How to train Public Entrepreneurs


10 Lessons : “…The GovLab and its network of 25 world-class coaches and over 100 mentors helped 446 participants in more thana dozen US cities and thirty foreign countries to take a public interest technology project from idea to implementation. In the process, we ‘ve learned a lot about the need for new ways of training the next generation of leaders and problem solvers.

Our aim has been to aid public entrepreneurs — passionate and innovative people who wish to take advantage of new technology to do good in the world. That’s why we measure success, not by the number of participants in a class, but by the project’s participants create and the impact those projects have on communities….

Lesson 1: There is growing, and unmet, demand for training a new kind of public servant: the public entrepreneur…

Lesson 2: Tap the distributed supply of talent and expertise to accelerate learning…

Lesson 3:  Create new methods for training public entrepreneurs to solve problems…

Lesson 4:  Develop tools to help public interest innovators “cross the chasm” from idea to implementation…

Lesson 5:  Teach collaboration and partnering for change…

Lesson 6:  In order to be successful, public entrepreneurs must be able to define the problem — a skill widely lacking…

Lesson 7:  Connecting innovators and alumni with one another generates a lasting public infrastructure that can help solve problems more effectively…

Lesson 8:  Pedagogical priorities include making problem solving more data driven and evidence based….

Lesson 9:  The demand and supply are global — which requires a global mindset and platform in order to learn what has worked elsewhere and why…

Lesson 10:  Collaboration and coordination among anchor organizations is key to meeting the demand and coordinating the supply….(More)