Institute for Business in Society

How can underserved students in the Americas learn technical skills, work in teams and prepare for workforce demands? How can higher education institutions collaborate with governments, the private sector and NGOs to create training programs for students in STEM, public health, climate solutions, agriculture sciences and financial inclusion?

Zero access to electricity perpetuates the poverty cycle. In Zambia, one public-private partnership is a blueprint to providing power to rural communities and changing millions of lives. While developed economies rework a century-old, centralized grid infrastructure, developing economies can design electric grids with clean technologies in mind.

Areas in Mesoamerica see health equity gaps in newborn, infant and maternal health. The Inter-American Development Bank partnered wit ha number of partners to create the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative an innovative way to improve access to quality health care for 1.8 million women and children living among the poorest 20 percent of the population.

The Cambodia Rural Sanitation Development Impact Bond combines private and public capital with on-the-ground implementation expertise and market-based solutions to improve health and accelerate the Royal Government of Cambodia’s goal of universal sanitation. A finalist for the P3 Impact Award, it’s a public-private partnership changing the world.

With the world on the brink of pandemic, a business was asked to make masks. How should it balance an ethical imperative against the risks of entering a new market? And what direction should it take when the crisis receded? Public-private partnerships can combine the strengths of diverse entities, driving rich, broadly beneficial results.

Russell Diez-Canseco, CEO of Vital Farms, a partner company of Conscious Capitalism Inc and Alexander McCobin, CEO of Conscious Capitalism Inc., tell Professor Freeman what changed their minds from “shareholder value maximizers” and led them to become two of the most outspoken advocates for stakeholder-centered capitalism.

The health of Americans is worse than that of populations of other wealthy nations. The U.S.’ lower health status inflicts costs on individuals, families, businesses and society, all of which are interdependent — as are community health and economic prosperity. What strategies can ensure that vital conditions are met for all Americans?

A feeling that part of one’s identity is unwelcome at work threatens an employee’s connection with others and the organization, and a feeling rejection due to religion can be extreme. Here: A framework to think about how people respond when they feel their religious identities are threatened at work, in context of organizational culture.

Why would oil producers continue to pump oil despite an excess supply globally and a shortage in storage space? Darden Professors Elena Loutskina and Daniel Murphy examine how oil prices went negative (and could again), collateralized debt and oil producers’ relationships with lenders, and broader implications for the oil market.

Darden Professor Ed Freeman and Ben Freeman discuss stakeholder capitalism, the importance of and, and the key concepts we can learn from the problems imposed by the old story of business. They can lead us to a new one.