New Voices: What Works

Reviews grantees' accomplishments in building community news sites, keys to sustainability, and lessons learned about engagement, staffing, business models, social media, technology, partnerships, and limitations of university, youth, and radio projects

Implementing the IOM Future of Nursing Report - Part I: How to Dramatically Increase the Formal Education of America's Nursing Workforce by 2020

Outlines strategies for realizing calls for competency-based curricula; seamless educational progression; more funding for accelerated programs, educational capacity building, and student diversity; and stronger employer incentives

Harnessing Collaborative Technologies: Helping Funders Work Together Better

This report was produced through a joint research project of the Monitor Institute and the Foundation Center. The research included an extensive literature review on collaboration in philanthropy, detailed analysis of trends from a recent Foundation Center survey of the largest U.S. foundations, interviews with 37 leading philanthropy professionals and technology experts, and a review of over 170 online tools.The report is a story about how new tools are changing the way funders collaborate. It includes three primary sections: an introduction to emerging technologies and the changing context for philanthropic collaboration; an overview of collaborative needs and tools; and recommendations for improving the collaborative technology landscapeA "Key Findings" executive summary serves as a companion piece to this full report

German and Israeli Innovation: The Best of Two Worlds

This study reviews – through desk research and expert interviews with Mittelstand companies, startups and ecosystem experts – the current status of the Israeli startup ecosystem and the Mittelstand region of North Rhine- Westphalia (NRW), Germany. As a case study, it highlights potential opportunities for collaboration and analyzes different engagement modes that might serve to connect the two regions. The potential synergies between the two economies are based on a high degree of complementarity. A comparison of NRW’s key verticals and Israel’s primary areas of innovation indicates that there is significant overlap in verticals, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), sensors and cybersecurity. Israeli startups can offer speed, agility and new ideas, while German Mittelstand companies can contribute expertise in production and scaling, access to markets, capital and support. The differences between Mittelstand companies and startups are less pronounced than those between startups and big corporations. However, three current barriers to fruitful collaboration have been identified: 1) a lack of access, 2) a lack of transparency regarding relevant players in the market, and 3) a lack of the internal resources needed to select the right partners, often due to time constraints or a lack of internal expertise on this issue. To ensure that positive business opportunities ensue, Mittelstand companies and startups alike have to be proactive in their search for cooperation partners and draw on a range of existing engagement modes (e.g., events, communities, accelerators). The interviews and the research conducted for this study made clear that no single mode of engagement can address all the needs and challenges associated with German-Israeli collaboration

PPPs for Transit Oriented Development – 4 Options

A look at potential project structures for use in integrated land use and mass transit projects. Four potential structures are put forward – each with different profiles of public sector involvement. The dedicated pursuit of Transit Oriented Development involves significant policy challenges, implications and opportunities. Over the past decade and more, many countries and regions have moved toward the mainstreaming of PPPs. The British approach to PPPs has been adopted in other contexts such as in state-level government in Australia. While the concept emerged as a “new approach” to infrastructure implementation, official policies on acceptable PPP approaches and structures quickly developed a rigid outlook. Some basic PPP assumptions on the nature of partnerships, and on topics such as the allocation of risk, may need fundamental re-assessment. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) tends to involve significant input from the public sector and the private. The most effective approach to combining the strengths of each sector in major projects has long been debated, though few firm policy options have been put forward. Options for project structure are generally unclear and uncertain. The stakes are high because these projects involve long-term land use and transport changes, and the creation of new and significant living and working environments. Large financial commitments are involved. Perhaps by clarifying the options for TOD project structure we can deliver more certainty and workability and assist the progress of these projects. The paper presents four potential models for TOD projects, all of which might be regarded as PPPs (depending on the acceptable definition). The focus is on clarity in financial arrangements and management structures for effective project delivery

What if someone asked "What if?"

Research Highlights was a newsletter highlighting the research being done at the Boston University School of Management (Questrom School of Business).MBC (MANAGEMENT BY CURIOSITY) The great advances always come from asking the right questions. The questions throughout this booklet reflect some of the ways Boston University School of Management alumni have transformed academic experience into professional results. Curiosity is a positive force, because good management is about exploring, not accepting. It's about revision, refinement, and rethinking rather than regurgitation. It's a matter of taking the heat rather than taking shelter. It's a career of challenging yourself and your employees continually to improve the quality of your products and service. And it's the kind of management you'll learn at Boston University

Built to Change: Catalytic Capacity-Building in Nonprofit Organizations

Summarizes the results of a broad survey of programs, and business and nonprofit experts, in the field of organizational effectiveness