The Center offers a menu of courses taught by a distinguished faculty of established leaders in the field.
All courses are cross-listed between the full-time and part-time MBA programs. In addition, space permitting, Cal graduate students in other schools can enroll in these courses during the add/drop period of each semester.
Brief course descriptions:
Social Sector Solutions (EW/MBA 292S-1) is a 15 week strategy consultation offered to 10 select social sector (nonprofit, social enterprise, public) organizations by the Center for Social Sector Leadership at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. Social Sector Solutions helps social sector clients succeed with strategic and entrepreneurial ventures that leverage the background and skillset of Haas MBA students and our consulting partner, McKinsey. The projects are modeled on management consulting frameworks, deliverables, and team composition.
Instructors: Nora Silver and Paul Jansen
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.
Instructor: Colin Boyle
In this course, we will move beyond the walls of traditional institutions and society, building an understanding of the key levers available to those seeking to create major social change. It will us to think big, to look beyond traditional institutional growth and change, and to challenge ourselves as we apply multiple levers to myriad issues and constituencies.
Instructor: Nora Silver
This course utilizes the Lean Launchpad and the Social Blueprint Business Design methodologies to frame the integral insights, strategies and practices that distinguish social ventures. It strives to create the conditions where students become Social Venture designers, founders and leaders. In ten weeks, students work in interdisciplinary teams at an accelerated pace to practice the steps integral to starting a social venture. Personal and organizational leadership is emphasized through every stage of the process.
Instructors: Jorge Calderon and Ben Mangan
This course introduces students to strategic leadership issues in the nonprofit sector. The course covers key issues in founding, leading, managing, and governing nonprofit organizations and new nonprofit ventures. Major topics include: mission and theory of change, governance and accountability, strategy and strategic planning, nonprofit financial management, resource development, alliances and networks, capacity building, impact and leadership.
Instructor: Colin Boyle
This course examines the roles and responsibilities of members of nonprofit boards of directors. Generally, they establish strategic direction, raise money, and exercise financial oversight. Students will identify and develop the leadership and management skills necessary to be an effective board member. Using board assessment instruments and self-assessment activities, the class will seek to determine “fit” between different types of boards and class participants.
Instructors: Lynne LaMarca Heinrich (Fall), Paul Jansen (Spring)
In order to be an effective leader in the nonprofit field, one must have a solid grounding in financial management. This course is designed to develop the core financial management skills needed by board members and seniors managers in large and small organizations. Students will learn the tools and techniques for effective planning and budgeting as well as how to control, evaluate and revise plans. The course will address current regulations and issues that impact nonprofit financial management. The use and development of internal and external financial reports will be studied with an emphasis on using financial information in decision-making. Tools and techniques of financial statement analysis, interpretation and presentation will be discussed and practiced.
Instructor: Brent Copen
Business strategies and public policies are intended to change outcomes such as raising incomes, increasing productivity, improving learning, or reducing illness. Whether or not these changes in outcomes are actually achieved are crucial public policy and business questions, yet are not often examined. This course covers the methods and applications of impact evaluations, which is the science of measuring the causal impact of a strategy, program or policy. Applications are drawn from wide range developing and developed country settings.
Instructor: Paul Gertler (Spring)
Impact Investing Practicum is an eight week externship during which MBA teams complete a project with one of five impact investing firms arranged by Haas. Impact Investing Practicum helps firms develop solutions, creating value for the firm by leveraging the financial and social impact backgrounds and skills of Haas MBA students. For Haas students, Impact Investing offers un-matched experiential learning and exposure that we are able to arrange because of our unique thought leadership and history of student engagement and placement in this field. For this inaugural year, 8-12 FTMBA students will be selected.
Click here for Student Application Info and Dates. Applications are due October 16th.
Click here for Investment Firm Info and Application. Applications are due September 29th
Instructor: Run in conjunction with Adair Morse’s New Venture Finance course, and co-lead by Professor Adair Morse and the Center for Social Sector Leadership’s Nora Silver.
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. Through a unique partnership with Amgen/Onyx, several nonprofit organizations working in the cancer field will receive grants of $25,000 to work with student groups to implement improvements in their metrics systems recommended by project teams formed in the class.
Instructor: Colin Boyle (Fall)
