Rethinking Scale – Special Issue

What do Niklas Zennstrom, founder of Skype, Richard Branson of Virgin Group and Jeff Raikes, CEO of Gates Foundation have in common? The answer: Their interest in creating large scale changes through their social investments.

Launched in June 2010, a special issue of the Alliance magazine, the leading publication of the philanthropy and social investment community worldwide, has been edited by Alejandro Litovsky focusing on ‘Rethinking Scale’. Read the guest editor article here.

The feature includes interviews with Richard Branson and Skype founder Niklas Zennström, both of whom are now applying their experience of creating successful businesses to develop new philanthropic ventures. Gates Foundation CEO Jeff Raikes argues that partnerships are key to building large-scale change. Grameenphone founder Iqbal Quadir sees scope for more collaboration between business and philanthropy. Nancy Kete of EMBARQ talks about how they’ve leveraged $880 million in sustainable transport infrastructure from $16 million in philanthropic funding and the early support of the Shell Foundation. Theoretical physicist Geoffrey West examines how universal scaling laws found in nature can be applied to philanthropy. Pamela Hartigan, John Elkington, Ekkehard Thümler and Nicole Bögelein challenge conventional views and definitions on achieving scale.

The overall theme issue focuses on improving the infrastructure for collaboration to achieve maximum impact, and case studies from around the world tell the stories of projects that have achieved a remarkable impact from small beginnings by building ‘ecosystems’ of change. In just 10 years, a citizen media initiative in Tanzania has brought health education to 10 million young people; a waste pickers’ social movement in Brazil and a network of settlements in South Africa are empowering the countries’ poorest workers to work collaborative with governments and businesses. For more information, see www.alliancemagazine.org.