As described in this PBS news story, the United States spent approximately $740 billion in 2011 on anti-poverty programs. And, we still had 15 million citizens out of work. Could we turn that anti-poverty money into employment money?
Category: Our Social Goods
Public services for impoverished children: A lifetime of value
How many childcare programs have Nobel Laureate economists prove that their services continue to provide a large return on investment 20 years later? Freaknomics recently featured a paper co-authored by luminaries such as Paul Gertler, Professor of Economics at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and Nobel Laureate James Heckman. The paper describes...Continue reading
The power of design and distribution: energy efficiency
Design and distribution are fundamental and powerful parts of marketing. How powerful? In regards to America’s energy needs, they can provide power for our next 100 million citizens–no new fuel source or technology required. Stay with me for a little math and I’ll show you the possibilities.
Our Social Nature Impacts Our Genetic Inheritance
I’m not a scientist by training or profession, but I am fascinated by what science can tell us about our social nature. In the past few years, new discoveries and techniques in genetics and data mining have revealed new levels of our interdependence, levels that can impact our genetic inheritance in a single generation and...Continue reading
IKEA designs flat-pack houses for refugee camps
How’s this for a needs statement to define a public services marketing need? According to the IKEA Foundation website, “Many of the current shelters used in refugee camps have a life span of approximately six months before the impact of sun, rain and wind means it needs to be replaced, yet…on average, refugees stay in...Continue reading
Process design: renewing my passport
Not all needs identification and process design aims at global social change. Still, I appreciate the effort and results. A recent example for me: I renewed my passport through the mail.
Marketing Against Hunger and Poverty: UN Millenium Development Goals
In June 2013, the United Nations announced the 38 countries had already reached their 2015 Millennium Development goal of reducing hunger in their nation by 50 percent. I let out a whoop when I saw this news. This is great progress for millions of people around the world. I think the Millennium Development project gets...
The power of design principles: the PRISM survelliance scandal
Here’s my marketing take on the PRISM surveillance scandal currently unfolding for the National Security Agency: it’s as if IBM started making staplers, although much more nefarious.
Public services marketing: it’s like poker, and WiFi, and national parks
Imagine Las Vegas has invented a new card game called Commons Poker. Here’s how you play. You and three strangers each ante $250, for a pot of $1,000. Each of you is dealt four cards, leaving a majority of the deck undealt. Each of you chooses to simultaneously play one card from your hand. If...Continue reading
Thinking Outside the Baby Box
Recently I read a BBC article about Finnish baby boxes and thought the program was genius. It shows the power of using a marketing mindset, and a design approach, to solve a pressing social problem.