COURSE NUMBER: MBA292N.2
COURSE TITLE: Social Impact Metrics
UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 units
INSTRUCTOR: Colin Boyle
E-MAIL ADDRESS: colin_boyle@haas.
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: bCourses
PREREQUISITE(S): None
CAREER FIELD: The vast majority of MBA students
will become involved in social sector activities over the course of their
careers. Even if they do not become a manager of a nonprofit or
social enterprise, then they will likely become involved as a Board member,
volunteer, or donor. Others will serve as government officials or
leader of businesses with corporate social responsibility
investments. The course is relevant to all who are interested
in social impact and metrics.
CLASS FORMAT: A combination of lecture, case
studies, student projects, guest speakers from the field, and discussion
REQUIRED READINGS: Course reader
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Final
grade will be based on a mixture of class attendance and participation,
individual and small group assignments, and a project with a cancer nonprofit
selected through a nationwide competition.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: The
social sector of the economy exists primarily to produce positive change in
individuals and society. Yet, measuring what impact social sector
organizations and programs (including those supported by nonprofits, government
and the private sector) actually have is extremely difficult. How
can leaders and the social sector know “what works” and is worthy of continued
investment to sustain and scale-up -- and what doesn’t work and therefore needs
to stop? This course provides an overview of the challenges in
measuring impact in social programs, and highlights ways to use metrics to
improve organizational performance in real-world settings. It
exposes students interested in social impact to a set of frameworks that can
help social sector organizations track and improve their
performance.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Colin Boyle is Deputy
Director for the Global Health Sciences program at UCSF, where he is
responsible for building the university’s research and educational footprint in
global health. Prior to joining UCSF, he was a Partner and Managing
Director with The Boston Consulting Group, based in San Francisco. He has
almost 20 years of strategy and management consulting experience helping
corporations and major non-profit organizations improve their
performance. At BCG, he has played a leadership role in the firm's Health
Care and Social Impact practices, and has served as Topic Lead for Philanthropy
in the Americas region. In that capacity, he worked with leading
foundations, international organizations, and non-profits on issues related to
Global Health, Economic Development, and Education. He holds an MBA
from Harvard Business School, a Masters in Public
Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and an A.B. degree from Harvard
College.