Social Entrepreneurship or Forecasting Economic Time Series

Social Entrepreneurship: The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development

Author: Peter C Brinckerhoff

Until very recently, popular belief held that business skills were not needed at charitable organizations. No longer. Far from interfering with an organizations ability to provide needed services, techniques such as marketing, cash flow analysis, property management, and good use of technology all contribute to a charitable organizations mission capability. Unlike a not-for-profit that thinks of itself as a charity, the successful not-for-profit is really a mission-based business. In an era of rapid change, increasing competition, and the need for more accountability to governments, foundations, insurers, and donors, knowing how to innovate, compete, and take reasonable risks on behalf of the mission is critical. It is, in short, the era of the social entrepreneur.

The skilled social entrepreneur has the ability to get the most mission out of the resources at hand-including traditional business techniques. Finally, here is a book that will help you learn their techniques. In Social Entrepreneurship, you will learn how successful social entrepreneurs:

• Focus on community wants and needs
• Match those with core competencies to provide the quality services
• Assess risk and gauge opportunity
• Develop new project ideas and test their feasibility
• Write a business plan
• Project finances in the plan
• Tap into new sources of funding
• Develop the idea of social entrepreneurship throughout the organization
• Make sure that mission, not money, is the bottom line

Also included are the seven essential steps of the not-for-profit business development process, real-world case studies, sample business plans, and aself-assessment process to determine if your organization is ready for social entrepreneurism. In addition to entrepreneurs, middle managers, policy setters, volunteers, and a host of other important staff members will get value from the mission-beneficial information in this book. Most important, Social Entrepreneurship will help you to help your organization succeed and thrive-and make your job more interesting and productive.

Praise for Social Entrepreneurship
The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development

"A great read . . . contains both the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications that those of us in nonprofit leadership badly need. I will share it with my management team and board."-Joseph M. Hafey, President and CEO, Public Health Institute

"A sound, practical guide for developing social entrepreneurs. Brinckerhoff makes taking mission-related business risks on behalf of the people served less risky with the step-by-step application of business ideas and techniques. Warnings, real-world examples, and hands-on advice keep the reader on track to sensible risk taking."-Connie Kirk, President and CEO, Tommy Nobis Center

"Peter C. Brinckerhoffs new and masterfully written book has a lot of practical information in it for any organization that wants to learn how to become and stay entrepreneurial. Brinckerhoff provides the right kind of information to any organization interested in succeeding in a highly competitive and service-oriented environment . . . [and] stresses the importance of an organizations encouraging innovation and risk only if it does not lose sight of its core values, its strengths, and its mission. That is excellent advice for any organization and for anyone who ventures into entrepreneurial waters."-Andrew H. Souerwine, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Management and Organization The School of Business Administration, University of Connecticut

Booknews

Treating the not-for-profit organization as a mission-based business (rather than a charity), this book offers guidance on innovating, competing, and taking acceptable risks to meet the organization's goals. It outlines basic business techniques and applies these to the needs of the community the organization serves. Among the skills detailed are assessing risk and opportunity, developing project ideas and testing their feasibility, writing a business plan, projecting finances, finding new sources of funding, and self-assessment. Case studies and sample business plans are also included. Brinckerhoff is a consultant. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Read also Betty Crockers Guide to Easy Entertaining or The Savoy Cocktail Book

Forecasting Economic Time Series

Author: Michael Clements

David Hendry is one of the world's leading econometricians, and in this major new work he and Michael Clements provide an extended formal analysis of economic forecasting with econometric models: their analysis builds in many of the features of the real world that are often overlooked in traditional, textbook analyses of forecasting. Consequently, Clements and Hendry are able to suggest ways in which existing forecasting practices can be improved, as well as providing a rationale for some of the habitual practices of forecasters that have hitherto lacked a scientific foundation.

Table of Contents:

	List of figures
	List of tables
	Preface
	Common acronyms
1	An introduction to forecasting	1
2	First principles	33
3	Evaluating forecast accuracy	52
4	Forecasting in univariate processes	79
5	Monte Carlo techniques	107
6	Forecasting in cointegrated systems	119
7	Forecasting with large-scale macroeconometric models	157
8	A theory of intercept corrections: beyond mechanistic forecasts	180
9	Forecasting using leading indicators	207
10	Combining forecasts	227
11	Multi-step estimation	243
12	Parsimony	280
13	Testing forecast accuracy	312
14	Postscript	329
	Glossary	335
	References	339
	Author index	359
	Subject index	363