Stanford Social Innovation Review

Despite the hoopla over microfinance, it doesn’t cure poverty. But stable jobs do. If societies are serious about helping the poorest of the poor, they should stop investing in microfinance and start supporting large, labor-intensive industries.

To find out how best to stem corruption in development projects, a Harvard economist conducted a sophisticated experiment in 608 Javanese villages. His results challenge current wisdom: Send in the outside auditors, rather than rely on local monitors.

Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. This study of 12 high-impact nonprofits, however, shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others.

The challenge of replicating social programs.

Putting the science of influence to work in fundraising.

A theater ensemble transforms into a company with a bottom line.

How an African-American banker is rebuilding her community.

Donors don’t know much about capacity building, except that they don’t like the term.

Habitat for Humanity’s new CEO picks up the hammer.

Vanishing NGOs in Bosnia leave lessons in their wake.

How the Union Bank of California attracts lower-income people to traditional banking.

Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good

International development organizations spend lots of money and effort building the capacity of small businesses. Yet they often fail to ask whether people want the businesses’ goods and services. As these stories from Peru show, successful programs start with real buyers who are willing to buy real products.