Society for Case Research / Global Jesuit Case Series Summer Workshop

Experience level: 
Intermediate
Intended Audience: 
Faculty
Authors: 
Jamie M. McIlwaine, Randal Schober

Innovation for impact: A case study of Project Concern International

The case focuses on embedding an innovation initiative within a large nonprofit humanitarian organization. It provides a vehicle for discussion of the numerous challenges related to developing and implementing such an initiative and how to measure return on investment in a nonprofit environment. Project Concern International (PCI) believes it is one of the first global nonprofit organizations to intentionally embed and successfully develop innovation within the corporate culture. In the arena of corporate entrepreneurship, it is a notable case study as it is integrated into the nonprofit environment, which traditionally struggles with execution of innovation as a corporate goal. This demonstrates the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset within any type of organization, from start-up to corporate to nonprofit. In addition, the case study details the significant challenges PCI encountered as it attempted to implement the process across all departments and within all programs, which included more than 600 employees in more than 15 countries.