Maybe Economic Development Could Learn From This

Across the country, new institutions with the potential to contribute to social and economic change have begun to multiply in recent years. Many of these institutions, such as nonprofits generating significant fee-based revenue, community development corporations, and employee-owned firms, are hybrid organizations that blend governmental, nonprofit, and business values and strategies.

To better understand these emerging “hybrids,” the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund of the Aspen Institute has funded the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland to undertake a new research project, “New and Emerging Organizational Forms for Advancing Social Purposes.” The study will map the broad range of emerging organizations in the United States and highlight how they address social problems by cultivating new sources of funding and promoting community-based activities that anchor jobs and foster local democratic practices.

Go here.