Innovation Watch: Samasource and Responsible Outsourcing for Development

Published January 06, 2009 @ 05:32AM PT

One of the most interesting social innovations I've been keeping an eye on is the work of groups like Samasource, who focus on how outsourcing to skilled labor in the developing world can be a force for good. The basic premise is that if you define "socially responsible outsourcing," offer training to people in the developing world, and then help companies connect with that skilled labor, it can reduce costs for the company buying the services and create new revenue streams and opportunities for the people being hired. This is certainly a different take on "online action platforms."

For those of you who read The World is Flat, you may remember Thomas Friedman using the example of Digital Divide Data as an example. We also discussed DDD in our Social Entrepreneurship primer. I think Samasource is doing a really great job of trying to turn this into an actual field, pursuing partnerships with companies like oDesk who are opening up new free-lance outsourcing possibilities. They're a top organization to watch. Check out Samasource founder Leila Chirayath's "Socially Responsible Outsourcing 101" presentation below:

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Author

Nathaniel is the founding Director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University, which works annually with hundreds of students in dozens of countries around the world through curricular programs and student project incubation.