Today, despite the fact that we all argue for market-driven econo-mies with less government presence, we invariably want the government to be everywhere. It has to look after the economy, the banking system, eschew a financial crisis and rescue institutions as and when it happens, look after infrastructure, environment, education, health and so on. This is just not possible and often different arms of the government are working at cross purposes. One department works towards healthcare and spends money to lower the incidence of coronary diseases and diabetes, while another provides subsidy to the sugar industry. What is the way out?
It is here that the authors, William D Eggers and Paul Macmillan, conceptualise what is called a solution revolution, where a large number of entities, some openly, while others silently, play a role in addressing these issues. While NGOs and social entrepreneurs are the better-known entities, MNCs and individuals can also make a difference once they become a part of the solution revolution. Concepts like ride-sharing, impact-investing or crowd-funding are all part of this set-up. The questions that will be posed are: Who are the players and what drives a solution revolution? How do we grow the movement and how can we, as individuals, become a part of this movement? The authors argue that there are six features of a solution revolution, which develop, not really by design, but mostly from random initiatives taken by entities or individuals. These serve as templates to be followed by others, which, in turn, work to create this structure. These are wave makers, disruptive technologies, scalable business models, impact currencies, public value exchanges and solution ecosystems. Let us see how these work.When we talk of wave makers, as the term suggests, these are people who make a difference and names like Bill and Melinda Gates strike us when we think of philanthropy. This involves a series of entities again. There are investors, like Acumen, which identify businesses that are dedicated to the poor and invest in these enterprises. It could be a hospital chain in India or women issues in Africa. Next, we need conveners who are able to get these kinds of investors to invest in these businesses. Then step in the innovators who do social activities without a fee and those that are commercial, but make a difference. An example could be the 1298 ambulance service in India, which charges patients according to their ability to pay, and fills in the lacunae of such facilities. Crowd-sourcing becomes an important ingredient here, where the public plays its own part, thus creating a virtuous circle. They give examples of companies that would fall in this category such as Coca-Cola for water management, Shell for poverty reduction, Unilever for sanitation, Procter and Gamble for tetanus vaccination, etc. They work to either double or triple their bottomlines—financial, social and environment. This, according to them, can be called ‘Robinhood redistribution’, where the rich finally pay for the poor in this model.The second feature of a solution revolution is the existence of disruptive technologies. Here, the authors give examples of how mobile phones and social media have revolutionised communications. Add to this the concept of cloud computing, where a large amount of data is available for analytics. These technologies, combined with the Internet, have made transactions of various kinds possible. They give the example of how millions of Indians signed a petition against corruption, which exemplifies the power of social media. The third ingredient that the authors talk about is business models that can be scaled up. Here, they show how car-sharing works wonders as it not only saves on fuel costs and the environment, but also lowers the demand for parking space, which was used in Freiburg, Germany, to create gardens that could be used by citizens. Similar scalable models are to be found in the area of education, where we no longer have to have classrooms, tables, chairs, teachers and other amenities when learning is imparted through the online mode. This model can be scaled across frontiers and, hence, involve a larger audience. And the beauty of these models is that they are commercial, run by private enterprise and yet cheaper as they cut across infrastructure costs. Fourth, impact currencies are defined by Eggers and Macmillan as anything that provides economic functions we can associate with fiat money. These currencies come in different forms. For environment, we have carbon credits, which can be traded and add value to society as well as the players. There are ‘currencies’, where a company links investment to an outcome. eBay, for instance, has a clear policy that allows it to invest only in companies that have a social impact. Citizen capital is another example of an impact currency, where social groups create value from open spaces. At a different level, reputation is another form of currency. Kiva Zip enables ‘person to person lending’, which brings both parties together on the Net. Other non-quantifiable currencies are the supply of data, where the value is realised when a crisis strikes. The authors give examples of how maps available online were actually useful for both evacuation as well as relief operations across the globe when natural disasters strike. This again is a non-government initiative.Impact currencies, in turn, have created the fifth constituent of a solution revolution—public value exchanges. New platforms have been created to enables such exchanges. As mentioned earlier, Kiva enables loans to be transacted, and crowd-funding is an extension, where investors are willing to chip in once the cause is agreeable. The organisation here does not manage the projects, but enables funding by doing due diligence and then throwing it open to the public for their consideration. Last, a solution revolution is related to the creation of ecosystems by companies, which build the necessary linkages. Unilever in India has improved sanitation standards in rural areas in a unique way by building this ecosystem. Using women entrepreneurs to sell custom-made products for the rural folks, the project also involved providing access to these women to funds from MFIs. Offering a mark-up of 7%, they were able to service their loans through their sales and also retain the surplus income while inculcating the new hygiene standards among the people through such products. The authors actually exhort the readers to join the solution revolution by changing the lens through which we see the world. By providing examples all through the book, it makes interesting reading and some of the initiatives taken by companies could be really inspiring. But there are doubts on the scalability of such an answer that is posed by this book. Most of the examples provided are independent actions of enterprises working towards a similar goal, which makes a difference to the specific targeted communities. It is not a concerted action, which is probably needed for an outright revolution. While this will work in the long run, it is not yet a revolution as almost all these models have a commercial value and is philanthropic in a limited sense. Further, the authors do not address the issue of any specific country and social dynamics as well as regulation, which can put spokes along the way. Yet, this is probably the only way we can move given the limitations of the government in terms of financial ability and competence to address these myriad issues. This is a must-read book.
It is here that the authors, William D Eggers and Paul Macmillan, conceptualise what is called a solution revolution, where a large number of entities, some openly, while others silently, play a role in addressing these issues. While NGOs and social entrepreneurs are the better-known entities, MNCs and individuals can also make a difference once they become a part of the solution revolution. Concepts like ride-sharing, impact-investing or crowd-funding are all part of this set-up. The questions that will be posed are: Who are the players and what drives a solution revolution? How do we grow the movement and how can we, as individuals, become a part of this movement? The authors argue that there are six features of a solution revolution, which develop, not really by design, but mostly from random initiatives taken by entities or individuals. These serve as templates to be followed by others, which, in turn, work to create this structure. These are wave makers, disruptive technologies, scalable business models, impact currencies, public value exchanges and solution ecosystems. Let us see how these work.When we talk of wave makers, as the term suggests, these are people who make a difference and names like Bill and Melinda Gates strike us when we think of philanthropy. This involves a series of entities again. There are investors, like Acumen, which identify businesses that are dedicated to the poor and invest in these enterprises. It could be a hospital chain in India or women issues in Africa. Next, we need conveners who are able to get these kinds of investors to invest in these businesses. Then step in the innovators who do social activities without a fee and those that are commercial, but make a difference. An example could be the 1298 ambulance service in India, which charges patients according to their ability to pay, and fills in the lacunae of such facilities. Crowd-sourcing becomes an important ingredient here, where the public plays its own part, thus creating a virtuous circle. They give examples of companies that would fall in this category such as Coca-Cola for water management, Shell for poverty reduction, Unilever for sanitation, Procter and Gamble for tetanus vaccination, etc. They work to either double or triple their bottomlines—financial, social and environment. This, according to them, can be called ‘Robinhood redistribution’, where the rich finally pay for the poor in this model.The second feature of a solution revolution is the existence of disruptive technologies. Here, the authors give examples of how mobile phones and social media have revolutionised communications. Add to this the concept of cloud computing, where a large amount of data is available for analytics. These technologies, combined with the Internet, have made transactions of various kinds possible. They give the example of how millions of Indians signed a petition against corruption, which exemplifies the power of social media. The third ingredient that the authors talk about is business models that can be scaled up. Here, they show how car-sharing works wonders as it not only saves on fuel costs and the environment, but also lowers the demand for parking space, which was used in Freiburg, Germany, to create gardens that could be used by citizens. Similar scalable models are to be found in the area of education, where we no longer have to have classrooms, tables, chairs, teachers and other amenities when learning is imparted through the online mode. This model can be scaled across frontiers and, hence, involve a larger audience. And the beauty of these models is that they are commercial, run by private enterprise and yet cheaper as they cut across infrastructure costs. Fourth, impact currencies are defined by Eggers and Macmillan as anything that provides economic functions we can associate with fiat money. These currencies come in different forms. For environment, we have carbon credits, which can be traded and add value to society as well as the players. There are ‘currencies’, where a company links investment to an outcome. eBay, for instance, has a clear policy that allows it to invest only in companies that have a social impact. Citizen capital is another example of an impact currency, where social groups create value from open spaces. At a different level, reputation is another form of currency. Kiva Zip enables ‘person to person lending’, which brings both parties together on the Net. Other non-quantifiable currencies are the supply of data, where the value is realised when a crisis strikes. The authors give examples of how maps available online were actually useful for both evacuation as well as relief operations across the globe when natural disasters strike. This again is a non-government initiative.Impact currencies, in turn, have created the fifth constituent of a solution revolution—public value exchanges. New platforms have been created to enables such exchanges. As mentioned earlier, Kiva enables loans to be transacted, and crowd-funding is an extension, where investors are willing to chip in once the cause is agreeable. The organisation here does not manage the projects, but enables funding by doing due diligence and then throwing it open to the public for their consideration. Last, a solution revolution is related to the creation of ecosystems by companies, which build the necessary linkages. Unilever in India has improved sanitation standards in rural areas in a unique way by building this ecosystem. Using women entrepreneurs to sell custom-made products for the rural folks, the project also involved providing access to these women to funds from MFIs. Offering a mark-up of 7%, they were able to service their loans through their sales and also retain the surplus income while inculcating the new hygiene standards among the people through such products. The authors actually exhort the readers to join the solution revolution by changing the lens through which we see the world. By providing examples all through the book, it makes interesting reading and some of the initiatives taken by companies could be really inspiring. But there are doubts on the scalability of such an answer that is posed by this book. Most of the examples provided are independent actions of enterprises working towards a similar goal, which makes a difference to the specific targeted communities. It is not a concerted action, which is probably needed for an outright revolution. While this will work in the long run, it is not yet a revolution as almost all these models have a commercial value and is philanthropic in a limited sense. Further, the authors do not address the issue of any specific country and social dynamics as well as regulation, which can put spokes along the way. Yet, this is probably the only way we can move given the limitations of the government in terms of financial ability and competence to address these myriad issues. This is a must-read book.
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