Calendar of Events

This list provides a sampling of conferences, seminars, and trainings throughout the world, with a particular emphasis on those that link social entrepreneurship and government. If you would like to add an event to the list, please contact us. Check back often for new postings.

July 29, 2010: The Role of Procurement in Social Innovation Funding 

• Host: Harvard Kennedy School's Power of Social Innovation Series
• Location: Online webinar
• Converse with Linda Gibbs of New York City and David Gragan of Washington DC, two experienced city government officials who have committed their careers to both public service and unlocking the potential of innovation to drive progress. They will share their experiences promoting, from inside government, innovation within social service delivery systems often dominated by government funding and rules.

August 3, 2010: The Mandate and Caution of Engaging the Government 

• Host: Harvard Kennedy School's Power of Social Innovation Series
• Location: Online webinar
• Two nationally known social entrepreneurs, YouthBuild USA's Dorothy Stoneman and J.B. Schramm of College Summit, will share years of insight into the challenges and rewards of interacting with government—from school superintendents to state-level cabinet agencies to members of U.S. Congress. How has their view of scale and the role of government in their work evolved? What lessons have they learned along the way?

August 12, 2010: Mobilization and Member-based Organizations for Social Change 

• Host: Harvard Kennedy School's Power of Social Innovation Series
• Location: Online webinar
• Hear from two exciting organizers, Sara Horowitz of Freelancers Union and Maya Enista of Mobilize.org, who are deftly growing their impact through two seemingly dissimilar platforms: labor organization and digital media. We will hear their lessons learned regarding the potential of member-based associations, how initially to bring people together, the tension between advocacy and collaboration with government, and the future of organizing in a digital age.

October 4-6, 2010: SOCAP 10 (Social Capital Markets)

• Host: Social Capital Media
• Location: San Francisco, CA
• While past conferences have focused on defining the social enterprise landscape, this year's conference will focus on the question "What's Next?".
• SOCAP 10 will introduce a new track, Tactical Philanthropy, led by Sean Stannard Stockton of Tactical Philanthropy Advisors.

Archived Events

April 29, 2008: The Role of Government in Supporting Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship: A Briefing on New Approaches to Addressing Social Problems

• Hosts: The Aspen Institute & Root Cause/Public Innovators
• Location: The Aspen Institute, Washington, D.C.
• Join us to discuss the findings of a new Aspen Institute-Root Cause white paper, Advancing Social Entrepreneurship: Recommendations for Policy Makers and Government Agencies, which provides recommendations for government at all levels to address this country's many challenges through support of social entrepreneurship. Speakers will provide examples of how these strategies have been used in the areas of education and senior transportation.
• Read a summary of the event and download the press release.

Spring/Early Summer 2008: Changing Louisiana Seminars

• Host: Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship
• Locations: Monroe, Lafayette, & Houma, Louisiana
• Aimed at raising awareness among citizens of the multitude of volunteer opportunities that exist in Louisiana and to explore what social entrepreneurship is and what opportunities exist for citizens and organizations that have bold ideas that will bring about social change.

Spring/Summer 2008: OneStar Foundation Capacity Trainings

• Host: OneStar Foundation (established by Executive Order of the Governor of Texas)
• Location: Various locations, Texas

June 23-30, 2008: Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship

• Host: Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Location: Palo Alto, CA
• The program will help social entrepreneurs take their enterprises and innovative models to the next level by refining their innovations and leveraging their impact. It will address cutting edge topics, including: tapping the social capital market, balancing social and economic value, blending nonprofit and for-profit legal forms, sustaining innovation, leveraging social innovations through technology; and creating effective cross-sector partnerships.

August 10-16, 2008: Emerging Leaders 2008: Fostering Entrepreneurship & Leadership

• Host: Center for Applied Studies in International Negotiations (CASIN)
• Location: Geneva, Switzerland
• Targeting Young Emerging Market Entrepreneurs, the seminar will bring together 25 individuals who are at the forefront of enterprising solutions to poverty and acts as a business and leadership booster by addressing each organization's core challenges such as accessing credit, scaling-up, enhancing business skills, and reaching international markets

September 2-5, 2008: Social Enterprise World Forum

• Host: CEiS
• Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
• Delegates will examine the conditions needed for social enterprises to thrive, highlighting outstanding examples of innovation and best practice from around the world. The interactive event format will allow participants to discuss how social enterprises can develop in the face of changing world and local markets, emerging with shared actions to improve sustainability and increase social impact.
• 2nd and 3rd Social Enterprise World Forums: Australia in 2009 and the United States in 2010.

December 4-5, 2008: The Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference

• Host: Texas Office of the Governor (in conjunction with OneStar Foundation)
• Location: Houston, Texas
• The 31st annual Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference will focus on core capacity building strategies for nonprofit organizations as well as strategies for businesses to get involved in their communities. The conference is geared toward nonprofits, business community affairs offices and governmental agencies.

February 27, 2009: 19th Annual Kravis-DeRoulet Leadership Conference

• Host: Claremont McKenna College
• Location: Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California
• Public Innovators Director Colleen Ebinger will participate in the panel "Public Ventures: How Government Can Foster Social Entrepreneurship"
• The 19th annual Kravis-de Roulet leadership conference, Leading Social Change, will highlight the efforts of social entrepreneurs as they strive to "change the world" through innovative solutions to social problems. The conference will focus on how social entrepreneurs engage various collaborators, bringing together the necessary puzzle pieces, to construct solutions for complex local and global societal problems.

March 25-27, 2009: The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship

• Host: Saïd Business School, Oxford University
• Location: Oxford University, England
• An international event attracting about 750 delegates from more than 35 countries, the Forum convenes social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, policy makers, corporate representatives, financiers, philanthropists and students for plenaries, panel discussions, workshops and academic presentations and focuses on learning, problem solving and community building.

April 2009: Harvard Social Enterprise Conference

• Hosts: Harvard Business School & Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• Location: Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA
• The forum explores the synergies between for-profit, nonprofit, and public sector approaches to addressing critical social issues, offering participants the opportunity to learn from experts, network, and explore a wide variety of career opportunities.

April 15-17, 2009: Social Enterprise Summit

• Host: Social Enterprise Alliance
• Location: Intercontinental Hotel, New Orleans
• In partnership with Root Cause/Public Innovators, the Summit's first Policy Track will be unveiled including panels on: Government & Social  Enterprise as Partners; State and Local Approaches to Supporting Social Enterprise; Legislative Policy Approaches; and a Facilitated Dialogue on Harnessing Opportunities at the National Level
• Keynote "armchair discussion" between Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and Root Cause CEO Andrew Wolk about government's role in supporting social innovation and entrepreneurship.

November 17, 2009: Advancing Social Innovation in Government - a policy session at the U.S. Capitol

• Host: Root Cause's Public Innovators initiative
• Location: U.S. Capitol
• This invitation-only event will bring together successful social innovators with policy and government leaders for an engaged discussion about the ways in which the two sectors can partner to better address our nation's pressing social problems.

November 18, 2009: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania - Levy Social Impact Lecture Series

• Host: Wharton Ethics Program, Robert M. and Diane v.S. Levy Social Impact Lecture Series, and the PennSEM Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
• Location: The Wharton Schools, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Colleen Ebinger, director of Public Innovators, will provide historical perspective on the role that government has played in supporting business innovation and supporting robust and transparent capital markets. Drawing on Public Innovators' work with cities, states, and the federal government, she will discuss the ways that government can now provide similar encouragement for the spread of social innovations and assist in the development of robust social capital markets.

December 9-10, 2009: The Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference

• Host: Texas Office of the Governor in conjunction with OneStar Foundation: Texas Center for Social Impact
• Location: Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, Texas
• The 32nd annual Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference is the state's largest gathering of volunteer managers, nonprofit professionals, state agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. The conference offers unique and exciting learning opportunities to help organizations and communities grow and strengthen themselves. Special conference events include the Opening Plenary and Keynote Speakers, the Governor's Volunteer Awards and Reception, and the Governor's Luncheon with guest speaker Robert Egger.

March 18, 2010: International Roundtable on Social Innovation

• Hosts: Government of Canada Policy Research Initiative and the Public Policy Forum
• Location: Ottawa, Canada
• Public Innovators Director Colleen Ebinger presents at an international roundtable involving promoters and practitioners of social innovation from Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada, along with representatives of Canada's business and community sectors and officials from Canada's federal government. The objectives of the round table are to identify any differences in how social innovation is conceived and practiced across countries and to identify the different mechanisms through which different countries promote and support social innovation.

April 28-30, 2010: Social Enterprise Summit

• Host: Social Enterprise Alliance
• Location: San Francisco, California
• In partnership with Root Cause for a second year, the Summit continued to develop a Policy Track including a panel on State and Local Government Efforts to Support Social Enterprise and Social Innovation moderated by Public Innovators Director Colleen Ebinger. The panel featured several leaders in the field who discussed experiences and strategies used in catalyzing cross-sector relationships.
• A plenary panel examined best practices used for social enterprise partnering with government in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United State.
• Hosted the 3rd Social Enterprise World Forum

June 3, 2010: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Leadership Conference-Thriving in the New Normal

• Hosts: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center at the Humphrey Institute
• Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• This day-long conference will challenge nonprofit leaders to take stock, learn, and explore changes and innovations in organizations and the sector that are currently underway, as well as imagine possibilities for the future. Featuring a session led by Public Innovators Director, Colleen Ebinger, on "Nonprofits and Government as Partners in Leading Social Change."

June 10, 2010: bigBANG! Texas

• Host: The Texas Social Innovation Initiative-Dallas Social Venture Partners and the OneStar Foundation
• Location: Dallas, Texas
• Seven Innovators from the Texas Social Innovation Initiative pitched their business models to a room full of potential funders at this event. More than 300 people attended and over $35,000 in financial and/or in-kind support was raised! Based on the Social Innovation Forum developed by Root Cause, the initiative gave innovative and results-oriented organizations the power to accelerate their development of enduring solutions to social and economic problems.

June 28-30, 2010: National Conference on Volunteering and Service 

• Host: Corporation for National and Community Service and Points of Light Institute
• Location: New York, NY
• The conference provides volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, government and private sectors the opportunity to learn, engage, and connect with each other across a variety of topics relevant to volunteerism and service.
• Featuring a session led by Root Cause CEO Andrew Wolk on Public Innovators: State Government Approaches to Spreading Solutions to Social Problems.