Publication database

This report documents an interview with Ruban Selvanayagam from Fez Tá Pronto Construction System in Brazil, a real estate development model that is focused on serving people at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) with affordable and high quality housing. It discusses the dysfunctional mainstream housing market dynamics, and the current practical challenges that face the scheme.

This article is an interview with managers of Unilever discussing the processes that led the company to develop and implement a corporate sustainability strategy working with multiple stakeholders. Major learning points include; interactions with stakeholders are crucial to secure strategic resources in developing countries, developing multi-stakeholder platforms must be rooted in the corporate culture and based on principles of innovation, the overarching sustainability strategy, Sustainable Living Plan, launched in 2010, set broad objectives, while empowering local and regional managers- and even individual employees-to start and scale bottom-up initiatives if they find consensus within the organization.

This report summarises survey results on the engagement of business in international development. The sample for the study included interviews with 25 company executives, 10 NGO executives, six journalists and four investment analysts.

This interview with Chief Executive Officer, Krista Donaldson, explores the non-profit D-Rev “Design Revolution” which was founded with the objective of designing and delivering medical products to people living on less than $4 a day. It elaborates on the organisation's evolution, products, and ambitions.

DCED members note that many multi-stakeholder platforms have been established in recent years, to facilitate collaboration between development actors and business. They have therefore requested a review of experience gained. What are the objectives, achievements and roles of some of these platforms? This paper reports the findings of a literature survey, a review of 29 platform websites, and 17 semi-structured interviews with staff of donor agencies, platforms and business.

The devastating impacts of climate change, rising inequalities within and across countries, increasing fragility and global health emergencies demand a rethinking of socio-economic practices and systems that follow the economic growth paradigm. The world faces profound economic, environmental, and social challenges, as the international community comes to realize that the basic requirements and consumption needs of an ever-growing population cannot be sustainably met by simply maximizing economic output.

In this podcast series, Alissa Stein invites to discuss concepts of economic transformation currently hotly debated. The podcast provides different perspectives from renown experts and practitioners around the world.

This interview with the Co-Founders of Water.org explores practical ways to solve the global water and sanitation crisis; it reviews how microloans help water flow, and discusses ending water scarcity.

This interview with Dr. Andrew Kuper, the founder of LeapFrog Investments, discusses perspectives on businesses that pursue both profit and purpose, and the growth of investing in profit-with-purpose business.

Most impact investors report meeting or exceeding their impact performance metrics, but is this truly the case? Maoz (Michael) Brown, head of research at the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, collaborated with Wharton PhD candidate Lauren Kaufmann on a study that reveals it is common practice for impact investors to report metrics primarily to market their success, rather than to evaluate and understand where their impact may fall short.