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In 2009, WSWHE BOCES Data Analysis Services began offering predictive analytics assistance to the 31 component school districts that serve more than 42,000 students in upstate New York. Through data modeling, our office helps district staff weed through years of data housed in many different places to discover the most significant predictors that will guide student learning. Using IBM analytics software, this process can be updated on a regular basis and new data can be incorporated to improve model accuracy and predictor selection.

The result for districts is that they are able to focus on skills that have the biggest impact on overall performance for certain students. Data conversations are streamlined and resources can be allotted for materials or training that will help teachers address the skill areas identified. Also, working with sharper focus, teachers and administrators are able to coordinate efforts across grade levels – assisting students as they advance through school and transition to post-secondary pursuits.

The main objectives of this work are to increase student achievement on annual assessments and improve graduation rates. Early results are promising. After one district targeted early literacy across four elementary schools for one year, English Language Arts proficiency among third graders increased from 56 percent to 71 percent.

As more school districts implement strategies based on predictive analytics, the positive impact on student learning outcomes will become more apparent, and stakeholders will agree that district expenditures have been allocated to yield the most successful results.

Nicole Catapano, Ph.D., is the Data Analysis Coordinator for the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services in upstate New York.

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Haiti is one of the world’s most extreme medical environments. The statistics are staggering: the maternal mortality rate is 1 in 16, and the mortality rates for hypertension and stroke are the highest in North America. Throughout the past decade, as the nation has faced natural and political hardship, it has been clear that the familiar health care models of “hit and run relief” and “drive-by medical tours” do not work in Haiti. The presence of an estimated 4,500 non-governmental organizations and 10,000 charities working in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake underscores the fragmentation, redundancy and waste that are inherent to the current disjointed means of support. There is indeed a simpler, more inclusive and effective way to solve systemic, chronic health problems.

We founded Colleagues In Care to help answer this very call to service and change for the destitute poor in Haiti. As Chief Collaboration and Learning Officer for Colleagues In Care, I have witnessed, first hand, the power that comes from creating a single, vital global health network. Through engaging the best medical minds in the world, while focusing on purpose, participation and performance, we are helping transform the working medical blueprint in Haiti – “CollaborHaitian!” We are changing the rules of the game!

Colleagues In Care needed new cloud-based, crowd-sourcing, social and mobile technologies, and enhanced learning tools to truly make a difference. We needed to develop adaptable “best possible practices” for quality protocols of care and for sustained collaboration and learning on a global scale.

In line with the “CollaborHaitian” initiative and using cloud computing technology from IBM, doctors, nurses, medical personnel and other partners – including IBM employees – are connecting with one another. They are sharing best practices, tools and knowledge. And the emerging insights are being used within the community as a whole, and more importantly, by the vast number of volunteers and practitioners on the ground in Haiti.

Using the IBM SmartCloud, Colleagues In Care is creating a grassroots movement to transform the future of health care for the underserved – anywhere in the world. This Haitian model will be easily replicated and tailored to assess and address the medical issues of any area affected by poverty, limitation and extreme need. The cloud computing technology from IBM has given us a means to recruit, introduce and connect the world’s most renowned specialists with local health professionals. Colleagues In Care forges agreements with leading organizations to gain access to U.S. protocols, standard order sets, and clinical pathways, as well as medical educational content.

This collaboration and conversation not only bridges the gap between local and global expertise, but also inspires the co-creation of a “Best Possible Practices Model” (BPPM). With BPPM, we and our panel of volunteer specialists are able to offer specifically designed care that honors local circumstances and unites evidence- and reality-based medicine. The result is pinpoint focus of resources and care on highly critical illnesses, diseases and medical conditions – helping to reverse the dire health and health care of the underserved inHaiti.

The “power of community” speaks volumes for our organization. We are bringing a world of medical expertise to Haiti, and through these virtual relationships, we address health care issues with an immediacy that is unprecedented. Our tools enable us to offer on-site practitioners an arsenal of resources and support that has never before been available with such efficacy. Practices may be fine-tuned and implemented in the moment of need while insights and solutions may be presented as training tools for others. This model feeds itself, and growth becomes automatic as knowledge is shared freely and new conversations are sparked.

The common passion for service within the diverse network of people – each offering distinct knowledge, experience, perspective and vision – becomes contagious within the system. Colleagues In Care is helping take medical volunteerism to another level: colleague to colleague. We’re helping to transform good intentions and volunteerism into tangible outcomes. We are co-creating social value!

Marie Kenerson is Chief Collaboration and Learning Officer of Colleagues In Care, a global health network of doctors, nurses, medical personnel and other partners working together to provide quality health care services, telemedicine, knowledge and training to aid the poor and help alleviate suffering. Marie has combined organizational learning principles, dialogue skills and collaboration strategies with new IBM cloud and social network technologies to “crowd-source” a network of top medical professionals and volunteers from around the world in order to co-create and deliver localized best-possible medical practices.

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Technorati Tags: Best Possible Practices Model, BPPM, CollaborHaitian, Colleagues In Care, crowd sourcing, Haiti, health care, IBM SmartCloud, Marie Kenerson

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One of the projects that the White House sees fit to highlight today as an example of this kind of innovation and collaboration just happens to be an effort hosted on IBM’s World Community Grid. The White House is pointing to the work of Prof. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, an associate professor at Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, whose team is running The Clean Energy Project, perhaps the largest computational chemistry experiment ever.

With oil production peaking in the near future, alternative sources of energy are becoming increasingly important. In order to develop new energy-related technologies, highly engineered materials are needed. In particular, novel designs for solar cells and fuel cells based on organic molecules often require molecules with very specific characteristics to efficiently capture and store energy.

Instead of physically testing and manufacturing all or even some molecular materials with high potential, the Aspuru-Guzik group is performing a massive number of computational chemistry calculations to predict the properties and behavior of seven million organic molecules. Then, only the most promising candidates that might boost the performance of solar cells based on organic molecules are more closely examined. Last year, the team identified a molecule that could make for extraordinary semiconductors.  Within about a year, data from the 1,000 or so of the most tantalizing calculations will be made available to all for further development.

What makes Professor Aspuru-Guzik’s project even more interesting and relevant to the Materials Genome Initiative is that it is being made possible by IBM’s World Community Grid. World Community Grid exemplifies the extraordinary results of a partnership among academia, the private sector, and the general public. World Community Grid marshals the spare computational power of PCs volunteered by the general public, and provides it – free of charge – to scientists who want to accelerate their research into cures for cancer, AIDS and other diseases; advance solar energy and clean water; and develop healthier food.

Volunteers download a small application to their Windows, Mac OS or Linux computers which crunch numbers for researchers when the volunteers’ computing devices aren’t otherwise being used – even between keystrokes. To date, nearly 600,000 individuals and organizations in more than 80 countries have registered two million devices for World Community Grid’s use on 21 projects. Scientists have told us that it collapses research times of 100 years or more to just 12 months or so.

Since its inception, World Community Grid has delivered more than 620 million research results. It is equivalent in speed and capacity to the some of the world’s 15 fastest traditional supercomputers, and is the largest and most diverse grid computing project dedicated to practical humanitarian research.

So, if someone wants to talk about practical mechanisms to accelerate the pace of discovery at a lower cost, they needn’t look terribly far. Certainly, there are many other resources, technologies and collaborations to enable the research and development of all sorts of novel materials. However, we couldn’t be prouder to offer a resource that resonates strongly with the scientific community and volunteers alike, and is available today and for the foreseeable future.

Juan Hindo is a program manager with IBM’s Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs group.

More on the Materials Genome Initiative

Article: White House Highlights Materials Genome Initiative

Article: New Commitments Support Administration’s Materials Genome Initiative

Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness

Fact Sheet: Progress on Materials Genome Initiative

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Anatomy of a Project for Sustainable Water

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Technorati Tags: Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Chesapeake Bay, Clean Energy Project, Clean Water, Computing for Sustainable Water, Juan Hindo, Materials Genome Initiative, semiconductors, solar cells, University of Virginia, UVA Bay Game, World Community Grid

Marko Rinne, Global Partner Manager, IBM Finland, has used the Cyber-Bullying
Volunteer Kit during numerous visits to area schools. And Peter Kusterer, an IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs manager in Germany, has used the Control Your Online Identity Volunteer Kit to instruct parents, teachers and students on how to protect their privacy. Marko and Peter used two of the 34 free IBM Activity Kits that contain everything needed to get started with volunteer service.

Marko Rinne is a Global Partner Manager with IBM Finland.

Marko’s story: “I volunteered to teach about cyber-bullying because I have children who could be directly affected by this behavior. I’m a football (soccer) coach, and my team uses a website to keep our players updated on training, tournaments, matches, and camps. Our players register for these activities via the website, so I wanted to provide a safe environment for them to share information – including personal information such as their photos and other content.

The Cyber-Bullying Volunteer Kit – which my colleague Niina Huhtala developed from research she conducted for her Master’s thesis – gave me the tools I needed to give a presentation to my team about this important issue. Niina’s thesis formed the basis of IBM’s anti-cyber-bullying efforts during the Centennial Celebration of Service in Finland, and I would consider the volunteer kit based on her research a ‘must have.’

I learned a lot from teaching with the kit, including information that I use in my personal life. And after sharing the information with other parents in my community, we’ve had many interesting discussions about raising children safely in the digital age.”

Peter Kusterer manages Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs with IBM Germany.

Peter’s story: “Privacy is one of the hottest topics of social discussion in Germany, where our state privacy officers frequently challenge the behaviors of social networking companies. So concerns about data sharing are widespread among adults, though less so among youths. But while young people are pretty advanced in the technical aspects of social networks, they can be unaware of the impact their posts might have – both for themselves and their friends. So when we started offering internet privacy workshops to local schools, we got a lot of interest from teachers and parents who were eager to join their students and children in the seminars.

The Control Your Online Identity Volunteer Kit really helps jump start the discussion – especially with young people. The kit’s approach is less about ‘telling’ than ‘learning,’ and it includes video modules that resonate well with a young audience. As IBMers, we enjoy a certain degree of credibility when it comes to addressing technology issues, but the kit looks beyond the technical aspects of internet privacy to focus on the implications and opportunities associated with using social networks. Our kids don’t need us to show them how to post on Facebook, since they’re better at it than we are. But we can provide them with insights into how their online behavior can affect their lives now and in the future. When a friend posts a spring break party photo on your Facebook wall, it might seem harmless enough. But what are the possible implications if your car insurer or landlord gains access to that information? The volunteer kit helps raise awareness of these issues for a young audience.

That said, I also learned a lot from the kit – especially about the role of data analytics in social networking. The more I learned about privacy issues in a social context, the more I started to consider the business implications of Smarter Commerce. I started to recognize the connection between the business and social aspects of the digital world. And I came away with a greater appreciation of how important it is to know how these systems work so we can navigate them safely.”

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Visit the IBM Activity Kits homepage to download the free Cyber-bullying and
Control Your Online Identity volunteer kits.

Technorati Tags: cyber-bullying, Finland, Germany, IBM Activity Kits, Marko Rinne, Niina Huhtala, online identity, Peter Kusterer, Ronald Gordon, Smarter Commerce, Volunteer Kits

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Our report is the result of an 18-month study that engaged corporate philanthropy practitioners and external stakeholders throughout the United States in a discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing corporate philanthropy in the 21^st Century. Increasing Impact, Enhancing Value addresses an environment in which society is looking to business for leadership on social issues as never before. A 2009 Waggener Edstrom Poll found that 60 percent of consumers now believe that businesses are in the best position to create positive results on social issues. By contrast, only 14 percent of respondents believed that governments can drive positive results.

Sixty-four percent of respondents to a 2010 Edelman survey stated they believe it is no longer enough for corporations to give money. Corporations must integrate good causes into their everyday business, said those surveyed. As companies work to meet this challenge through strategies such as “shared value”, philanthropy must redefine its role to support this transformation. Increasing Impact, Enhancing Value establishes goals for this transformation, identifies the challenges to be addressed, and details potential leadership opportunities.

Key initiatives include:

• Creating a new narrative for corporate philanthropy as social investment
• Developing an inclusive protocol for philanthropic investment
• Professionalizing the practice of corporate philanthropy
• Improving collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing
• Mobilizing grassroots leadership

As a global leader of corporate philanthropy’s transformation from “checkbook charity” to creating sustainable value, IBM has played an important role in the development of the Council’s agenda. IBM initiatives such as Corporate Service Corps, Smarter Cities Challenge, and Supplier Connection are powerful examples of how a commitment to service can help solve society’s challenges while creating lasting value. The Council on Foundations looks forward to continuing to work with IBM as we support and encourage the evolution of corporate philanthropy.

Download Increasing Impact, Enhancing Value.

Chris Pinney is project lead for the Corporate Philanthropy 2012 project and author of Increasing Impact, Enhancing Value. Mr. Pinney is a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program and Senior Vice President of the Alliance for Business Leadership.

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IBM RECEIVES TOP SUSTAINABILITY AWARD FROM WORLD ENVIRONMENT CENTER--IBM Chairman Samuel J. Palmisano, right, accepted the World Environment Center Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development for IBM's corporate environmental efforts and smarter cities technology at the National Building Museum on Thursday, May 3, 2012 in Washington DC. IBM is the first company to receive the award twice, having also been the 1990 recipient. Also pictured are (L-R) Dr. Terry F. Yosie, President and CEO, World Environment Center, and Ronald Daniels, President, Johns Hopkins University. (Feature Photo Service)

The importance of environmental sustainability has exploded in recent years. It is implanted in the minds of leaders no matter what aspect of business, government or society they serve. But to be realistic, it hasn’t always been this way.

The broad popularity of environmental sustainability has been cyclical since the first
Earth Day back in 1970. If the sustainability of our planet is indeed a future imperative, a relevant question for any organization is: How do you sustain sustainability over the long term?

At IBM, environmental leadership has been practiced regardless of its popularity or the company’s financial performance at any given point in time. Environmental sustainability is managed as a strategic imperative. We work to anticipate opportunities and prevent problems. Underlying this commitment is a conviction that good environmental management makes good business sense.

In fact, this was the first time in the WEC Gold Medal’s 28 year history that a company has earned it twice (IBM had previously received the award in 1990). We do indeed work hard to sustain sustainability.

For global institutions at large, I am certainly encouraged. That’s because the next generation is far more passionate about environmental sustainability than any other in recent memory. We’re on the front edge of a new wave of leaders who want to perform work that not only delivers a return to shareholders, but also who want to perform work that is good for society. It’s a generation that thinks not just about stockholders, but also stakeholders.

From where I sit, I see opportunity for institutions to capitalize on insights from data analytics gleaned from our instrumented and interconnected world. Today’s leaders are blazing the trail and making systems – such as physical infrastructure – more efficient, intelligent and sustainable. It’s happening throughout the world because such innovation delivers not only environmental benefit, but also value and competitive advantage. And this can help the world sustain sustainability.

The good news is that the key requirement for real change now exists: People want it.
And they are hungry for leadership. Such a moment doesn’t come around often – perhaps a few times every century – and it will not last forever. Those seizing it today are the leaders of tomorrow. I am convinced that the forward-thinking individuals, communities, companies and countries of the world can build a smarter, more secure and more sustainable planet.

Wayne Balta is IBM’s Vice President for Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety. A version of this article first appeared on WhiteHouse.gov.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Ann Cramer is Americas Director, IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs.

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Having a goal is an essential first step toward progress, but all stakeholders need to be onboard. “Metro Cebu” is made up of 13 cities/municipalities that share the goal of making their island a destination, but with more than 13 political leaders supporting their local constituents, setting priorities that benefit the whole has been a challenge. Some cities are primarily concerned with flooding. Others are focused on the type of infrastructure development that could strengthen their economies, but need to consider the potential impact on surrounding cities by creating new, unplanned water, transportation, and waste management needs. Cebu needed an integrated strategy to start planning in an effective manner, so IBM stepped in to help.

In June 2011, an IBM Corporate Service Corps team deployed to Cebu to help city leaders prioritize the issues that needed to be addressed to help Metro Cebu achieve its goals. The group’s two top priorities turned out to be:

• Land use planning and zoning, and
• Traffic and transportation management

In September 2011, IBM’s Executive Service Corps team came to Cebu to advance those two key topics. When the team arrived it was clear that Cebu had created a very committed and forward-thinking council to help address intercity issues. One thing that wasn’t clear, however, was how the council would govern. The members of the Metropolitan Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB) includes 13 mayors, the governor of the Province of Cebu, representatives from the private sector and a very well respected foundation, and a selection of important governmental department heads. Unfortunately, the council has neither the authority to enact legislation nor the funding to move forward with coordinated plans. In response, we expanded the scope of our engagement to include recommendations on governance.

Looking Ahead
IBM’s recommendations helped strengthen the influence of the MCDCB as it communicated the importance of integrated, collaborative planning. In addition to gaining support throughout the region, the Board also needed to motivate and mobilize its volunteer membership to prioritize common needs and drive results through the political process.

After an intense three weeks of fact-finding and collaboration, we made the following recommendations to Cebu’s municipal leadership:

• Evaluate existing Consolidated Land Use plans and integrate them into an accepted Geographic Information Systems (GIS) platform to identify and address potential points of conflict and areas for collaboration. A robust GIS system enables map building to indicate sources of tax revenue, the locations of cultural attractions, and key infrastructure assets to give decision makers a consolidated view of the region’s challenges and opportunities.
• Collaborate with Telco providers to pinpoint the locations of mobile phone users, thereby allowing Cebu to model traffic patterns and develop solutions to ease transportation issues like ensuring effective emergency response management – turning data into useful information to improve the quality of life of Cebu’s citizens.
• Clarify roles and decision making processes in order to promote a culture of responsibility, progress, and trust.

It was hard to imagine that our team could have an impact on decades-old problems after just three weeks. But expertise and a fresh perspective always have the potential to raise awareness and help point people in the right direction. Bringing one’s professional and personal experiences to bear in a part of the world that is striving for change is incredibly rewarding.

Robin Selber is a Director of Integrated Technology Services focused on Public Sector, Communications Sector and General Business Clients with IBM Global Technology Services.

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Technorati Tags: Cebu, Consolidated Land Use, corporate service corps, Executive Service Corps, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Metropolitan Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB), Philippines, Robin Selber

Far from being an afterthought, corporate citizenship must form part of the foundation of how a company interacts with the governments and communities it serves.

Read the complete article.

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Latin Business Today has collaborated with IBM to aid in providing unique and relevant content on innovation and best business practices to the Hispanic business community – delivering on our mission to accelerate the rate of growth for Hispanic-owned small and medium sized businesses in this challenging economy. Latin Business Today’s content for the Hispanic section of the U.S. SME Toolkit website complements our ongoing efforts to engage our audience through original features, small business success stories, and insights from mentors from a variety of business disciplines.

The SME Toolkit is a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs needing advice on everything from creating a business plan to growing their business through the use of social media. Similarly, Latin Business Today has a growing team of mentors from various disciplines
who support Hispanic businesses on topics including: financial, legal, marketing, IT and strategy.

We also continue to support the Latin Scholarship Fund inaugurated by our predecessor, Latin Business magazine. Since 2005, the Latin Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 20 college scholarships to academically promising Latino students who might otherwise be unable to afford postsecondary education. Latin Business Today’s contribution to the SME Toolkit and support of young Latino scholars are two of the ways in which we acknowledge the connection between education and jobs, and between healthy small businesses and a thriving American economy.

Former IBMer Barry Mittelman is the managing partner and publisher of Latin Business Today.

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