Diogenes pioneered the use of technology to support trustees and boards in their role as fiduciaries of employee retirement funds. Typically, a multinational corporation with operations in 30-40 countries may have hundreds of pension plans, each with their own characteristics. 

This case study gives an overview of the creation of the Pay-for-Success (PFS) Lab at the University of Virginia (UVA). It promotes discussion of how other university institutions can scale up their own research labs with a limited budget, and also introduces students to the PFS concept and the role university research institutions can play in the social impact process.

This case aims to study the growth, evolution, and social innovation of iThrive Games, a socially minded initiative that aims to create meaningful opportunities using technology for teens to enhance the knowledge, mindsets, and skills they need to thrive through development and across the continuum of mental disorder to wellness. iThrive’s focus has been on creating “meaningful games” that is, games that promote health and well-being of teen players. 

Ridge Schuyler believed that social networks were a unique and innovative way to fight poverty through sustainable employment opportunities. This case study describes how Ridge scaled up Charlottesville Works locally around a formalized social network model that connects unemployed individuals living under the federal poverty line to promising jobs through word-of-mouth, at little cost. 

Driving through Southwest Virginia, Richard Tadler, a venture capitalist and UVA graduate, was able to see firsthand some of the challenges that Virginia’s rural communities are facing; but more importantly, he was struck by the opportunities they present both for impact investors interested in facilitating economic growth at a time of transition, and for UVA students to learn about all the exciting sustainable economic development going on in their own backyard.

Bevin Etienne is an assistant professor and general faculty at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Etienne has extensive teaching and course development experience in the areas of sustainability, entrepreneurship, energy, and engineering design. He emphasizes the importance of capacity building in promoting sustainability and social entrepreneurship in developing countries as well as the role of open source in innovation and entrepreneurship.  

Christine Mahoney is a professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  She studies social justice advocacy, activism and direct action through social entrepreneurship.

Bala Mulloth is an assistant professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Mulloth is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur and his work focuses on innovation and social entrepreneurship.

In this issue: Dean Stam writes about how Batten students, faculty and staff are building a society where democracy can thrive, a new partnership between the Batten School and the UVA Center for Politics focuses on citizen engagement, how Batten students and alumni discover the transformational power of state government, and a Batten alum reflects on what led her to a career in the humanitarian sector.

Hear about the school’s trajectory from our new Dean, Allan Stam, and get to know him better in a special Q&A. The feature story profiles exciting research underway at the school, and Assistant Dean for External Affairs Gerald F. Warburg writes about visions for the school circa 2030.