Committed to United Nations Global Goals
Since 1919, under the vision of founder Roger Babson, students have engaged in business as a means of rendering service to humanity. The Lewis Institute for Social Innovation, launched in 2010, propels this vision into the future, by providing experiences and resources that activate people to become changemakers.
Lewis Institute for Social Innovation
In 2015, world leaders from the United Nations agreed on 17 goals for a better world by 2030. Under the direction of The Lewis Institute at Babson, students are now encouraged and supported in taking action toward any activity that advances the UN Global Goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.
“We help foster a mindset of social innovation as value creation, not merely as a nice to do, but the better thing to do for successful enterprises and for a prosperous and sustainable world.”
– Cheryl Kiser, Executive Director of The Lewis Institute
Action Tanks
The institute extends its impact through four action tanks, which foster smart action around the UN Global Goals:
- Food Sol: supports students and food entrepreneurs in growing positive ideas and actions for the food system
- Youth Entrepreneurship Systems: educates the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders around the globe
- Schlesinger Fund for Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship: builds networks and supports leaders promoting global healthcare entrepreneurship
- IoT for Good Lab: explores how to create social impact using IoT (Internet of Things) technology
Innovation In and Out of the Classroom
The Babson community also engages in:
- The ever-popular Uncommon Tables, which gather like-minded individuals to address critical dilemmas facing the world
- The Social Innovation Inventurship™, allowing students to invent their own social innovation project to accelerate social and economic impact
- Babson Board Fellows, in which students and alumni are placed as nonvoting members of nonprofit boards
- Business and Social Innovation Intensity Track, a special focus for MBA students that develops the mindset, skills, and competencies needed to lead social value creation whether inside of a business or in any other domain
“Since 2010, The Lewis Institute has led the development of a social innovation mindset at Babson through entrepreneurial knowledge, skill development, and experiential learning for our students. This enables them to be change leaders in all sectors to create social and economic impact everywhere.” – Mark Rice, Provost of Babson College
News
Innovation Versus Impact
Many jump quickly to the triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility initiatives, or people, planet, profit philosophies. But that’s just good business, not necessarily social impact.
Learn more
Join BabsonX
Learn how to develop and lead social innovation initiatives that create economic and social value through the self-paced BabsonX course that’s based on real-world experiences from business leaders: From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Innovation.
Enroll now