SEAD
Decoding the ABCs of Effective Enterprise Acceleration: 10 Lessons from SEAD
Like learning a new language, scaling an enterprise is full of unknowns, imperfect attempts and lessons for the future. Enterprise accelerators often serve as translators between their participants and the outside world. In doing so, accelerators must decipher between what they assume will be effective and what the enterprises they serve want and need. How […]
The Role Angel Networks Can Play in Economic Development
February 2019 If you have been following CASE’s work over the last 5+ years, you know that we have been fortunate to undertake a number of projects for USAID, the US government’s international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. As part of USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN), our Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator […]
How Can You Tell If You are Ready to Scale?
Even the most successful social enterprises face challenges as they expand into new geographies, expand their product offerings, partner with others, or grow the size of their operations. Social enterprise growth often requires evaluation and evolution among multiple dimensions, including customer-facing criteria such as market size and product-market fit; operational and business model considerations such […]
SEAD Highlights Report: Reflecting on 5 Catalytic Years
The CASE office was abuzz in early 2012. We had the opportunity to be part of a trailblazing initiative for both the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Duke University itself. USAID, in pursuing ways to accelerate growth and innovation in international development work, decided to test a new partnership with universities—where the ideas […]
CASE Chat with Ticora Jones, Division Chief, USAID Higher Solutions Education Network (HESN)
July 2016 This month’s CASE Chat features Ticora Jones, Division Chief of the Higher Solutions Education Network (HESN). HESN is a partnership between USAID and seven top universities, including Duke University, designed to channel the ingenuity of university students, researchers, and faculty towards global development. In the CASE Chat, Ticora discusses the need for tri-sector leadership, the importance […]
4 Lessons on Scaling Social Ventures through Partnerships
May 2016 Bigger isn’t always better. That’s one key headline global health entrepreneurs offered staff of USAID’s Center for Accelerating Innovation & Impact and Higher Education Solutions Network during a recent panel discussion titled Lessons Learned on the Journey to Scale. During the panel SEAD innovators from ayzh, Forus Health, Operation ASHA, and Noora Health […]
Recapping CASE’s 2015-2016 Academic Year
May 2016, Erin Worsham, CASE Executive Director The end of the academic year is bittersweet. We say goodbye to our graduating students that just two years ago were simply names on applications but now are like family that have blossomed at Fuqua and are heading off to accomplish great things. It is also a time […]
CASE Chat with Karen Clune, Senior Innovation Advisor, Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact at USAID
March 2016 This month’s CASE Chat features Karen Clune, Senior Innovation Advisor, Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact at USAID. Karen will be joining us later this month at our annual Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke (SEAD) Summit and Symposium. SEAD, in partnership with USAID and the USAID Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN), works with […]
Welcoming Our New Director of Programs Robyn Fehrman
As CASE continues to scale the impact of our work, we are excited to announce a new addition to our incredible team. Starting in early December, Robyn Fehrman will join the CASE team as our new Director of Programs. As Director of Programs, Robyn will be a leader of our Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke […]
Meet Alden Zecha, CASE’s First Executive-in-Residence
In our quest to develop the next generation of social impact leaders, CASE’s work doesn’t stop in the classroom. We connect students with practitioners to tackle the real world challenges of social entrepreneurship and translate research in to practice, ensuring that our work helps innovators improve and scale their impact. To contribute to this important […]