
• The inaugural Global Challenge in partnership with USAID
• The second annual Social Enterprise Symposium
• Seven new faculty research grants awarded
• The creation of the new Social Innovation Fellows program for undergraduates
• Continued leadership as a member of the Ashoka U Changemaker Campus Consortium

What is Social Value Creation?

Social responsibility. Sustainability. Social innovation. Corporate citizenship. Social entrepreneurship.  These are just a few of the many terms used today to talk about how businesses and business leaders can work toward economic prosperity and transformative social and environmental change.  Social value creation is not simply philanthropy.  It strives to balance profit with public good.  Social value can be created by a company, a nonprofit, or—as the lines continue to blur—anything in between. It can be created by a new organization, or from within an existing organization led by an “intrapreneur.”  What these have in common are sound, market-based approaches, a willingness to collaborate across functions, disciplines and even sectors, and a healthy dose of innovation.

Organizations need to be sensitive to how technological and business process innovations transform local economies, impact local environments, affect political processes, and change the ways in which we communicate around the world. — G. “Anand” Anandalingam, Dean >> Get more of Dean Anand’s vision