People's Insights Quarterly Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1

Volume 2, Issue 1,
January - March, 2013
100+ thinkers and planners within
MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring
projects on social data, crowdsourcing,
storytelling and citizenship on the
MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every
week, we pick up one project and curate
the conversations around it — on the
MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but
also on the broader social web — into
a weekly insights report. Every quarter,
we compile these insights, along with
original research and insights from the
MSLGROUP global network, into the
People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine.
We have synthesized the insights from
our year-long endeavor throughout 2012
to provide foresights for business leaders
and changemakers — in the ten-part
People’s Insights Annual Report titled
Now & Next: Ten Frontiers for the Future
of Engagement.
People’s Insights
In 2013, we continue to track inspiring
projects at the intersection of social data,
crowdsourcing and storytelling, with a
focus on projects that are shaping the
Future of Citizenship.
Do subscribe to receive our weekly
insights reports, quarterly magazines, and
annual reports, and do share your tips and
comments with us at @PeoplesLab on
Twitter.
People’s Insights
weekly report
People’s Insights
quarterly magazines
People’s Insights
Annual Report

Inside
Foreword
by Pascal Beucler
04
Editorial
by Gaurav Mishra and Nidhi Makhija
05
16The City 2.0
21Let’s Move! Cities,
Towns and Counties
Collaborative Social Innovation
51Half the Sky Movement
Grassroots Change Movements
Sygenta Thought for
Food Challenge
25
57Earth Hour
GE + NFL Head
Health Challenge
31
63
Participant Media +
TakePart
IBM Smarter
Cities Challenge
35
Shahbag Movement 69
P&G Secret - Mean Stinks 76
Alpenliebe 365 Days of
Positivity 8240HP Social
Innovation Relay
45Shell Eco-marathon
Purple: Purpose + People
by Gaurav Mishra
07

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Pascal Beucler,
SVP & Chief Strategy Officer,
MSLGROUP
citizenship, with a focus on projects in the
areas of collaborative social innovation and
grassroots change movements.
I am happy to share that this issue
coincides with the first anniversary of
PurPle (Purpose + People), our award-
winning global citizenship offering. As
you read our magazine, do consider how
purpose-inspired marketing continues to
be as important and relevant for marketers
and business leaders today.
Feel free to write to me at pascal.beucler@
mslgroup.com to share your feedback on
the magazine, or start a conversation on
how we can help you win in the areas of
social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling
and citizenship.
I am delighted to introduce the first issue
of People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine
Volume 2, which pulls together the best
insights on social data, crowdsourcing,
storytelling and citizenship from our
global network of 100+ planners.
In our first year, we curated conversations
around 52 inspiring projects and
presented them to you, along with original
research from our network, in our quarterly
magazines. We further distilled these
insights to identify the ten most important
frontiers that will define the future of
engagement in our annual report, titled
Now & Next: Future of Engagement.
In this issue, we continue to track inspiring
projects at the intersection of social
data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and
Foreword

5
Editorial
Nidhi Makhija,
Manager - Insights,
MSLGROUP
Gaurav Mishra,
VP of Insights, Innovation & Social, Asia,
MSLGROUP
People’s Insights
The People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine pulls
together insights from MSLGROUP’s Insights
Network — a private network created on our
proprietary People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform
— in which 100+ planners within MSLGROUP
share and discuss thought-provoking research
and inspiring projects in the areas of social data,
crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship.
Every week, we pick one project from the
MSLGROUP Insights Network and curate
conversations around it — on the network itself
but also on the social web — into a weekly
insights report. Every quarter, we present the
thirteen insights reports to you, along with
original research from our global network, as an
online magazine.
In this issue of the magazine, we track inspiring
projects at the intersection of social data,
crowdsourcing and storytelling, with a special
focus on PurPle projects – purpose-inspired
projects that are shaping the future of corporate
citizenship.
People’s Insights Quarterly
Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1
In this issue, we share thirteen case studies
on how organizations and changemakers are
catalyzing grassroots change movements and
creating collaborative social innovation in the
areas of environment, health, education and
human potential.

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
Collaborative Social Innovation
• How changemakers are crowdsourcing
ideas around preparing cities for the future,
encouraging collaboration and mobilizing
urban citizens take action, with platforms like
TED’s The City2.0.
• How governments are energizing local
leaders, non-profits and private foundations
to collaborate in the fight against childhood
obesity, with programs like Let’s Move! Cities
Towns and Counties.
• How brands like Sygenta, HP, Shell, IBM, and
GE and NFL are inspiring students, employees,
innovators and local authorities to co-create
solutions around sustainability, health,
nutrition and education, with collaborative
social innovation challenges.
Source: grafixer on Flickr
Source: untitlism on Flickr
Grassroots Change Movements
• How people are mobilizing supporters
to protest against injustices and demand
government action, with decentralized
movements like the Shahbag Movement.
• How changemakers are inspiring people
to go from simply sharing their support to
contributing to real solutions, with movements
like Earth Hour and Half the Sky.
• How media organizations like Participant Media
are mobilizing people to take social action, with
the use of powerful stories and social advocacy
platform Take Part.
• How brands like P&G Secret and Perfetti
Alpenliebe are inspiring people to change
their behavior and perform acts of kindness,
with purpose-inspired multi-year marketing
movements.
Do subscribe to receive our weekly insights
reports, quarterly magazines and annual report,
and do share your tips and comments with us at
@PeoplesLab on Twitter.

7
PurPle: Purpose + People
PurPle (Purpose +
People) is MSLGROUP’s
global offering for
helping business leaders
drive positive change by
catalyzing collaborative
social innovation and
grassroots change
movements. Grounded in
the new triple bottom line
- purpose, performance
and participation - PurPle
puts people at the center
of its proprietary strategic
communications process and helps unlock
purpose for companies, to maximize participation
and performance.
From Green to Blue to PurPle
Over the first decade of the 21st century, what
it means to be a good corporate citizen has
changed dramatically. The intersection of four
seismic shifts – end of trust, power to people,
quest for meaning and rise of shared value – has
made it imperative for organizations to integrate
purpose, participation and performance.
1. The end of trust: People have more
information than ever before and people
don’t trust organizations. In fact, trust in all
organizations, including corporations and
governments, is at an all-time low across the
world. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, has
pointed out that “if [social media activists] can
bring down the Egyptian regime in a few weeks,
they can bring us down in nanoseconds.”
2. Power to the people: People have new
sources of power and people believe that only
they themselves can come up with innovative
solutions to our most pressing problems, not
governments or corporations. Jill Beraud,
former CMO of PepsiCo America Beverages,
shared that the Pepsi Optimism Project
research study showed that young people
believe that normal people, not public figures,
are most likely to “motivate and inspire curious
minds and creative spirits to achieve a greater
good.”
3. The quest for meaning: People are searching
for meaning connections with communities
and organizations around a shared purpose,
and expect organizations to enable such
connections.
4. The rise of shared value: People are
demanding that organizations not only
rediscover their social purpose but also
put it at the core of how they conduct their
business and engage with their stakeholders,
to create shared value. Jeff Immelt, CEO of
GE, believes that “successful companies can
only create solutions to some of the world’s
toughest problems by working collaboratively”
and argues that “business must engage — with
communities, governments, customers and
each other — because the status quo is not an
option.”
Therefore, to stay relevant to their stakeholders,
organizations need to move from green (with a
focus on environment) and blue (with a focus on
sustainability), to PurPle (with a focus on purpose
and people). Environment and sustainability
continue to be important, but they are not
enough. Organizations need to rediscover
their unique purpose and realize it by inspiring,
organizing and energizing their people. In short,
organizations need to move from Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) to Collaborative
Social Innovation (CSI).

Volume 2, Issue 1,
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From Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) to
Collaborative Social Innovation (CSI)
Photo from seyyed_mostafa_zamani on Flickr
1. From corporate to collaborative:
Organizations need to not only rediscover
their purpose, but also work together with their
stakeholders to discover a shared purpose
that all their stakeholders can commit to. A. G.
Lafley, CEO and Chairman of P&G, had shared
that “consumers are beginning in a very real
sense to own our brands and participate in their
creation… we need to begin to learn to let go.”
2. From social to social squared: Organizations
need to not only create solutions that benefit
the society, but also collaborate with all their
stakeholders to co-create them. Filippo
Passerini, former President of Global Business
Services at P&G, believed that “the opportunity
for businesses today is to become networks—
with a culture of collaborative innovation,
stewardship and integrity.”
3. From responsibility to innovation:
Organizations need to not only do good, but
also collaborate with their stakeholders to
co-create innovative and sustainable solutions
that create value for all stakeholders. Mark
Parker, CEO of Nike, sees “sustainability, both
social and environmental, as a powerful path to
innovation, and crucial to our growth strategies.”
Michael Dell, CEO and Chairman of Dell, sums
up the opportunity this positive multi-stakeholder
approach opens up for all of us: “The new engine
of innovation driven by collaboration, openness,
stewardship and the power of the social web gives
all of us an opportunity to drive even more rapid,
meaningful change across global institutions.”
To help organizations navigate this journey,
we have created two powerful tools: the
PurPle Opportunity Matrix and the PurPle
Journey Matrix. The PurPle Opportunity Matrix
helps organizations identify opportunities for
collaborative social innovation that integrate
purpose, participation and performance. The
PurPle Journey Matrix helps organizations
navigate the journey from corporate social
responsibility (CSR) to collaborative social
innovation (CSI).
The PurPle Opportunity Matrix
We have seen that collaborative social initiatives are designed at the intersection of the corporation’s
internal strategic pillars and external opportunity areas.
Four internal strategic pillars
Global CEOs recognize that, in order to effectively drive strategic change internationally, it’s important
for them to pursue “good growth” – growth that is financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable.1
For global CEOs, the four pillars to drive strategic change internationally include: customer-centricity,
innovation, talent and a shared policy agenda.
1 PwC Global CEO Survey 2011, 1200+ business leaders across 69 countries.

9
1. Customer centricity
Responding to changing behaviors in
Western markets and new demands from fast
growing markets in Asia, for both consumers
and enterprise customers. Specifically,
responding to growing customer sentiment
about environmental, social and governance
practices. For instance, Dell inspires young social
innovators to share ideas to tackle the world’s
problems and empowers them with access to
peers and mentors and a chance to win funding,
with the Dell Social Innovation Challenge.
2. Innovation
Co-creating products and services by
collaborating with partners and customers, often
in non-home fast growing markets. Specifically,
co-creating socially beneficial products and
services. For instance, Heineken inspired people
to share ideas on creating sustainable packaging
for beer, with the Ideas Brewery: Sustainable
Packaging Challenge.
3. Talent
Bridging skill mismatches to address the unique
needs of a two-speed world, with slow growth
in the Western markets and fast growth in Asian
markets. Specifically, attracting the talent to
deliver on the social innovation and change
management strategy. For instance, IBM sends
teams of employees to different countries for
four week community based development
projects intersecting business, development and
society, with its Corporate Service Corps program.
4. Shared Policy Agenda
Collaborating with government agencies in the
areas of education, workforce health, intellectual
property and infrastructure. For instance, IBM
collaborated with local governments to develop
sustainable systems with $50 million worth of
IBM technology and expertise, with its Smarter
Cities Challenge.
External change opportunity areas
There are millions of causes, but the three most important opportunity areas for organizations to truly
integrate business and societal objectives are: environment, health and education.
In addition, we have added a fourth opportunity area related to “happiness, kindness and human
potential”, based on our analysis of socio-economic trends and corporate messages.
1. Environment, energy and sustainability
Key socio-economic trends driving the
environment opportunity include: energy
insecurity; pressure from NGOs like Greenpeace;
and consumer willingness to pay a premium for
green products. For instance, Sygenta challenges
students to answer the question ‘how will we feed
9 billion people by 2050,’ with the Thought for
Food Challenge.
2. Health, wellness and nutrition
Key socio-economic trends driving the health
opportunity include: rise in lifestyle related
diseases; rising cost of healthcare; and consumer
willingness to pay a premium for organic and
healthy products. For instance, GE inspires
businesses, innovators, entrepreneurs and
students to share solutions around head health
and cancer detection, with the Healthymagination
Challenge.
3. Education, learning and capability building
Key socio-economic trends driving the education
opportunity include: gaps in public education;
gap between demand and supply of mid-skilled
manpower; and global war for high-skilled
knowledge workers. For instance, HP partnered

Volume 2, Issue 1,
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with Junior Achievement to empower students
around the world to build their capabilities
and become social innovators, with the Social
Innovation Relay.
4. Happiness, kindness and human potential
Key socio-economic trends driving the happiness
opportunity include: prolonged recession in the
West, the gap between aspirations and reality in
emerging markets, and our increasingly solitary
lives. For instance, Doritos empowered youth in
Argentina to come together with a movement to
bring slow dancing back.
The PurPle Opportunity Matrix
Organizations can find opportunities to integrate
purpose, participation and performance at the
intersection of four internal change drivers and
four external opportunity areas.
The PurPle Opportunity Matrix is essentially a
left-brain tool for visually representing the right
brain approach of synthesizing complex priorities
into a compelling narrative.
one interviews and group workshops with the
organization’s leaders, to understand the values
of its founders and the strategic priorities of
its leaders. We then invite employees and
stakeholders to participate in an online network
to reaffirm these values and strategic priorities
and explore external change opportunities that
are relevant to both the organization and its
stakeholders. Finally, we organize a workshop
with the organization’s leaders and stakeholders
to synthesize their ideas and create platforms
and programs that truly resonate with both the
organization’s internal strategic priorities and
external change opportunities.
The PurPle Journey Matrix
We have seen that organizations typically
go through four phases in the journey from
corporate social responsibility (CSR) to
collaborative social innovation (CSI). Purpose and
people are at the core of this shift, which we call
PurPle (Purpose + People), and we created a 2X2
matrix called the PurPle Journey Matrix to help
organizations think about this shift.
The Y-axis of the PurPle Journey Matrix is potential
versus protection. Most organizations first engage
in protection initiatives to minimize negative
impact, as the perceived punishment for negative
impact is higher than the perceived reward for
positive impact. However, once most organizations
adopt protection initiatives, they simply become
expected of any organization. As organizations
begin to see that meaningful potential initiatives
can help them engage with their stakeholders,
including employees, at a deeper level, they start
exploring them more seriously.
To help an organization rediscover and recommit
to its shared purpose, we start with one-to-

11
The X-axis of the PurPle Journey Matrix
is corporate reputation versus consumer
activation. Most organizations first started
thinking about their purpose from a corporate
reputation perspective. Over the last decade,
many have been tempted to tap into the
growing consumer sentiment for doing good
by creating cause marketing and (increasingly)
movement marketing initiatives. Over time,
these initiatives have turned into a cacophony of
copycats and consumers have become critical of
communications campaigns that are not rooted
in commitment. So, most organizations now
realize that corporate reputation and consumer
activation are intrinsically interlinked.
The four quadrants created by the intersection of
protection/ potential and corporate reputation/
consumer activation create the four phases of the
PurPle Journey: corporate social responsibility,
philanthropy-based cause marketing, purpose-
inspired cause marketing and purpose-inspired
movement marketing.
While we are seeing a shift from protection to
potential initiatives, protection initiatives are
still table stakes. Similarly, like we said earlier,
corporate reputation and consumer activation
have become intrinsically interlinked. So,
organizations need to have initiatives in all four
quadrants, but weave them into a cohesive
PurPle Ecosystem.
The PurPle Journey Matrix helps organizations
navigate this new normal at two levels. At one
level, it helps organizations transform their
protection initiatives into potential initiatives
by adding the magical element of people and
participation to them. At another level, it helps
organizations map out their PurPle initiatives
against relevant others, identify opportunities to
connect them into a cohesive PurPle Ecosystem,
and tell a consistent, compelling story around
them. But, first let’s understand the nuances of
each of the four stages of the PurPle Journey
themselves.
Corporate social responsibility (protection/
corporate reputation)
Corporate social responsibility initiatives typically
focus on protecting corporate reputation by
minimizing the organization’s negative impact
on the society or compensating for it via
philanthropic donations.
We have identified three types of corporate
social responsibility initiatives: sustainability,
philanthropy, and volunteering.
1. Sustainability initiatives typically involve
restructuring operations and supply chain
to reduce energy or material consumption,
apart from ensuring regulatory compliance
and reporting. For instance, Volkswagen has
launched various local sustainability initiatives
to create a culture of sustainability internally
and externally, and to produce fuel-efficient
products as part of its Think Blue philosophy.
2. Philanthropy initiatives typically include making
philanthropic donations to non-profits and
foundations. For instance, JPMorgan Chase and
its Foundation gave more than $190 million to
nonprofit organizations in 37 countries in 2012
as part of its global philanthropy program.
3. Volunteering initiatives often encourage
employees to volunteer time or money for
causes supported by the organization, via
programs like designated volunteering days or
matching donations. For instance, Wells Fargo
matches employee’s financial contributions to
eligible schools and educational foundations,
through its Matching Gifts Program.
Philanthropy-based cause marketing
(protection/ consumer activation)
Philanthropy-based cause marketing initiatives
typically focus on supporting a cause, by linking
philanthropic donations to consumer actions, like
buying the company’s products, talking about the
cause or voting for the cause.
We have identified three types of philanthropy-
based cause marketing initiatives: retail cause
marketing, philanthropy contests, and viral cause
marketing.
1. Retail cause marketing encourage consumers
to support causes by buying specific products,
by linking philanthropic donations to sales
of the company’s products. For instance,
several brands have partnered with (RED) and
contribute a portion of (RED) product sales to
the Global Fund Against HIV/AIDS.
2. Philanthropy contests ask non-profits to
activate their networks to vote for them in a
contest to win philanthropic donations. For
instance, Toyota empowered people to decide
which non-profits should qualify as recipients
in its philanthropy program 100 Cards for Good.
3. Viral cause marketing initiatives link
philanthropic donations to number of virtual
actions or conversations about the cause,
using embeds, likes, or retweets. For instance,
Samsung donated £1 to local children’s

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charities for every mile of activity tracked on
the Samsung Hope Relay mobile application.
Purpose-inspired movement marketing
(potential/ consumer activation)
Purpose-inspired movement marketing initiatives
typically focus on inspiring consumers to act as
change agents within their own communities and
create grassroots movements around a shared
purpose, or Social Heartbeat.
MSLGROUP’s Alpenliebe Kindness Movement
We have identified three types of purpose-inspired movement marketing initiatives: behavior change
platforms, change agents platforms and programs to crowdsource social change.
1. Behavior change platforms create the
tools and the support system to enable
individuals and communities to change
deeply entrenched behaviors. For instance,
Alpenliebe has catalyzed a grassroots change
movement in China by inspiring millions of
Chinese youth to share, appreciate and engage
in everyday acts of kindness.
2. Change agents platforms provide the tools
and the enabling ecosystem for people to
act as change agents in their communities.
For instance, in 2009, Starbucks encouraged
consumers to volunteer five hours of their
time to community projects.
3. Crowdsourcing social change initiatives involve
creating broad contests with consumers to
crowdsource ideas for social change. For
instance, in 2010 and 2011, PepsiCo gave
grants worth $20 million per year to ideas that
can refresh the world.

13
Source: MSLGROUP’s Dell Go Green Challenge
stakeholders, including employees, to co-create
innovative and sustainable solutions around a
shared purpose, or Social Heartbeat.
We have identified three types of collaborative social innovation initiatives: platforms to crowdsource
social innovation, social innovation ecosystems and public-private networks.
1. Crowdsourcing social innovation initiatives
involve creating focused contests with relevant
stakeholders to crowdsource ideas for
social innovation. For instance, as part of its
commitment to “imagine and build innovative
solutions to environment challenges”, GE has
created the $200 million GE Ecomagination
Challenge to fund ideas that can reimagine
powering the grid, or powering homes.
2. Social innovation ecosystems are open
networks that catalyze an ecosystem of
social innovation by bringing together
stakeholders and know-how. For instance, as
part of its Mahindra Rise purpose to enable
its stakeholders to rise, Mahindra Group
created the Spark the Rise challenge in 2011
to support ideas that can propel innovation,
entrepreneurship, and positive change in
India. The platform not only gives grants to the
most popular ideas, but also enables others
to support them by donating time, equipment,
expertise or funding.
3. Public-private networks are public or private
networks that bring together stakeholders
from business, government, academia
and civil society to institutionalize social
innovation. For instance, Walmart has created
14 Sustainable Value Networks since 2005 to
bring together diverse stakeholders to develop
solutions to fulfill Walmart’s commitment
towards renewable energy, zero waste and
sustainable products.
Collaborative social innovation (potential/
corporate reputation)
Collaborative social innovation initiatives typically
focus on inspiring, organizing and energizing

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Three reasons to go PurPle
Your organization might have just started on the PurPle Journey through a corporate social
responsibility or a cause marketing program. Or, it might have a number of initiatives spread all over the
PurPle Journey Matrix. In either case, our PurPle approach can help you rethink the interconnections
between purpose, participation and performance.
In summary, here are three reasons for your
organization to go PurPle and build a more
meaningful engagement with your stakeholders:
1. Inspire your stakeholders to co-create
innovative and sustainable social innovation
solutions.
2. Inspire consumers to act as change agents and
create grassroots movements.
3. Connect existing initiatives into a cohesive
PurPle Ecosystem and tell a compelling story
around them.

Collaborative
Social Innovation

17
What is The City 2.0?
In 2012, TED announced a new platform, The
City 2.0, to crowdsource ideas on how cities can
be better equipped for the future, encourage
Source: thecity2.org
collaboration and inspire urban citizens take
action. Ten of the best ideas would be awarded
$10,000 each to kick start change.
As Nate Berg, staff writer at The Atlantic Cities said:
“TED unveiled a new website that aims to crowdsource ideas on city-focused projects and award mini-grants
to enable the best ones.”
According to TED, the vision for the platform is
to build an “ever-expanding network of citizen-led,
scalable experiments.”
Writer Anthony Flint describes The City 2.0 as:
“a kind of global Wikipedia connecting citizens,
political leaders, urban experts, companies, and
organizations, with the goal of improving the 21st
century city using up-to-the-minute crowdsourcing
techniques.
“The ambitious goal is to create a clearinghouse
for tools and methodologies and best practices to
reshape cities around the world.”

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Source: thecity2.org/tips
Source: theatlanticcities.com
The platform and the ‘The City 2.0 challenge’
are supported by a $100,000 TED Prize
and funding from private foundations and
corporations. Changemaker Conor White-
Sullivan noted:
“The platform is supported with $250,000
in funding from the Knight Foundation, and
a number of large corporations are throwing
their weight behind it as well, including IBM
and Autodesk.”
Source: 2012 TED Prize Wish: The City 2.0
The City 2.0 platform was re-designed in
January 2013.
Inspiring people to become
changemakers
The City 2.0 mobilizes people to participate
in the process of driving change. As
Inhabitat’s Tafline Laylin commented:
“It’s a novel idea, but it is also incredibly
inspiring. Instead of placing the responsibility
of our future in the hands of a few politicians,
TED is encouraging all citizens to take it back
into their own.”
People can participate online by sharing
inspirations, stories and projects on The
City 2.0 platform, submitting resources,
competing for a grant and sharing feedback.
Offline, people can organize or participate
in TEDxCity2.0 events and TEDxLive viewing
parties.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
The City
2.0

19
Source: Playlist: 8 City 2.0 award-winner videos
To learn more about city initiatives, The City
2.0 encourages people to browse through
city-themed TED and TEDx talks and has
created a book City 2.0: The Habitat of the
Future and How to Get There.
TEDxCity2.0 – An amplification
channel
The City 2.0 is further supported by the
TEDx program, through which passionate
individuals and changemakers organize
independent TED-like events in their
communities. In October 2012, 28 global
TEDx communities hosted TEDxCity2.0
events, helping the initiative increase its
reach, build a network of changemakers,
crowdsource more ideas and inspire action at
the grassroots level.
AlexanderDSM commented:
“With TED’s City 2.0 [the focus is] not just big
American cities, but cities around the world.
TED’s core competency is not just in the
curation of ideas, but it’s also worth noting
the TEDx program. With over 3,000 TEDx
events in three years, there is the chance for
the TEDx communities in cities to embrace
this year’s TED prize and enact it in their local
communities.”
Mark Dewey, who organized a TEDxCity2.0
event in San Diego, commented on the
event’s contribution to creating a global
community of changemakers:
“Being a part of this global event opened the
exchange of ideas to include what has and has
not worked in other cites (sic) and questions
about we can adopt best practices from proven
models. Far too often, these events only
dive into local problems with local solutions.
Sometimes we need to expand beyond our zip
code to understand what our problems really
are. We have an incredible pool of thought
Source: ted.com/pages/tedx_tedxcity
leaders right in our backyard, but it will take all
of us working together to become the City 2.0 “
To encourage sharing of stories, inspirations
and projects, TEDxCity2.0 introduced a new
initiative – Action Pitch Sessions – which
invites five members to share their ideas on-
stage in a two minute pitch. After the pitches,
event organizers encourage the audience to
support one or more of these ideas and help
bring them to life. Talks and Action Pitches
from the TEDxCity2.0 events are available on
YouTube here and here.
A second TEDxCity2.0 day will be organized
in 2013.
The City 2.0 Challenge
The City 2.0 Challenge bootstrapped
the crowdsourcing process and served
as an incentive for participation. People
submitted their ideas online, and winners
were announced on a rolling basis first at
TEDGlobal in June 2012, and then on the
TED blog. The winners received $10,000
each to fund their project.
ArchDaily’s Vanessa Quirk reported:
“The Award, which offers $10,000 to 10
innovative ideas in Urban Transformation,
has been awarded – so far – to an eco-artist, a
Wikipedia of house-building, a noise mapper, a
couple of sign-post rebels, and a public-health
activist and educator.”

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Can crowdsourcing drive civic
change?
While The City 2.0 benefits from the size and
reach of the TED and TEDx communities,
thinkers debate the potential of the
crowdsourcing platform in creating the city of
the future in real life.
Jake Barton who runs a similar platform,
Change By Us, commented:
“Creating a website is not terribly difficult. But
creating a project that actually has an impact
on communities? That’s really hard. From my
experience, the website is a great way to gain
attention and motivation and traction, but to
actually make real change happen, it’s people.”
Diana Lind, director of Next City and one
of the winners of The City 2.0 Challenge,
believes the challenge model is more efficient
than the open collaboration platform:
“While the Internet is great for ordering shoes
or reading blogs, it might just not be the
best holistic system to organize people or to
Source: Open Ministry (avoinministeraio.fi) Source: Let’s Move! Cities, Town and Counties
(healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org)
create change in cities. We have realized that
the public sector isn’t going to solve every
civic crisis alone, but in fact works best when
partnering with the private and non-profit
sector. It could be that the Internet, by itself, is
also insufficient.
“While the competition portion of The City
2.0 is clearly oriented toward that kind of in-
person collaboration that is required to create
change in cities, the TED prize, with its “wish
list,” suggests that the Internet is the magic
wand that’s going to jumpstart change in our
communities.”
Blogger Kyle Rogler feels the ideas shared
can inspire solutions:
“Crowd sourcing ideas from citizens may
not provide exact solutions to the problems
faced by a city, but it will help inform general
opinions and generate a huge variety of unique
ideas that designers can draw inspiration from
to provide more precise solutions.”
Models of innovation
Several changemakers and organizations have used crowdsourcing and collaborative social
innovation to drive civic change. For instance, crowdsourcing initiatives like Open Ministry in
Finland and programs that incorporate collaboration like Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties
in the U.S. are seeing early signs of success in enabling citizens to propose new laws and
mobilizing local leaders to take action.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
The City
2.0
View this report directly on Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/mslgroup/peoples-
insights-volume-2-issue-6-the-city-20

21
Let’s Move!
Cities, Towns and Counties

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
What is Let’s Move! Cities, Towns
and Counties?
Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties is a part of
Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move! initiative
to combat obesity in children. LMCTC encourag-
es collaboration among various U.S. government
departments, elected officials, non-profits and
private foundations to bring about change at the
grassroots level.
To date, 205 local elected leaders have joined
the program.
How does it work?
The program was initially launched in 2010 as
Let’s Move! Cities and Towns and focused on
creating awareness and gathering support from
Source: healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org
local leaders. It was re-launched in July 2012 with
a new framework, specific goals, guidelines for
measuring progress, and the inclusion of Coun-
ties.
Leaders can sign up for the program online and
must commit to meeting five goals that promote
healthy eating in and out of schools, and creation
of play spaces.
Rachel White, a reader of the Chicago Sun-Times,
commented:
“I think what gives this program its great proten-
tial (sic) is that it take (sic) a holistic approach. In
other words, it just doesn’t focus on school lunches,
although school lunches are a huge problem.”
The National League of Cities spearheads the
initiative and offers local leaders resources such
as an LMCTC toolkit, monthly seminars and
access to technical partners and philanthropists
at national conferences. Innovation and problem
solving occurs at the local level.
As Michelle Obama said:
“What we know we need to do is give parents, com-
munities and families the tools and information
they need to make choices that are right for them.
And there’s no one size fits all solution.”
Collaborative
Social Innovation
Let’s Move!

23
Incentivizing participation
LMCTC uses elements of gamification, such
as challenges, badges and leader boards, to
encourage a spirit of competition and to award
successful leaders with recognition.
Kelly Liyakasa, associate editor at CRM magazine,
points out the benefits of gamification strategies
in organizations:
“Introducing game techniques into the enterprise
can motivate employees to perform specific
behaviors, but it can also improve morale and
excitement around tasks, projects, and even job
roles.”
LMCTC’s five goals or challenges ensure that
leaders are focusing their efforts in meaningful
areas. Leaders share their progress on these
goals regularly via an online survey. When they
meet specified benchmarks, they are awarded
bronze, silver or gold medals. These medals
– and the absence thereof – are visible on the
LMCTC website – Healthy Communities for a
Healthy Future, along with details of the local
leader. People can look up the progress of all
participating cities, towns and counties and also
see the overall medal standings.
The medals also reflect well on the cities, as
the editorial team at online newspaper Record-
Journal, pointed out:
“As part of Let’s Move! rewards, Meriden now has
its own page on the National League of Cities
website. When young families consider moving into
the area and Google this city, they will come upon
this site which speaks well of the community. Thus,
recognitions by Let’s Move! and KaBOOM! could
appeal to potential homebuyers, who bring in new
business and neighborhood interaction.”
The National League of Cities has awarded 669
medals to date.
Source: peopleslab.mslgroup.com
Collaboration and Knowledge
sharing
Elected officials collaborate with early care and
education providers, and schools to identify
local problems and find relevant solutions. For
instance, Beaumont City in Texas is enlisting the
help of athletes to encourage more students to
participate in school breakfast and lunch pro-
grams. As The Examiner’s Kevin King reports:
“One of the plans that the city is considering is
starting a public service announcement program
using local athletes and through the medium of the
Lamar University communication department.”
Leaders are also encouraged to reach out to
other leaders in similar neighborhoods for
guidance, and to share their own learning among
the LMCTC community. Leaders can use a com-
parison tool on the Healthy Communities for a
Healthy Future website to identify similar cities,
towns and counties (based on population, race
breakup, age, land and income) and compare
performances. The National League of Cities also
organizes blog posts, webinars and conferences
to showcase success stories.
Nidhi Makhija, member of the MSLGROUP
Insights Network, commented that the initiative
could benefit from being more social in nature.

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
Paul Wohlleben, a columnist at FedTech Mag-
azine, believes that “Big Data Is a Big Deal for
Government” and can help result in more effec-
tive governance:
“Government can use big data to gain the same
benefits as for-profit firms. Government would
be improved by better understanding the discrete
needs of its constituents, by improving the efficien-
cies of its processes, by understanding performance
and results, by preventing fraud, by preventing loss
— the possibilities are endless.”
Other collaboration models
The Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties initia-
tive resembles an early-stage collaborative social
innovation ecosystem. More mature innovation
ecosystems, like the Ashoka Changemakers
platform, facilitate online collaboration and idea
sharing, and direct access to funding. Others,
like Sygenta’s Thought For Food Challenge
and Mahindra’s Spark the Rise use innovation
challenges to attract and build a community of
changemakers.
We are also seeing collaboration emerge in “de-
sign-led innovation” in which people collaborate
on platforms like OpenIDEO, and governments
set up innovation units like Denmark’s MindLab,
or work with non-profits like Code for America, to
co-create new public solutions.
The grassroots factor
In addition to energizing stakeholders at the
grassroots level, the LMCTC initiative also attracts
plenty of local coverage – especially when
medals are awarded to cities, towns and counties.
Source: eyeonannapolis.net, downtownstpete.ilovetheburg.com,
columbiamissourian.com
Measuring success with data
Another unique aspect of the LMCTC initiative
is its use of data. The National League of Cities
aggregates data provided by local leaders
through online surveys to track progress
over time and identify technical assistance
opportunities.
For instance, data shared by participating leaders
indicates they are unfamiliar with the USDA
MyPlate nutrition guidelines – a requirement that
makes up Goal II. The distribution of medals too
indicates this is an area in which local leaders
could use more assistance from the National
League of Cities.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
Let’s Move!
insights-vol-2-issue-2-lets-move-cities-towns-and-
counties

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
What is the Thought for Food
Challenge?
The Thought for Food Challenge is a global
student innovation challenge, established in
2011, to inspire a new generation of thinkers and
innovators around food security. The program
challenges students to answer the question –
how will we feed 9 billion people by 2050.
TFF is sponsored by global agri-business Sygenta
to engage global youth and build a community of
changemakers.
Source: Initiate. Energize. Solve. Thought for Food Challenge 2012
The finalists will then enter round 2, a four month phase where they work with $1,000 seed money and
professional mentorship to refine their idea. The five teams are then invited to the TFF Global Summit
in Berlin to present their proposals and compete for $5,000 and $10,000 startup investments.
Source: http://www.tffchallenge.com/
How does it work?
In its first year, TFF invited student teams from
ten leading European universities to participate
in the challenge. Now, in its third year, TFF invites
university students from across the globe to
participate.
In round 1, students are given four missions:
research and understand food issues, brainstorm
solutions, create and publish a project proposal
and conquer social media. As in previous
seasons, TFF offers resources to support
students in these missions, in the form of
educational reading material and tips and tricks
on using social media.
After two months, and a round of public voting,
five finalist teams will be selected based on
the project’s potential to create awareness and
incite social change, and the business plan’s
demonstration of long-term and out-of-the-box
thinking.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
Thought for
Food Challenge

27
Reaching out to colleges
Organizers contacted leading colleges with
invitations to participate in the challenge and
offered promotional support to help excite
students and professors:
“To get started, please click “Join the Challenge” for
more information. We’ll simply ask you to encour-
age your students to form teams of five and sign
up by April 9th at www.tffchallenge.com. We’ll
even provide you with everything you’ll need to get
started, including:
• A sample email you can send through your com-
munication networks
• A poster you can print and post around campus
• An info doc introducing the Thought for Food
challenge
• Testimonials from previous participants
Feel free to pass on to student groups or professors
that may be interested in helping pull together
teams.”
Colleges participate to enhance their reputation
and offer unique learning opportunities to their
students.
Source: borlaug.tamu.edu
In our Now & Next: Future of Engagement report on Collaborative Social Innovation, we highlight
participation of education institutions in collaborative social innovation initiatives as a growing trend in
2013-2015.

Volume 2, Issue 1,
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Citizenship
Engaging the Next Gen
With TFF, Sygenta joins companies like Dell, HP,
Siemens and Samsung, in reaching out to school
and university students to energize them around
real issues and subjects declining in popularity,
like STEM education and agriculture.
Christine Gould, Senior Manager of Global Public
Policy and Head of Next Generation Engagement
at Sygenta noted:
“Young people are increasingly becoming discon-
nected from agriculture and don’t understand the
complex challenges and opportunities facing us.
As we focus on the long-term vision to improve
agriculture, the environment and communities
around the world, we are taking this opportunity
to engage some of the brightest minds of the next
generation.”
Through design, structure and gratification, TFF
aspires to bring in a cool factor and create ex-
citement. The program is also designed to make
students talk about their project, publish their
ideas on websites (like Team Demeter) and You-
Tube (like University of Reading’s Mission 3), and
gather votes, thus spreading the cause to their
networks as well.
Source: twitter.com/AUTFFChallenge
Students participate for the forum to share their
ideas and the opportunity to do meaningful work.
As Beau Barnette, member of one of 2012’s win-
ning teams, said:
“I love to seek real life solutions to supposedly out
of reach problems. Researching to develop ideas
and confronting the individual aspects of the situa-
tion is a thrill. As a landscape architecture student,
it is of course exciting to pursue design problems
and solutions outside of the classroom setting.”
TFF also piqued the interest of other students
like Pascal Muller, who commented:
“I like it because it focuses its attention on the
future generation (us) and because it demonstrates
how easy social media and the Internet allow for
easy get-together’s of like-minded people that can
help share ideas.”
In the first two editions, TFF winners were flown
to the One Young World conference to pres-
ent their ideas to other student changemakers.
Here’s a video of the TFF winners sharing their
learnings and ideas at the conference:
And here’s a video of how TFF engaged other
young delegates at the One Young World confer-
ence:
Source: TFF Challenge winners take to the One Young World Stage
Source: Thought For Food 2012 @ One Young World
Quality of Responses
Organizations usually opt for collaborative social
innovation challenges to reach out to new and
numerous thinkers. Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of
open innovation platform Innocentive, highlights
this point in his recent Tedx Talk:
“What we have created are systems where we
build large facilities and large buildings full of
the researchers that we think can solve the most
important problems. We hire the best in the world
to work on those problems, but we all know the
fundamental limitation of that kind of system. We
couldn’t hire all the smartest people in a given field
if we wanted to, we can’t.”
Collaborative
Social Innovation
Thought for
Food Challenge

29
In addition, organizations are looking for fresh
ways of looking at the same problems or, as TFF
puts it, ideas that “Disrupt the Status Quo.”
Students who participated in the challenge have
diverse educational backgrounds (in business,
psychology, architecture, technology and agricul-
ture) and also diverse personal experiences (like
teaching part time at a local school) and beliefs
(like freeganism). As a result, their responses
varied from slam poetry sessions, flash mobs
and research experiments to generate awareness
at the grassroots level; to plans that proposed
insects as alternative food choices, and eco parks
and behavior change games to educate people
about the food generation process.
Source: University of Reading: Food for Thought challenge
Evolution of the TFF challenge
model
In 2011, TFF was positioned as an idea generation
and awareness platform. Recent changes to the
2013 program structure indicate a move towards
building a community and support platform for
youth changemakers.
In year 3, TFF invites sustainable business pro-
posals that last beyond the six months of the
challenge, and encourages students to create
their own start ups with investment grants rang-
ing from $1,000 to $10,000. Also new in 2013
is the introduction of a Thought for Food Global
Summit in Berlin to connect student innovators
with other changemakers around the world.
TFF’s community-model of inspiring innovation
is showing early signs of success, with former
participants sharing their current entrepreneurial
plans and commitment to their winning ideas on
the TFF Facebook page.
Indeed, as Jill Beraud, former CMO, PepsiCo
Americas Beverages once said:
Source: facebook.com/tffchallenge
Source: facebook.com/tffchallenge
Changemaker platforms
While some brands use collaborative social
innovation initiatives as a way to give back to
society (Samsung Solve for Tomorrow) and
recruit talent (Siemens Green Dream contest),
we are seeing more brands, like Sygenta,
create long lasting platforms to connect and
support changemakers (Dell Social Innovation
Challenge).
Branded changemaker platforms have had
significant traction, with platforms like Dell Social
Innovation Challenge and Mahindra Spark the
Rise crossing 250,000 members each.
Source: sparktherise.com
“The best sources for the great ideas we’ll need to
keep moving forward are the people we surround
ourselves with everyday… friends, children, parents,
and grandparents who motivate and inspire curious
minds and creative spirits to achieve a greater good.”

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
Source: dellchallenge.com
Michael Dell, CEO and Chairman of Dell, sums
up the opportunity this positive multi-stakeholder
approach opens up for all:
“The new engine of innovation driven by
collaboration, openness, stewardship and
the power of the social web gives all of us an
opportunity to drive even more rapid, meaningful
change across global institutions.”
Collaborative
Social Innovation
Thought for
Food Challenge
insights-vol-2-issue-1-thought-for-food-challenge

31
GE NFL Head Health
Challenge

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
What is the GE NFL Head Health
Challenge?
In March 2013, GE and NFL launched the open
innovation Head Health Challenge to mobilize
innovators around head health: to help diagnose
mild traumatic brain injury and improve the safety
of athletes, members of the military and society
overall. The challenge is a part of the Head
Health Initiative a new four-year, $60 million
partnership between GE and NFL to research the
brain.
Forbes’s Monte Burke explains the initiative:
“There will be two parts. The first will involve a $40
million research project headed up by GE, designed
to better diagnose mild head trauma and predict
its outcomes. The second will be two different
challenges, led by Under Armour, but accessible to
anyone and called the “open innovation challenge.”
The first of those will also involve diagnosis and
prognosis. The second will focus on trying to design
materials that help protect the head from trauma.”
Source: nflgebrainchallenge.com
Source: forbes.com
The challenge launches amidst growing concerns
around the safety of professional footballers.
CNN’s Chris Isidore notes the importance of this
initiative not only for the NFL, but also the larger
public:
“Experts say beyond the legal risks, the growing
concern about football’s brain injuries could hurt
the sport’s popularity. The threat of brain damage,
especially to young players, is prompting a growing
number of parents to hold their sons back from
playing competitive football…
“People outside of football, including injured
members of the military and those with
degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s, will also benefit from the joint
effort.”
How it works
Like most online collaborative social innovation
initiatives, the Head Health Challenge follows
a contest model in which GE and NFL post the
challenge on a platform and invites individuals,
groups of individuals or other organizations to
submit innovations.
NY Times’ Judy Battista explains the
crowdsourcing process:
“G.E. would run, with an initial investment of $20
million, what it calls an innovation challenge,
asking inventors, entrepreneurs, scientists and
academicians to submit ideas for how safety
equipment could be improved. The most promising
ideas would be selected, financed and brought to
market, opening the field to ideas that have not
sprung from G.E. or helmet manufacturers.”
The $20 million prize money will be spread over
the two parts of the challenge. Part I launched
in March 2013 and calls for submissions by July
2013. Part II is scheduled to launch in the second
half of 2013 and continue into 2014.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
GE + NFL Head Health
Challenge

33
Proposals are judged according to set of
technical criteria, and a panel of external medical
experts will advise GE and NFL on the selection
of awardees. The Head Health Challenge offers
two types of Guided Funding Awards designed to
enable collaboration between GE and NFL and
the award winners. Awards range from $100,000
to $300,000 and will support development of
proof of concept. Awardees will receive the cash
in installments – the first after agreeing to a
guided funding plan with GE and NFL, and the
second upon submission of a progress report
after six months. This structure instills the need
for accountability and protects the interests of
GE and NFL, while also providing a structured
approach for the award winners.
At the completion of the funding and concept
development, winners have the opportunity
to discuss additional funding or business
relationships with GE and NFL.
Collaborative social innovation
at GE
GE has launched several similar open innovation
challenges as part of its business strategy, to
co-create innovative and sustainable solutions
that create shared value. With this model of
crowdsourcing, GE is usually looking to invest
in or acquire the innovation, or promote it by
supporting it with its business scale.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF1UCsLn8Fs
Source: ninesights.com
For instance, since the launch of the GE
ecomagination Challenge to find innovations
in energy and sustainability, GE has committed
$134 million to 22 investments and commercial
partnerships, granted $1.1 million in seed funding
to early stage companies and entrepreneurs, and
acquired one of the businesses that entered the
challenge.
In addition to the series of ecomagination
challenges around sustainable living, GE has also
launched a Healthymagination Challenge to find
solutions in the fight against breast cancer.

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
Source: bigstory.ap.org
Why open Innovation
New this year is GE’s decision to launch the
challenge on open innovation platform Nine
Sigma, which has a community of 2 million
solution providers including businesses,
universities, government agencies and
innovators. The challenge is also open to
innovators beyond the NineSigma community.
In a recent TEDx Talk, Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of
open innovation platform Innocentive, highlights
the benefit of tapping into crowds:
“What we have created are systems where we
build large facilities and large buildings full of
the researchers that we think can solve the most
important problems. We hire the best in the world
to work on those problems, but we all know the
fundamental limitation of that kind of system. We
couldn’t hire all the smartest people in a given field
if we wanted to, we can’t.”
On the Head Health Challenge website, GE
shares its own experience with crowdsourcing:
“The power of collaboration between diverse
networks cannot be overstated. Our experience
has shown us that at GE we don’t have all of the
solutions, but rather the unique opportunity to
seek out great ideas and accelerate their growth.
We can leverage our scale and expertise to nurture
innovation wherever its seeds grow.”
GE and NFL play complementary roles within
their partnership. In an interview with Fast
Company, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
noted the need for a partner to process the
proposals and derive solutions:
“I must get several proposals a day: ‘We have a
solution,’ ‘We have the next best material,’ ‘We’ve
got the helmet.’ We don’t have a disciplined system
to evaluate and learn from each of those, because
it’s usually not one or the other. Maybe it’s the
combination. That’s the challenge of innovation.”
And, GE CEO Jeff Immelt pointed out NFL’s
potential to “make brain advancements a public
priority”:
“With a lot of research, you really want a catalyst so
other people will join in. Very few institutions have
the convening power that the NFL does.”
Big data and sensors in
healthcare
One of the possible areas of innovation in the
Head Health Challenge involves the use of
sensors as a research tool. As Education Week’s
Bryan Toprek notes:
“In an interview with the Associated Press after
Monday’s announcement, Goodell mentioned the
possibility of players wearing helmets with sensors
to help detect hits that could cause concussions.
Such helmets are already being used by
researchers to determine the severity of hits during
youth-football practices, for instance.”
In our previous People’s Insights reports, we have
examined the use of sensors, wearable tech and
data to drive behavioral change and help people
make better decisions (see our weekly report
on the Nike FuelBand). These technologies are
now becoming more common as start-ups and
big health care companies explore the use of
sensors and data as a research tool, to identify
new patterns.
GigaOM’s Ki Mae Heussner notes:
“In the last couple of months, startups like Brain
Sentry and X2 Bio systems, which use sensors to
monitor head impact, have attracted funding from
investors.”
Heussner also notes:
“Already, big companies and emerging startups
are leading the way in the smart use of data. At
GigaOM’s recent Structure: Data conference,
Aetna’s head of innovation Michael Palmer talked
about how the company is using data to prevent
diabetes and heart attacks. Startup Asthmapolis
(which this week raised $5 million) is using GPS
data collected via sensors attached to inhalers
to help individuals, physicians and public health
officials uncover asthma-related patterns.”
We cover the rise of data and sensors in our
annual reports on Behavior Change Games and
Collective Intelligence.
Collaborative
Social Innovation
GE + NFL Head Health
Challenge
http://www.slideshare.net/mslgroup/ge-nfl-head-
health-challenge-peoples-insights-volume-2-
issue-11-18476256

35
IBM Smarter Cities
Challenge

Volume 2, Issue 1,
Future of
Citizenship
What is the Smarter Cities
Challenge?
IBM launched the Smarter Cities Challenge to
collaborate with local governments and co-
fund technology-based solutions to city-specific
urban challenges. Through the Smarter Cities
Challenge, IBM aims to help 100 cities across
the world address urban issues with $50 million
worth of IBM technology and expertise.
Source: fastcompany.com
IBM focuses on cities that collect data, and leverages its own technology and expertise to integrate city
systems and solve problems. As former IBM-er Adam Christensen blogged:
“Cities have tremendous opportunities to use data, connectivity, and sophisticated software tools to know
themselves better and improve their efficiency and effectiveness as providers of services and engines of
economic growth.”
The Smarter Cities Challenge was launched as a three-year initiative in 2011. By the end of 2012, IBM has
sent 300 experts to work with 60 cities around the world. Winners of the final phase of the challenge
were announced in November 2012.
How it works
Cities applied to the challenge online over three
years and IBM announced 20 to 35 winners each
year.
Blogger Itir Sonuparlak noted:
“In order to receive the funds and the expertise,
the cities had to be prepared to match IBM’s
investment with their own commitment of time
and resources. The submissions that were favored
included urban concerns that could be addressed
using “smarter” technologies, the availability of
data, and cities that demonstrated a record of
innovative problem solving.”
A team of IBM experts visits each winning city and
spends three weeks working with local authorities
to analyze the city and recommend smart city
solutions.
Source: IBM Smarter Cities Challenge
Collaborative
Social Innovation
IBM Smarter Cities
Challenge

37
Source: IBM CityOne Trailer: A Smarter Planet Game
Source: smartercities.tumblr.com
Fast Company’s Ariel Schwartz wrote:
“The program… will give $250,000 to $400,000
worth of services to each city selected through the
competitive grant process. Those services may
include access to City Forward (an IBM tool which
allows cities to analyze and visualize data across
systems), workshops on social networking tools,
time with top IBM talent, and assistance with
strategic planning.”
In addition, cities are also introduced to the IBM
Intelligent Operations Center, a robust tool that
monitors and manages city services, in its effort
to create smarter cities.
Writer Heidi Schwartz noted:
“These pilots leverage IBM technology and will
combine high volumes of data from sensors and
databases (aka “Big Data”) with a layer of analytics
software. This infrastructure will allow officials to
visualize and manage operations more efficiently.”
Writer Rachel King pointed out:
“Essentially, IBM’s concept is to build a new user
interface that exists between inhabitants and their city.”
To demonstrate the capabilities of its technology,
IBM created the game CityOne – a virtual
simulation of an urban city and the challenges it
faces. As Fast Company’s Ariel Schwartz noted:
“Cities considering the application process might
want to take a look at IBM’s CityOne, a city
simulation game intended to help developers and
city planners deal with issues related to climate
change, electrical grid management, banking and
more. The game could, in other words, help cities
pinpoint problems that might be alleviated with a
little help from IBM.”
In their journey to make cities smarter, IBM
experts address urban issues ranging from
administration, citizen engagement, economic
development, education & workforce,
environment, public safety, social services,
transportation and urban planning.

Volume 2, Issue 1,
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Citizenship
Source: triplepundit.com
Source: fastcompany.com
Source: City Forward Introduction
Then, IBM documents the experience and
learning from each city into an executive report
or case study and shares this on the Smarter
Cities Challenge website – giving other cities and
thinkers the opportunity to explore solutions.
Jen Crozier, Vice President of IBM Global
Citizenship Initiatives, shared:
“While the first two years of the program were
about building expertise and connecting city
leaders, the third year of the program will focus
on synthesis, and the ways in which the lessons
learned from one city can be combined with those
from another, to yield unexpected insight into the
challenges facing cities.”
IBM’s purpose
The Smarter Cities Challenge is an evolution of
both IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative to address
sustainable development, and also the IBM
Corporate Service Corps pro bono consulting
program to assist governments in developing
countrieswith projects that intersect business,
technology, and society.
The challenge reflects IBM’s vision of using
technology to connect, monitor and analyze
systems to create smart systems – smarter grids,
smarter traffic management, smarter cities,
smarter healthcare, smarter food distribution and
so on – to achieve economic growth, sustainable
development and societal progress.
As such, Smarter Planet is a part of both IBM’s
business strategy as well as its CSR strategy.
Edward Boches, Chief Innovation Officer at
ad agency Mullen and professor at Boston
University, noted:
“It’s a tagline, an ad campaign, a social media
program, an attempt to educate customers and
influencers, a library of thought leadership, an
employee motivational program, and a clearly
defined corporate mission. Most importantly
it’s a way to sell IBM and its services by framing
the importance of, and the need to, harness
the intelligence in the world’s and a company’s
connected data.”
Blogger Mary Catherine O’Connor wrote:
“Does this grant project mark the dawn of
philanthropy 2.0? Or is it a handy tool for IBM to
market its services to urban leaders? It’s both. And
for IBM, it’s also a way to advance its Smart Planet
platform, which is all about building more efficient
systems through analytics, sensor networks, cloud
computing, building automation and other systems.”
Data, crowds and smart cities
Entrepreneurs, organizations and governments
are keenly exploring the use of data, connected
objects and crowdsourcing to make cities smarter
– especially as cities become more crowded and
congested.
IBM’s City Forward is an open interactive platform
that allows people explore city data and discuss
findings with the City Forward community.
IBM has also created the community People
for a Smarter Planet to connect thinkers and
changemakers around this challenge.
Governments too are opening up data and
problems to entrepreneurs, coders and citizens,
with challenge platforms like Code for America,
Data.gov and Challenge Post in the U.S. and
Spark Central in the UK.
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Anthony Townsend, director of research at the
Institute for the Future, argues that cities have a
lot to gain by opening up to citizens:
“Why can’t the technology that makes the Web an
intuitive and interactive, yet deeply personalized
and social realm, be grafted onto the physical world
in a similar fashion?...
“In the coming decade each city must strive to be as
good a civic laboratory as it can be. It must provide
a physical and social support system for hackers
and entrepreneurs to experiment within.”
Finally, several entrepreneurs have launched
projects to crowdsource ideas on how cities can
prepare for the future (see our People’s Insights
report on TED’s The City2.0 platform).
Source: thecity2.org
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41
What is the Social Innovation
Relay?
In 2010, HP and Junior Achievement launched an
online collaborative social innovation challenge,
the Social Innovation Relay, to mobilize students
around the world to become social innovators.
The relay invites students between the ages
of 15 – 18 from up to 13 countries to think like
entrepreneurs and develop concepts that could
have a significant positive social impact in their
local communities or around the world. With the
support of HP volunteers, students learn more
about social innovation and the use of technology
both as a collaboration tool and as a potential
solution to social issues.
Source: facebook.com/SocialInnovationRelay
Blogger Ray Maota notes that the program will help prepare students for the job market:
“The aim was to close the gap in the job market between young people who have opportunities to learn
about technology from a young age and those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Volume 2, Issue 1,
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Source: HP Junior Achievement Social Innovation Relay
How it works
Students register for the Social Innovation Relay
online and participate in interactive online case
study presentations, where HP volunteers explain
the concept of social innovation and go over real
life examples.
Source: ja-ye.org
Source: 2012 Winning team in Bulgaria: Team Optimum (via: facebook.com/
SocialInnovationRelay)
Students then test their knowledge with an
online quiz and win Responsible Business
Certificates if they answer 80% of the questions
correctly. Next, students brainstorm and submit
their own social innovation ideas.
As blogger Ray Maota noted:
“Following that, they group themselves into
teams of three to five members, and are required
to develop a socially innovative business idea
that would alleviate a problem affecting their
communities.”
The top 20 teams in each country qualify for
the Social Innovation Relay and are paired with
HP e-mentors. Students collaborated with their
mentors via HP Virtual Rooms or in person.
Deepti Bansal, member of the winning team in
the U.S., reflects on her mentor’s guidance:
“We would give him ideas and then he would
respond with questions that got us thinking
about potential problems with our idea. This
made us think more analytically and ended up
strengthening the project. He didn’t just give us the
answers; he made us think for ourselves.”
The top 10 teams participate in a national final
held online and present their ideas to HP
employees who volunteer as judges. One team
is selected as the winner, presented with HP
prizes, and qualifies for the global round of the
Social Innovation Relay, also held online. Global
winners win an all expense paid trip to Estonia for
the Junior Achievement – Young Entrepreneurs
Alumni Europe conference.
Over the past two years, 30,000 students have
submitted 1,000 social innovation concepts
under the guidance of 300 HP mentors. In its
third year, the Social Innovation Relay aims to
reach 40,000 students with the support of 22
Junior Achievement offices.
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Caroline Jenner, CEO of JA-YE Europe and Senior
Vice President at JA Worldwide, points out:
“The program was designed to improve students’
business savvy, teamwork, and problem-solving
skills. At the same time, it improves their awareness
of how to create opportunities for themselves while
also making the world a better place.”
In 2013, HP and JA introduced offline case study
presentations held at local schools and HP offices:
“Students interested in social entrepreneurship
had the opportunity to interact with HP volunteers
and to analyze contemporary examples of social
innovations. They also contributed with their ideas
of social innovation as solutions to important
problems identified in their community.”
HP employees and non-HP volunteers attended
volunteer training sessions to prep for these
presentations. The offline presentations have
been introduced in schools in Romania, Kenya
and Indonesia, and expand the reach of the
program.
HP’s Purpose
HP is committed to innovation in education and
with initiatives like the Social Innovation Relay,
fulfills its purpose of “working with students,
teachers, and entrepreneurs to redesign and
complement the learning process.”
HP has worked with Junior Achievement since
1996, to meet this goal and develop new ways
of building entrepreneurship and business
skills among young people. HP employees
volunteer their time to programs like the Social
Innovation Relay and various other training
initiatives. In fact, HP was recently awarded
the Junior Achievement U.S. President’s
Volunteer Service Award in recognition of the
HP employees’ efforts.
Source: Initiatives Driving Engagement in Education (view the full PurPle Index infographic here)
In addition to the Social Innovation Relay, HP has also launched initiatives like online learning- platform
HP Life to equip students and aspiring entrepreneurs with business skills and technology training.
HP also emerged as a top performer in
education and human potential in the
MSLGROUP PurPle Index, which measures the
strength of engagement for the Fortune Global
100 around PurPle opportunity areas of health,
environment, education, human potential and
purpose.

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Social Innovation and youth
unemployment
Thinkers believe that collaborative social
innovation challenges help combat youth
unemployment, a pressing issue especially in the
U.S. and Europe.
Erin Krampetz, Co-Founder and Community
Director at Ashoka U highlights the need to
complement educational programs with such
initiatives:
“Many of today’s most pressing challenges –
climate change, to government deficits, to poverty
both in the U.S. and globally – will be the job of
tomorrow’s leaders to address. Yet our nation’s
institutions of higher learning, the breeding ground
for future leaders, have fallen behind in their ability
to provide students with the mindset and skill set
essential to effect positive social change and to
create solutions where none seem possible.”
Junior Achievement’s Caroline Jenner highlights
the role that governments and businesses can
play in combating youth unemployment:
“Through programs like [the Social Innovation
Relay], governments (through supportive policies
in the school system and teacher training) and
business communities (through engaging
employees and global networks) have co-invested
in entrepreneurship and social innovation
education, and supported strong school-to-work
schemes—and they are achieving great results in
the fight against youth unemployment.”
Other branded initiatives to tackle youth
unemployment include Benetton’s recent
Unemployee of the Year challenge and CSR
initiatives from Starbucks, Citibank and Microsoft.
http://www.slideshare.net/mslgroup/hp-social-
innovation-relay-peoples-insights-vol-2-issue-9
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HP Social Innovation
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What is the Shell Eco-marathon?
The Shell Eco-marathon is collaborative social
innovation challenge that inspires students and
young engineers around the world to design
and build the next generation of fuel-efficient
vehicles. The Shell Eco-marathon traces its
roots to 1939 when it was an internal challenge
amongst employees. Now, the eco-marathon
takes place annually in three continents – the
Americas, Europe and as of 2012, Asia. Students
compete for cash prizes and the opportunity to
set new records.
Shaun Stone, team manager, Aston University noted:
“The purpose of the competition is to go as far as
possible on 1 litre of fuel, with off track awards for
aspects such as sustainability and design also
available.”
Through the eco-marathon, Shell aims to inspire
a new generation of engineers passionate about
sustainable mobility. In recent years, Shell
has begun opening up the event to the public
through offline labs at the Shell Eco-marathon
in Europe and the Americas, an online Shell
Energy Run Game on Facebook, and a series of
blog posts and videos documenting behind-the-
scenes action.
Source: shell.com
Source: Shell Eco-Marathon Legacy
The initiative has achieved significant scale – 513 teams from 45 countries are participating in the Shell
Eco-marathon this year.
How it works
Students spend a year in designing, building and
testing their vehicles. Students can choose from
two classes of vehicles and seven types of fuel:
“The Prototype class focuses on maximum
efficiency, while passenger comfort takes a back
seat. The UrbanConcept class encourages more
practical designs Cars enter one of seven categories
to run on conventional petrol and diesel, biofuels,
fuel made from natural gas (GTL), hydrogen, solar
or electricity.”
Shell uses Facebook as its central platform of
coordination, with invite-only groups for each
region. Here, students and Shell representatives
answer technical questions and clarify contest
rules. In addition, Shell uses YouTube to share
information around event logistics, technical
engineering concepts, and even an animated
video of the track.
Finally, students compete in the annual race on
city streets or on a professional circuit:
“Over several days, teams make as many attempts
as possible to travel the furthest on the equivalent
of one litre of fuel. Cars drive a fixed number of
laps around the circuit at a set speed. Organisers
calculate their energy efficiency and name a winner
in each class and for each energy source.”
Source: facebook.com/groups
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Source: stalbertgazette.com
Source: pcmag.com
Integration at schools and
universities
Sometimes, students develop the cars over years,
as older students graduate and new students
join the teams. As a result, universities produce
multiple, diverse eco-cars and students can build
on past efforts.
The team at Chalmers University of Technology
reflected:
“At the competition we realized that it was not that
easy to complete a race, and definitely not to be
competitive. Many teams had spent several years
and (in some cases) several millions and it was
clear that we would have to wait a few years before
we could expect to be among the best.”
Indeed, some schools, like Purdue University,
have been building eco cars since 1993 and
participating in the Shell Eco-marathon since
2008. Purdue Solar Racing even showcased their
eco car at the recent New York International Auto
Show.
Prepares students for the real
world
The Shell Eco-marathon is a good outlet for
students to test their skills and creations, to face
real world challenges and to explore a future in
engineering and sustainable mobility.
A staff report in The News Star notes:
“The Tech students, who come from many different
academic degree programs, participate in the
project as volunteers and do not get class credit.
They design, build, paint and test the cars on their
own time, usually in the evenings, after class and
on weekends. They also assist with fundraising
and publicity. While employing skills they learn in
the classroom, these students are also developing
leadership and project management skills that will
serve them throughout their careers.”
Source: Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2012 from Rotterdam
Engineering junior and participant John Rockwell
reflected:
“There’s a lot of stuff I’ve learned on this team
that I wouldn’t be able to normally. Working with
companies and sponsors ... you definitely don’t get
that just sitting in a class.”
Journalist Christine Des Garennes reported:
“The prize is a trophy and $2,000, but the real
reward, many [University of Illinois] team members
said, has been the learning experience that has
come along with designing the vehicle and working
with a group of students with backgrounds in a
wide range of subjects.”
Faculty advisor of the Saint Thomas Academy
Experimental Vehicle Team Mark Westlake
reflected on the experience:

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Source: facebook.com/Shell
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_
detailpage&v=iDg7rdVW3vw
“Members of your team tend to blossom when
given enough time to fail. Students surprised me
with how creative they were and how willing they
are to learn new skills.”
Engaging the public
Online, Shell engages people around the event
through video series such as the two part “Road
to Houston.” Structured like a reality show, the
series documents the behind-the-scenes activity
and challenges faced by the teams in preparing
for the contest. Other video series feature the
teams participating or cover live events at the
various Shell Eco-Marathons. In addition, Shell
partnered with National Geographic to cover
the eco-marathon on National Geographic’s
The Great Energy Challenge Blog. Participants
and Shell community managers contribute to
the blog. Many students also document their
own experience and design process online
on Facebook or on team websites and blogs
(Chalmers University of Technology, Aston
University).
In 2012, Shell launched a social game on
Facebook, the Shell Energy Run Game, that
enables people to participate in the Eco-
marathon virtually. Players design their own car
and race it on a virtual circuit. The game provides
educational tips to help people increase their
virtual car’s fuel efficiency, and incorporates
elements like points, trophies and a leaderboard
to keep people playing.
Offline, Shell has organized activations like the Mobility Footprint Zone at the Shell Eco-marathon
Americas and the Het Lab at the Shell Eco-marathon Europe.
Writer Flori Meeks covered the experience in the
Americas:
“New this year is an interactive learning experience
for visitors. Activities include a “Mobility Footprint
Zone” with a kinetic dance floor where visitors can
race toy cars powered by salt water, a Formula 1
car display, a self-guided tour through Shell Eco-
Marathon Americas and the mPowering Action
Mobile Recording Studio, where visitors can record
songs or messages about their energy solutions for
the future.”
In Europe, Shell and creative agency Imagination
used RFID cards to make the experience more
interactive and memorable:
“Visitors used RFID cards to store photos, videos
and data from their visit, and could afterwards
‘Replay the Day’ by entering their personal code on
the micro-site.”
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Larger social impact
As collaborative social innovation programs
become more common, thinkers are beginning to
place more emphasis on measuring success and
finding successful models.
Indeed, Ashraf Engineer, member of the
MSLGROUP Insights Network, noted:
“I think [the Shell Eco-marathon is] a superb idea.
The question is this: Will the competition translate
into an actual ultra-fuel-efficient vehicle? The
quest for such a vehicle has been on for decades
and prototypes have been paraded in automobile
shows for years. Yet, there are hardly any successful
models.”
Participants note that the eco-marathon has
helped inspire a new generation of environment
conscious engineers. Several participants have
gone on to intern or work not only at Shell, but
also the larger engineering industry.
High school junior and participant Jake Nyquist
reflected:
“It’s very valuable, especially for high school
students. There are all sorts of students who would
never consider going into engineering as a career,
or looking at fuel consumption, without this.”
Bloggers and faculty advisors also note that the
technology developed for the eco-marathon
would eventually enter the mainstream.
Blogger Vijay noted:
“The competing vehicles are highly specialized
and optimized for the event and not intended for
every day use. The designs represent what can
be achieved with current technology and offer a
glimpse into the future of car design based on
minimal environmental impact in a world with
reduced oil reserves. Nevertheless, the work of
the participants can still be used to show ways
manufacturers could redesign their products.”
Purdue University team’s faculty advisor and
mechanical engineering professor Galen King
said:
“I don’t think we’ll see these cars on the road, but
the tech used in them will always be incorporated.
Carbon fiber material, computer-integrated control
systems, electric propulsion—you’ll see all those
components.”
http://www.slideshare.net/mslgroup/shell-eco-
marathon-peoples-insights-vol-2-issue-10

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What is the Half the Sky
Movement?
The Half the Sky Movement creates awareness
about women’s issues and highlights solutions
through a stream of transmedia initiatives and
social media campaigns. The movement was
launched by journalists Nicholas Kristof and
Sheryl WuDunn following the success of their
Source: halftheskymovement.org
book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into
Opportunity for Women Worldwide in 2009,
and is supported by celebrity advocates, media
partners, NGOs and people who have engaged
with various initiatives.
Most notable is the movement’s focus on providing ways for people to get involved and contribute to
solutions.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRfDzznfEOU&feature=youtu.be
Transmedia storytelling approach
Transmedia programs ensure the movement
reaches a diverse range of people and, as
Magazine’s Randy Astle points out, encourages
participation:
“One of the most intriguing things about
transmedia when compared to traditional film,
particularly documentary, is that through its
multiple entry points and interactive experiences
it has the potential to more fully engage viewers in
causes. It doesn’t just inspire people to action, in
other words; at its best, it gives them the tools and
initial opportunities to take action then and there.”
Half the Sky uses content to share the stories
of real women, and partners with NGOs and
organizations to create educational material and
engagement opportunities around these stories.
The movement also uses diverse channels, such
as exhibitions and social games, to reach new
people,
While the book was initially the heart of the
movement, the stories featured have been
brought to life through a four hour documentary
featuring the authors and celebrities America
Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan,
Gabrielle Union, and Olivia Wilde. The series was
broadcast in full on PBS, with excerpts available
on YouTube and a shortened version available for
screening events.
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These stories are also used as an educational
tool. Half the Sky partnered with The
Independent Television Service (ITVS) to create
five lesson plans that complement the stories
and can be used in a classroom setting. Half
the Sky also partnered with women’s health
organization Engender Health to create a chapter
by chapter Reader’s Companion that expands on
the issues raised in the documentary.
In late 2011, Half the Sky created an exhibit to
bring the stories to life with ‘visual art, immersive
sound installations, and interactive experiences.’
In early 2013, Half the Sky launched a Facebook
game that invites people to follow the daily
struggles and life of a fictional character Radhika
and make decisions on her behalf.
Each medium also focuses on driving action. On
YouTube, people are encouraged to donate to
the cause. On Facebook, people are encouraged
to play the game to unlock corporate donations.
Blogger Doreen Anderson commented on the
call to actions in the book:
“The last page of the book offers “steps you can
take in the next 10 minutes” to make a difference--
so you are not left feeling, Yeah, but what can I DO?
In those 10 minutes, my first step was to connect
with KIVA, one of many suggestions on that page,
to begin my involvement with this issue.”
Transmedia programs are also used to reach
out to the women who are facing the struggles.
Half the Sky has launched three mobile games
in India and East Africa to educate women about
pregnancy, dangers of intestinal worms and
family choices.
Promoting the documentary
Half the Sky launched a series of campaigns to
reach out to different audiences and build buzz
for the documentary premiere, and created a
social TV experience to engage fans during the
premiere. Half the Sky involved celebrities in
both phases of promotion to increase reach.
Half the Sky launched Hashtagart Mosaic to
reach out to the Twitter community, inviting them
to tweet with #HalftheSky to have their profile
photo featured in a virtual mosaic.
Source: halftheskymovement.org
Source: kimyadawson.tumblr.com
Half the Sky launched 30 songs in 30 days to
reach out to music fans, giving away a song a
day from established and emerging female
musicians in the month leading up to the
premiere. Musicians were honored to be a part
of a good cause, and promoted the campaign on
their social networks.
During the premiere, people were invited to join
the conversation on social networks (Twitter and
GoodReads) and social TV apps (GetGlue and
Yap TV) for the chance to win virtual goodies,
exclusive content, books and DVDs.
Natan Edelsburg, Vice President of Sawhorse
Media, commented:
“They used Getglue to allow viewers to earn a
special sticker for watching both nights of the
broadcast. They did this by offering two half
stickers, something that hadn’t been done before
on GetGlue.”

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Source: getglue.com
Source: business.twitter.com/success-stories/pbs
In addition, Kristof, WuDunn, celebrities featured
in the documentary and part organizations live
tweeted during the broadcast to create buzz. As
Mashable’s Zoe Fox points out, the movement
makes good use of its social currency:
“New York Times columnist Kristof, the paper’s
first blogger and a journalist touted for his early
embrace of digital platforms, has more than 1.3
million followers on Twitter. Two actresses featured
in the documentary have major followings as
well — Gabrielle Union has more than 800,000
and Olivia Wilde has more than 650,000. These
influencers’ tweets and use of the #HalftheSky
hashtag are part of a social strategy to drive lasting
conversation.”
According to Twitter, the launch promotions were
quite successful:
“On the day that the first part of the @Half
documentary aired on @PBS, #HalftheSky trended
In the United States. @PBS kept the momentum
going with Promoted Tweets and #HalftheSky
trended worldwide on the day that the second half
aired.”
According to Kara Tureski, associate director at
non-profit FHI 360:
“All three games use two common models to
achieve social impact—adventure and simulation.
Players are exposed to characters that can serve
as role models, and will be rewarded for positive
actions, such as killing the worms inside their
stomachs or seeking antenatal care. Players also
face choices, such as making decisions that lead to
a delay in marriage and betterment of the family.”
She quotes Asi Burak, co-president of Games for
Change, on why games have potential for driving
social change:
“Social games offer a unique way to reach your
audience in a way that is not didactic or preachy.
By playing a role and making choices, players are
participating in a rehearsal for life. They experiment
with scenarios and consequences that may be part
of their future, and at the very least, this experience
triggers reflection, debate, and a new perspective on
their present situation.”
The Half the Sky social game launched on
March 4, 2013, as “the first Facebook game with
direct virtual to real-life translation.” By playing
the game, people can unlock donations worth
500,000 from Johnson & Johnson and Pearson.
The game was produced by non-profit Games
for Change and is backed by foundations and
corporate sponsors.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_
embedded&v=N6Ahpocmjs0
Gaming for good
Half the Sky uses mobile and social games to
drive change at ground level, and to energize
people in the developed world.
The mobile games were developed in English,
Hindi and Swahili and were made available for
free through local mobile app stores. Half the
Sky also created videos and a short manual to
help NGOs and advocacy groups promote the
games in India and East Africa.
Blogger Brandy Shaul summarizes the
gameplay:
“The Half the Sky Movement game follows fictional
female characters that might be forced to change
their way of thinking or living in order to better
their own lives, the lives of their children, and
more. Quests offer educational content, and for
every quest that’s completed, players are given the
opportunity to donate real money to a matching
cause (a quest about vaccinations may give players
the chance to donate to a real world vaccination
center, for instance). Play enough, and you’ll unlock
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a sponsor gift for free, without actually spending
any money.”
Ariel Schwartz, senior editor at Fast Co.Exist,
reflects on the addictive nature of games for
good:
“In some ways, Half the Sky’s game is similar to
WeTopia, another Facebook game that lets people
donate to nonprofits through gameplay… After
covering WeTopia on Co.Exist, I became very, very
addicted--and I’m not a big Facebook game player
at all. There’s something gratifying (and yes,
addictive) about knowing your insignificant actions
on a social network make a real-life difference. That
will serve Half the Sky well.”
As with the other transmedia programs, the social
game is designed to target new audiences. Indeed,
as player Lisa Alcock commented on Facebook:
“My 7 year-old son & I are both playing this game
& he was so proud when he got to the point where a
book was donated just because he was playing! He’s
starting to ask questions about the world & why it’s
different in other countries. Thanks for the fun way
to raise awareness & start conversations! :)”
Kristof and WuDunn hope to capture 2%
of the 300 million social gaming audience
and to inspire people to drive real change. If
successful, the game could boost the gaming
for good industry and position social gaming as a
philanthropic tool.
Innovative social media
campaigns
In addition to being transmedia savvy, Half the
Sky is also very social media savvy, creating
innovative campaigns and experimenting with
emerging tools and platforms.
To create buzz around the launch of the social
game, Half the Sky challenged people to
participate in a #halfathon on Twitter:
“Unlike traditional game-a-thons, we are not
asking that you play for 24 hours consecutively, but
that you recruit as many friends as possible to play
in this 24-hour period. The more people play, the
more real impact we can make, and all it takes is a
15-minute session to make a difference.”
To boost effectiveness of the campaign, Half the
Sky encouraged people to ‘RSVP’ on Thunderclap,
a service that broadcasts the same message on
behalf of all supporters at the same time.
Source: thunderclap.it

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Source: facebook.com/halftheskymovement
On International Women’s Day, Half the Sky
invited Twitter users to participate in Change
Her Story and craft a “collaborative story about
empowering women” on Twitter. 103 people
crafted the life of Radhika, the main character of
the Half the Sky social game.
Half the Sky has also used launched a
crowdfunding program, designed to energize
both supporters of the cause and NGO partners
with leaderboards and incentives. As blogger
David Cohen notes:
“Viewers can donate to any Half the Sky Movement
charity or their NGO partners via online fundraising
site CrowdRise, with the team raising the most to
be matched by a $20,000 donation.”
Source: crowdrise.com/halftheskymovement
The Half the Sky website acts as a central repository for these initiatives and programs, and also acts as a
social advocacy website with information on how people can get involved.
http://www.slideshare.net/mslgroup/peoples-insights-vol-2-issue-4-half-the-sky-movement
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Half the
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What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is a global movement that mobilizes
people to show their support for the environment
by switching off their lights for one hour every
year. Organized by WWF, the movement began
in Sydney in 2007 and has since spread to 7,000
cities & towns in 150 countries & territories.
An editorial in the Philippines Daily Inquirier
mentions:
“First held in 2007, Earth Hour has grown from a
citywide activity in Sydney, Australia, to a worldwide
event held every March to cut power consumption
and highlight the need to raise awareness of
climate change and the dangers everyone faces…
“Earth Hour has happily become a public-private
partnership, with individual and corporate entities
as well as government agencies taking part in the
collective action.”
Source: twitter.com/aliciasilv
In its seven years, Earth Hour has achieved
tremendous scale and is widely regarded as the
Source: Earth Hour 2013 Official Video
“the world’s largest movement for the planet.”
Now, Earth Hour strives to go beyond one hour
and drive meaningful change – both as a natural
evolution of the movement as well as a response
to the rising cynicism and criticism it faces.
Building Scale
Local chapters of WWF lead the efforts to
towns, by partnering with local authorities and
organizing Earth Hour events. The movement
also carves out a role for individuals and
organizations. People can volunteer as Earth
Hour organizers, write to local authorities to
support the cause, introduce Earth Hour within
their schools, work places and communities, and
spread the world with posters, online banners
and email signatures. And, organizations are
encouraged to participate, share their story and
partner or sponsor events.
People, celebrities and organizations have marked
their commitment for Earth Hour in diverse ways
and helped build the profile of the movement.
For instance, Google turned its homepage black
during Earth Hour 2008. National Geographic Asia
and Cartoon Network suspended programming
during Earth hour 2010. Celebrity activists and
ambassadors spread the word amongst their vast
following on social media. And in 2013, astronaut
Chris Hadfield contributed to the buzz by tweeting
photos of cities before and after Earth Hour from
outer space.
Grassroots Change
Movements
Earth Hour

59
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_hour
Source: twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield
People, organizations and local leaders
participated to mark their solidarity for the
environment and commitment to sustainable
living. As Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje
commented:
“Earth Hour is another way to highlight Ann
Arbor’s commitment to reduce our reliance on
fossil fuels and raise awareness on how citizens
and government play a part in addressing climate
change.”
Organizations also seem to view Earth Hour as
other established days, such as Valentine’s Day
or Women’s Day, and participate to engage with
their audience.
Source: campaignbrief.com
In addition to grassroots efforts, local chapters of
WWF usually organize concerts and screenings
around the event, and local campaigns such as
encouraging Singaporean government agencies
to turn up thermostats by one degree, and giving
away a solar power system to an Australian
community that pledges to switch to renewable
energy. Blogger Anna Rudenko shares:
“WWF Canada is doing its part by writing the first
crowd-sourced anthem for Earth Hour—creative
minds are invited to create lyrics for the songs,
which will express their deep love for the planet and
explain why we should take care of it.”
Globally, Earth Hour encourages participating
cities to switch off lights at prominent landmarks,
and has recently launched I Will if You Will and
Earth Hour City Challenge to increase reach and
inspire commitments beyond one hour.

People's Insights Quarterly Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1

People's Insights Quarterly Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1

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People's Insights Quarterly Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1