The Goldilocks Challenge

"The recent push for impact measurement has been positive, but it has also led to wasted resources and often misleading data about what works. In The Goldilocks Challenge, Gugerty and Karlan put forth four key principles to guide organizations of all sizes to create strong, "right-fit" data collection systems" --

The social sector provides services to a wide range of people throughout the world with the aim of creating social value. While doing good is great, doing it well is even better. These organizations, whether nonprofit, for-profit, or public, increasingly need to demonstrate that their efforts are making a positive impact on the world, especially as competition for funding and other scarce resources increases. This heightened focus on impact is positive: learning whether we are making a difference enhances our ability to address pressing social problems effectively and is critical to wise stewardship of resources. Yet demonstrating efficacy remains a big hurdle for most organizations. The Goldilocks Challenge provides a parsimonious framework for measuring the strategies and impact of social sector organizations. A good data strategy starts first with a sound theory of change that helps organizations decide what elements they should monitor and measure. With a theory of change providing solid underpinning, the Goldilocks framework then puts forward four key principles, the CART principles: Credible data that are high quality and analyzed appropriately, Actionable data will actually influence future decisions; Responsible data create more benefits than costs; and Transportable data build knowledge that can be used in the future and by others. Mary Kay Gugerty and Dean Karlan combine their extensive experience working with nonprofits, for-profits and government with their understanding of measuring effectiveness in this insightful guide to thinking about and implementing evidence-based change. This book is an invaluable asset for nonprofit, social enterprise and government leaders, managers, and funders-including anyone considering making a charitable contribution to a nonprofit-to ensure that these organizations get it "just right" by knowing what data to collect, how to collect it, how it can be analyzed, and drawing implications from the analysis. Everyone who wants to make positive change should focus on the top priority: using data to learn, innovate, and improve program implementation over time. Gugerty and Karlan show how.

A gripping science fiction thriller where five women task themselves with ensuring the survival of the human race—if you mixed ". . .The Martian and The Handmaid's Tale, this sci-fi novel would be the incredible result" (Book Riot). “Best of 2020” –Library Journal “Best of 2020” –Kirkus “Best of 2020 – runner up” –Polygon “Our favorite books of 2020” –GeekDad Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference. But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . . "Goldilocks is a thrilling, character-driven space opera", perfect for readers of The Martian, The Power, and Station Eleven (Shelf Awareness).

Presents a history of climate to reveal that the climatic changes happening hardly compare to the changes the Earth has seen over the last 4.5 billion years.

A challenge to the conventional wisdom surrounding financial risk, providing insight into why easy solutions to control the financial system are doomed to fail Finance plays a key role in the prosperity of the modern world—but it also brings grave dangers. We seek to manage those threats with a vast array of sophisticated mathematical tools and techniques of financial risk management. Too often, though, we fail to address the greatest risk—the peril posed by our own behavior. Jón Daníelsson argues that critical risk is generated from within, through the interactions of individuals and perpetuated by their beliefs, objectives, abilities, and prejudices. He asserts that the widespread belief that risk originates outside the financial system frustrates our ability to measure and manage it, and the likely consequences of new regulations will help alleviate small-scale risks but, perversely, encourage excessive risk taking. Daníelsson uses lessons from past and recent crises to show that diversity is the best way to safeguard our financial system.

Jennifer Arlen brings together 13 original chapters by leading scholars that examine how to deter corporate misconduct through public enforcement and private interventions. Scholars from a variety of disciplines present both theoretical and empirical analyses of organizational and individual liability for corporate crime, liability for foreign corruption, securities fraud enforcement, compliance, corporate investigations, and whistleblowing. This Research Handbook also highlights promising avenues for future research.

Development Mantra for Sustainability is a compendium of the truth, the wisdom of world’s greatest personalities and also of transformation leaders, who have inspired millions of people and motivated them into action to improve their quality of life in a sustainable manner. There are numerous examples of local solutions formulated which have helped people around the globe to solve their problems, promote sustainability and they have the potential for global adoption within a short span of time. They can also generate substantial employment opportunities for the skilled and semi-skilled youth, as well as for start-ups. Besides being a narrative of the pollution of industrialisation of the developed and developing countries, the book highlights UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Vision 2050-The New Agenda for Business of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to usher in true sustainable development around the world.