“If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together.” — African ProverbThe evolution of partnerships is that of a continual journey— its ebb, flow, and fluctuation largely contingent upon the world’s ever-shifting economic and social climate. Partnerships have changed over the years, but one thing remains the same: the act of partnering creates a whole that is significantly greater than the sum of the individual parts, and in the process builds greater value than any one partner could achieve on their own.
Applications Open for Partnership Brokers Training in YYC!
Social innovation involves new approaches to solving problems and new ways of working together. Partnership brokers can facilitate and support social innovation by connecting like-minded groups to create an organized force working towards solutions around a specific issue or cause. Ultimately, partnership brokers are catalysts for social change.
2014: Our Year of Accelerating Partnerships
As society’s challenges become more complex and interconnected, new approaches to problems and new ways of working together are required. Author Peter Senge suggests the future of our world rests heavily on our ability to foster partnerships ‘across every imaginable boundary.’ But, building successful partnerships takes hard work and a deep understanding of the art and science of partnering.
Four Themes that Emerged from the Next-Gen CSR Forum
Last week, JS Daw & Associates had the privilege of participating in Canada’s biggest conversation about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ever – The Next Gen Forum. The goal of the Forum was to elevate CSR practices and partnerships and present the concept of Creating Shared Value. The clear highlight of the conference was seeing Michael Porter, business guru and Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, speak about the next big leap for corporate community engagement – Creating Shared Value
JS Daw Presents Shared Value Session at Next-Gen Forum
Creating shared value is not a theory. It is a proven model that is being applied by leading organizations around the world, and providing them with opportunities to create new business value by addressing social and environmental issues. Organizations are embracing this idea and creating specific staff positions dedicated to catalyzing social innovation inside and outside the company. This new role for business is not just ‘giving back’ to the community; it is setting social goals and working to achieve these goals.
Co-creation and collaboration for stronger community results in 2014!
As we wrap up last year and start planning for the year ahead we at JS Daw & Associates have been reflecting on community trends, opportunities, and new ideas. Our discussion has been wide-ranging, but we all agree working in community – whether you’re a nonprofit, business or government organization - has never been more complex and the needs have never been greater.
What Creating Shared Value means for the Nonprofit Sector
When JS Daw & Associates announced our new role as certified Shared Value consultants, it prompted much feedback – from notes of congratulations to specific questions and queries about specialized services. But one email stood out – “What does this mean for the nonprofit sector? How will it affect fundraising? How will it affect our role in community? ” These are important questions. I firmly believe that Creating Shared Value (CSV) offers exciting new opportunities for nonprofits to collaborate with companies for mutual benefit, to build truly meaningful and impactful partnerships and advance positive social change.
JS Daw & Associates: Now a Certified Shared Value Consultancy!
JS Daw & Associates has officially been certified as a Shared Value Consulting firm! We are eager and ready to provide shared value consulting services to corporations, government and civil society organizations. Creating Shared Value (CSV) is a strategy that enhances the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing social, environmental and economic conditions.It was exciting to be part of the FSG Creating Shared Value training, held in London England in October.
Partnership Brokers Training – An Extraordinary Journey
I’ve spent several years developing numerous partnerships that focused primarily on creating win/win outcomes; seldom reflecting on the true social value of the relationships. Over the four days of the Partnership Brokers Training course, I was challenged and inspired to think differently about the way we broker partnerships, which led to my ‘ah ha’ moment.
Key Takeaways from the Social Enterprise World Forum
The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) 2013 was an inspiring three-day conference held in Calgary that gathered the best and brightest in this space from around the world.The social enterprise model challenges the way things have been done by traditional businesses and nonprofits. These hybrid organizations attempt to combine the best from each sector in order to create both profit and positive social impact. In essence, social entrepreneurship is all about thinking differently.