The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems

by William D. Eggers, Paul Macmillan

Overview

Government Alone Can’t Solve Society’s Biggest Problems

World hunger. Climate change. Crumbling infrastructure. It’s clear that in today’s era of fiscal constraints and political gridlock, we can no longer turn to government alone to tackle these and other towering social problems. What’s required is a new, more collaborative and productive economic system. The Solution Revolution brings hope—revealing just such a burgeoning new economy where players from across the spectrum of business, government, philanthropy, and social enterprise converge to solve big problems and create public value.

By erasing public-private sector boundaries, the solution economy is unlocking trillions of dollars in social benefit and commercial value. Where tough societal problems persist, new problem solvers are crowdfunding, ridesharing, app-developing, or impact-investing to design innovative new solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Providing low-cost health care, fighting poverty, creating renewable energy, and preventing obesity are just a few of the tough challenges that also represent tremendous opportunities for those at the vanguard of this movement. They create markets for social good and trade solutions instead of dollars to fill the gap between what government can provide and what citizens need.

So what drives the solution economy? Who are these new players and how are their roles changing? How can we grow the movement? And how can we participate?

Deloitte’s William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan answer these questions and more, and they introduce us to the people and organizations driving the revolution—from edgy social enterprises growing at a clip of 15 percent a year, to megafoundations, to Fortune 500 companies delivering social good on the path to profit. Recyclebank, RelayRides, and LivingGoods are just a few of the innovative organizations you’ll read about in this book.

Government cannot handle alone the huge challenges facing our global society—and it shouldn’t. We need a different economic paradigm that can flexibly draw on resources, combine efforts, and create value, while improving the lives of citizens. The Solution Revolution shows the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781422192191
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	09/17/2013
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

William D. Eggers is the Global Research Director for Deloitte’s Public Sector practice, columnist, and author or coauthor of seven books, including the Washington Post bestseller If We Can Put a Man on the Moon.

Paul Macmillan is the Global Industry Leader for the Public Sector practice for Deloitte. He is a founder of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)–Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Awards, and is also a member of the board of directors of Bridgepoint Active Healthcare in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Power of the Solution Economy: The new trillion-dollar market for public good 1

1 The Wavemakers 17

The rising new players engaged in delivering societal solutions

2 Disruptive Technologies 51

Creating the ability to mobilize massive resources

3 Business Models That Scale 79

Radical innovations in delivering public benefit

4 The Currencies 107

How new impact currencies fuel the solution economy

5 Public-Value Exchanges 137

New platforms that match capital to social need

6 The Ecosystems 169

Converging around big, hairy, audacious problems

7 Creating Your Own Solution Revolution

A quick guide to changing the world-seriously

Appendix: Strategies to Grow the Solution Economy 229

Notes 239

Index 273

Acknowledgments 287

About the Authors 291

Editorial Reviews

Imagine the world if we were able to double, triple, or even quadruple the number of problem solvers, the diversity of solutions, and the scale of social impacts.” This utopian assertion is at the heart of this energetic study of non-governmental solutions from Deloitte executives Eggers and Macmillan. In the past, when the government was responsible for effecting change, there were conflicting interests between departments and agencies and meager resources. But with the “solution revolution,” companies, educational institutions, and individuals are stepping in and providing better results at lower costs, the authors write. “A new economy has emerged at the borderlands where traditional sectors overlap,” the authors explain, based in a market for solutions to societal problems. In lively prose, the authors discuss such innovations as the Google employee shuttles, Recyclebank, and Zipcar. Outside of these big names, highlights of the book include the work of lesser-known game changers: Unilever’s Wheel soap, sold in small quantities at low prices, help the very poor fight diarrhea-related deaths, and a contest proposed by Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business professors to design a , simple-to-build house to address housing shortages. These stories along with substantive advice for individuals and governments alike present a persuasive argument that the future of global change rests squarely in the hands of ordinary citizens. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

“…pulsating with fresh ideas about civic and business and philanthropic engagement…the breadth of examples is impressive and global.” — The Wall Street Journal

“Eggers and Macmillan’s work succeeds…as a guide to new opportunities to profit from ‘socially impactful’ activities once thought unprofitable.” — Financial Times

“Another good read, The Solution Revolution explores how business, government, philanthropy and social enterprise are converging to solve big problems and create public value...the innovations Eggers and Macmillan outline, and the possibilities they imagine, are fascinating and tantalizing.” — The Washington Post

“The Solution Revolution is an excellent primer for anyone interested in joining the ranks of the social sector…Very few authors and researchers have provided such a comprehensive view of the social sector…” — Policy Perspectives (policy-perspectives.org)

“This book looks at how business, government, and social enterprises are teaming up to solve society's toughest problems. “It’s the best book out there on mobilising communities to solve wicked problems,” says Peter Williams from audit and consulting firm Deloitte.” — Sydney Morning Herald, Summer Reading List, Tech Knowledge

“… a fascinating preview of our economic future, a system where choice, sustainability, and more adaptive ecosystems offer all of us the ability to collaborate towards better solutions.” — USA Book News

“… a pick for social issues and business collections alike. Business collections will find this a specific, inspirational guide!” — Midwest Book Review

“For a book devoted to seemingly intractable problems, it has a very hopeful message.” — BizEd magazine

“A thought-provoking book on how changes have given rise to new issues and challenges and how important it is for society to think beyond self.” — The Star

“an energetic study” and saying, “These stories along with substantive advice for individuals and governments alike present a persuasive argument that the future of global change rests squarely in the hands of ordinary citizens.” — Publishers Weekly

“… worth reading because it is vital to comprehend how, to an astonishing extent, this convergence is already changing the world.” — Vancouver Sun

“If you’re looking for an optimistic read, The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society’s Toughest Problems is a perfect choice…This is high-energy, high-level thinking being put into on-the-ground practice to see what comes of it.” — Associations Now (ASAE: American Society of Association Executives)

“The Solution Revolution shows how entrepreneurs all over the world are stepping forward to innovate for the public good.” — T+D magazine (American Society for Training & Development)

“The Solution Revolution provides a useful and thought-provoking method map, examples, and inspiration for this journey.” — Research-Technology Management

ADVANCE PRAISE for The Solution Revolution:

Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute; author, Steve Jobs—
“Citizens and businesses are creating a ‘solution economy’ that blends market forces and altruism to get good things done . . . Watch out. This book may inspire you to join the revolution!”

Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation; Chairman, Singularity University; coauthor, Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think—
“Today the world’s biggest problems are the world’s biggest market opportunities. Want to become a billionaire? Solve a billion-person problem. The Solution Revolution shows you how.”

Jennifer Pahlka, Deputy US CTO; founder and Executive Director, Code for America—
“The Solution Revolution explores how the intersections of the sectors can unlock the potential we’ll need to face the realities of the twenty-first century.”

John Mackey, co-CEO and cofounder, Whole Foods Market; coauthor, Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business—
“The Solution Revolution is a wise reminder that global problems shouldn’t be left to government alone to solve . . . Read this book and join today’s ‘solution economy.’”

The Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada—
“With a global population approaching nine billion and governments so indebted that their only answer is to beggar succeeding generations, the current path is clearly unsustainable. Eggers and Macmillan seek a better way.”

Geoff Mulgan, CEO, Nesta; author, The Locust and the Bee: Predators and Creators in Capitalism’s Future—
“Eggers and Macmillan vividly describe creative solutions that break the boundaries between the public and private sectors and civil society.”

Rachel Botsman, coauthor, What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption—
“Read this book if you want to understand how the ‘solution revolution’ will create a trillion-dollar market for social good by unlocking the value of underutilized resources in ways and on a scale never possible before.”

From the Publisher