We live in an increasingly interconnected world. On campus, many MBA students feel called to study issues and pursue careers that will position them to develop opportunities for greater prosperity, health, and happiness for people in far off corners of the planet.

Greetings from Myanmar! After 50 years of isolation the country is now at a pivotal moment in time, entering a new era of international relations, development, and potential progress.  In November 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest, laying the foundation for political changes.

Where do the products we buy come from and how do we know that their production doesn’t leave a wake of environmental damage or exploited workers? Even brands we think we trust are often linked to suppliers with questionable or downright abusive practices, as exemplified in the November factory fire in Bangladesh

As we enter 2013, I’ve reached out to a handful of my knowledgeable colleagues to hear their version of a New Year’s resolution in response to this prompt: If you had a magic wand and there was one thing you could change in the ecosystem for social impact, what would it be?

This time of year offers the opportunity to express our care for friends and family through shared traditions and the exchange of gifts. Shopping can spin into a frenzy of purchases, but with a bit of thought it’s a great opportunity to put our money where it can make a difference.

Digital textbooks, online lectures, innovative software, learning games, laptops, tablets, and smartphones have all made it possible to customize content, enhance instruction, and improve assessment in the educational arena. This convergence of possibilities could really revolutionize the way students learn.

A number of reports have crossed my desk recently about how to accelerate and advance social innovation. There are reports on collective impact, convenings on impact investing, and conferences about measuring outcomes to name just a few.

I’ve been working at the intersection of business and social good for a while, and naturally follow the evolution of new terminology and applications for the concepts of corporate responsibility and sustainable business. More recently, the term “shared value” has entered the scene.

At this time of year I seem to be in “pitch” sessions for any number of courses, competitions, and fellowships. A criterion that is always on the judging sheet is “scale.” Clearly, as Jeff Bradach noted in his article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Scaling Impact,

As we get ready to take summer vacations, bringing along a good book is a must. When I first thought about writing this column, curating the newest books of the year came to mind. However, when I started going through my bookshelf, I kept going back to some “older” tried and true favorites.

Impact investing, hybrid structures, the networked nonprofit, collective impact, design thinking — these are just a few of the many innovations currently being developed and implemented to drive social change. They are impressive, and indeed, in many cases, deserve attention and application.

Everywhere you turn these days, “investing for impact” seems to be at the forefront of social innovation thinking. At conferences, in the media, and in education, the term “impact investing” – defined as investment that aims to solve social or environmental challenges while generating financial profit

At the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, we just concluded a conference with the State Department in preparation for the upcoming Rio 2.0 conference (Rio+2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development).

To start off 2012, I am continuing to look at the emerging model of social purpose business. In November, we delved into the business model of Evergreen Lodge, a social enterprise in California, this time we are looking at social purpose business from an international perspective.

This month, I’m focusing the spotlight on Evergreen Lodge, which is much more than a tourist resort nestled in the woods bordering Yosemite National Park. Besides offering a charming Yosemite experience with fully furnished cabins, delicious food, a classic all-wood tavern, and wonderful recreational activities

There are several great books and reports out there to help us all be more effective donors — Give $mart by Tierney and Fleishman, Do More than Give by Crutchfield, Kania and Kramer, and What’s Next for Philanthropy by the Monitor Institute, among them.

No matter what our nationality, race, sex, sector, or job, we all have only 24 hours in a day and 365 days in year. That means we must be strategic about how we spend our time trying to move the social innovation needle. One decision of how to spend our precious time is determining which conferences to attend.

I was fortunate to attend the TED conference in Long Beach this past March. TED, a nonprofit organization, is focused on identifying and cultivating “ideas worth spreading,” and it does so better than any organization I know. Of course, at the Center for Social Innovation, we’re interested in taking ideas into action.

When I arrived at the Stanford Center for Social Innovation in late 2004, it was a dynamic but unsettling time. While the Center had a lot of excited support, there was also a good deal of confusion over exactly what it was set up to do. Social innovation at the time wasn’t a widely accepted construct.

The New Year is a great time not only for personal resolutions, but also for social and institutional ones. Right around now we typically see renewed energy for the pressing social and environmental problems of our day, and that is a great thing.