- Shared Value Initiative

CASE STUDY // VERIZON
Investing in Innovation
Verizon’s Approach to Incubating Shared Value
Investing in Innovation
Verizon’s Approach to Incubating Shared Value
By Stacy Neal
Senior Program Manager
Shared Value Initiative
About the Shared Value Initiative
About FSG
The Shared Value Initiative is a global community of
leaders who find business opportunities in societal
challenges. The Initiative connects practitioners in
search of the most effective ways to implement
shared value. Operated by FSG, with support from a
network of strategic partners, the Initiative shapes
this emerging field through peer to peer exchange,
market intelligence, strategy & implementation
support and shared value advocacy. Learn more
and join the community at www.sharedvalue.org.
FSG is a nonprofit consulting firm specializing
in strategy, evaluation, and research. Our
international teams work across all sectors
by partnering with corporations, foundations,
school systems, nonprofits, and governments
in every region of the globe. Our goal is to help
companies and organizations achieve greater
social change. Working with many of the world’s
leading corporations, nonprofit organizations,
and charitable foundations, FSG has completed
more than 400 consulting engagements around
the world, produced dozens of research reports,
published influential articles in Harvard Business
Review and Stanford Social Innovation Review, and
has been featured in The New York Times, Wall
Street Journal, Economist, Financial Times, Business
Week, Fast Company, Forbes, and on NPR.
Learn more at www.fsg.org.
As the principal of Niemes Elementary School in Artesia, California,
Meg Jimenez faced a familiar set of challenges each year. Located in a
low-income pocket of Los Angeles County, Niemes Elementary hosts a
traditionally underserved minority student population, many of whom
speak English as a second language. Like many of their counterparts
across the country, Niemes students had little access to technology at
home and did not use it well in the classroom, and their performance
on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related
subjects was average at best.
Jimenez wanted to determine how to best “level the academic playing field”
for her students, allowing them to gain a sincere interest in STEM subjects
that would be reflected in their performance and lead to future success. She
knew that the education landscape was changing—and that understanding
and appropriately leveraging the school’s existing technology would be the
key to success for Niemes students.
Approached by Verizon in 2012, Jimenez agreed that Niemes Elementary would
be a pilot site for the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) program,
which provides teachers with the tools necessary to unlock the potential
of classroom technology. By partnering with the International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE), Verizon supported technology-specific teacher
professional development and in-school coaches that enabled teachers
and students to better leverage mobile devices as learning enhancements,
ultimately improving student outcomes on STEM subjects.
Niemes, like other VILS pilot schools, faced a common problem: while the school
was lucky to already have access to devices like tablets and mobile phones,
too often they were relegated to the back of the classroom, collecting dust,
when teachers couldn’t find ways to make them directly relevant to students.
With the VILS program, teachers received dedicated resources, including an
on-site technology coach and continuous training and coaching, as well as
digital content that enabled them to integrate their existing technology into
the classroom. By adding skills and resources to devices and access, Verizon
unlocked a new formula for student success.
By 2014, the results were in: Niemes Elementary and the rest of the now-24
VILS sites had experienced a significant shift in student outcomes—for the
better. In the first year, math test scores for VILS students at the six schools
surveyed improved by an average of more than 4%, while their peers at nonVILS schools saw an average decrease of more than 4%. In the second year,
math scores for VILS students at the seven schools surveyed increased by
6.97%, while peers at non-VILS schools improved by an average of 4.23%.
More than one in three VILS students improved in academic achievement,
four in ten exhibited more sophisticated projects, and 60% strengthened their
technology skills. What’s more, 99% of the teachers surveyed in the program
evaluation reported some positive effect on student behavior and attitudes.
The message was clear: integrating technology into the classroom works
1 3
MORE THAN
IN
VILS
STUDENTS IMPROVED IN
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
60%
STRENGTHENED THEIR
TECHNOLOGY SKILLS
4 IN 10 EXHIBITED MORE
SOPHISTICATED PROJECTS
99%
OF THE TEACHERS
SURVEYED IN THE PROGRAM
EVALUATION REPORTED
SOME POSITIVE EFFECT
ON STUDENT BEHAVIOR
AND ATTITUDES
best when paired with focused professional development. The VILS pilot demonstrates that applying
technology solutions to address social challenges can uncover new opportunities for the business to
achieve greater social and business impact. Verizon’s strategy illuminates a unique path to shared value:
by investing in innovation through deployment of its technology in underserved communities, Verizon
has paved the way to a long-term shared value strategy for one of its main business lines.
Shared Value is Shared Success
Verizon’s road to shared value reflects a fundamental organizational commitment to linking innovation
and growth with social outcomes. The company’s journey began in 2011, when a number of factors
combined to create the right environment for a shift in purpose.
As with many mature companies, Verizon had found itself in 2011 at an inflection point in which many of
its markets had become saturated. For Verizon, the landline telecommunications business had reached
its peak in the late 20th century and was in decline. As a response, the company began to build up
offerings in internet connectivity, video, and mobile telecommunications—the latter of which has been
the effective engine of Verizon’s growth for several years. When consumer mobile device acquisition and
ownership reaches its peak, the business needs a source for the next wave of innovation and growth.
“We’ve thought all along that our technology is a key component to solving many social problems,” said
Rose Stuckey Kirk, Verizon’s Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer.
At the same time, the company was undergoing a leadership transition, with Ivan Seidenberg, longtime
CEO of Verizon and its predecessor companies, entering retirement. His successor, Lowell McAdam, had
previously served as President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, overseeing the company’s primary growth
engine in the new millennium. McAdam emphasized the need to create a “One Verizon” mentality,
bridging the various business and functional units and aligning them around a core purpose. During
the transition, Verizon executives began a broad conversation about the future of the business. Having
built and maintained an enviable array of assets (namely, its nationwide wireless network, its wireline
network, its cloud business and its global IP networks), the company sought to apply them in a way that
creates value for the business and the communities that it serves.
A third factor was a shift in the business and society
landscape, which was well timed for Verizon executives
considering a fundamental shift in purpose. In early
2011, Harvard Business Review published “Creating
Shared Value” by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer. The
shared value framework helped Verizon to consider its
social and business goals in a more strategically linked
way, and inspired the leadership to move the company’s
CSR strategy from pure risk management to an
opportunity to innovate within the business. Verizon’s
leaders concluded that the best prospects for Verizon’s
business were in the fields of education, health care,
and energy management.
As the company entered its new era of leadership, it
embraced shared value at the core of its business with the
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 4
notion that Verizon would pioneer technology products and solutions that provide “powerful answers”
to pressing problems facing the community and society. The company then coined its own terminology
and philosophy: Verizon “Shared Success.”
The Process of Securing Buy-In
Rose Stuckey Kirk became President of the Verizon Foundation during McAdam’s transition to CEO and
now leads Verizon’s Office of Global Corporate Citizenship (which includes both the Foundation and the
corporation’s Corporate Responsibility portfolio). See Figure 1 below. She has led the internal process to
develop Verizon’s Shared Success strategy. Using the “Creating Shared Value” article as an instructive
guidepost, she pushed internal leaders to consider the unique strengths behind Verizon’s core business
lines, and how they could be activated to incubate solutions that achieve greater social impact. With a
history of working with McAdam and a demonstrated track record within the wireless business, Kirk was
fortunate to begin the process with a CEO who saw the potential of Verizon’s Office of Global Corporate
Citizenship as a transformative force for the business—one that could be held to similar standards as the
rest of the company, which is heavily focused on success metrics and a healthy P&L.
FIGURE 1—VERIZON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FRAMEWORK (FROM THE 2014 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
REPORT)
OUR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FRAMEWORK
BENEFIT
TO SOCIETY
Solutions that
improve people’s
lives.
SOCIAL
IMPACT
MODEL
BENEFIT TO
BUSINESS
Leverage
innovative
technology to
address societal
challenges.
Creates license to
operate and freedom
to enter new markets.
TARGETED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACROSS ALL FOCUS AREAS
HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPLY CHAIN
SUSTAINABILITY/
ENVIRONMENT
PRODUCT
RESPONSIBILITY
Address human rights
risks associated with ICT
products and services.
Address supply
chain risks that could
negatively impact
Verizon.
Leverage stakeholder
expectations with
respect to environmental
citizenship.
Leverage stakeholder
expectations with
respect to product
responsibility.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 5
2014 VERIZON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY SUPPLEMENT
6
“
WE WANTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM BEING A GRANT-MAKING
ORGANIZATION TO BECOMING AN INCUBATOR FOR SOLUTIONS
THAT CAN ASSIST THE BUSINESS AS IT IS CONTEMPLATING ITS
FUTURE STRATEGY. THAT HAS BEEN A VERY CONSCIOUS CHANGE.
“
Even with a head start in executive vision and support, the process to create the Shared Success vision
was not without obstacles. “We certainly had struggles,” Kirk recalls. “It was not as easy as saying, ‘here
is a vision, now let’s execute it.’ There was a lot of back and forth with the executive office and board, and
a lot of moments where I thought I had it, only to have the concept rejected.”
What worked was a concentrated effort to identify the company’s core strengths and focus on the
key social areas that were best aligned with them. By identifying strong opportunities in three social
segments—education, health care, and energy—Kirk and her team were able to lead a process that built
a coherent strategy to mobilize Verizon’s assets toward both business innovation and social impact.
Ultimately, a deep-seated conviction that shared value represented a tremendous opportunity to
incubate solutions that helped provide insight to the business and addressed challenges in underserved
communities won the day. “I think the biggest factor was that I truly believed in what I was doing,” Kirk
says. “I was willing to go the distance with the board to defend what I believed was right, and I was very
passionate about that.”
Plotting Points on the Continuum: From Philanthropy to CSR to Shared Value
Alongside the enterprise-wide orientation around Shared Success, Verizon’s Office of Global Corporate
Citizenship also underwent a shift in its focus and purpose. “Starting in 2011, the desire was for our
philanthropy to be more strategic,” says Kirk. “We wanted to move away from being a grant-making
organization to becoming an incubator for solutions that can assist the business as it is contemplating
its future strategy. That has been a very conscious change.”
Evolving from a traditional grant-making model into something more complex that enabled shared value
creation was an exciting shift, but one that presented the need for a new way of thinking about corporate
responsibility and philanthropy very unlike the models that most corporations employ. “In the past, our
philanthropy was much more about reputation management,” remarks Kirk. “While that is obviously
still an aspect of this work, it is no longer the sole benefit, and the outcome is not just about community
relations. It is also about helping the business.”
The goal of this strategy, therefore, would no longer be to enhance corporate image through one-time
gifts to the community; rather, it would serve the larger purpose of deploying technology solutions
to incubate innovative approaches that target social issues that might not otherwise be addressed by
the business itself. It would also provide, for lack of a better term, R&D and market intelligence to the
business in the form of outcomes and analysis.
“We have to make sure that everything we do is very much grounded in the objectives of the business,”
Kirk emphasizes. “Where is the business going, what is it solving for, what is the vision, who are the
customers we want to impact, and therefore what is the role we can play to enable that?” Now that the
Global Corporate Citizenship team has a proven track record, counterparts in the business units better
understand the potential role it can play as an “incubation lab” for new opportunities and approaches,
and how this will ultimately lead to the development of shared value solutions at scale. See Figure 2 below.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 6
“
“
IT WAS NOT AS EASY
AS SAYING, ‘HERE
IS A VISION, NOW
LET’S EXECUTE IT.’
FIGURE 2—CONTINUUM OF ACTIVITIES: FROM CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY TO CSR TO CSV
CORPORATE
PHILANTHROPY
CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITY
SHARED VALUE
“Giving back”
“Minimizing harm
to society and the
company”
“Finding business
opportunities in
social problems”
Business should be
responsible
Social problems can be
solved by businesses
to increase profits or
strengthen differentiation
Business must
fulfill community
obligations
In addition to moving to a corporate funding model, another key shift in Verizon’s approach was a new
strategy to find innovative partners who could execute key components of funded programs that were
outside the scope and expertise of Verizon’s core competencies. This model of partnership puts Verizon
in the role of actively developing programs alongside a subject matter expert, and targeting those
programs specifically around the corporate goals and social needs.
Within three years (2011-2014), Verizon had transformed from a traditional philanthropic model to a
citizenship model that incubates shared value, partners with innovative experts, holds itself accountable
to a rigorous internal measurement scorecard, resonates internally, and shares insights in a strategic,
results-oriented way with the core business. This important shift has propelled Verizon on a clear journey
toward a merged shared value approach between its citizenship work and its corporate operations, and
has set the stage for Verizon’s full evolution into a shared value enterprise.
Identifying the Problem in U.S. Education
Verizon’s new strategy was first put to the test in the field of education—one of the three core social
issues identified by the Verizon executive team in the Shared Success strategy. Understanding that
technology plays a critical role in facilitating knowledge access, Verizon knew it could have an important
role to play in developing solutions for the ongoing crisis in U.S. education.
According to the World Economic Forum’s research, in international comparisons, U.S. students rank 23rd
among nations in science, and 30th in math. For low-income students, the gap is even wider. Without
these basic skills, graduates are unable to access STEM jobs, which the U.S. Department of Commerce
indicates are growing at a pace at least double that of jobs in other fields—today, there are more than 3
million unfilled STEM jobs in the U.S., despite an ongoing unemployment crisis. Of course, disadvantaged
students are most at risk for inadequate college and career preparedness.
While this learning and skills gap is a social need for the U.S. writ large, this also hits close to home for
Verizon. “There are concerns about a lack of STEM graduates to drive an innovation economy—those are
also potential employees and customers for us,” Kirk says.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 7
Verizon Technology is fueling entrepreneurship in courses combining app development and business
The first hurdle for many schools is getting students excited about
STEM subjects—a universal challenge. In these fields, technology
can be a particularly helpful aid to learning. However, a second
hurdle, especially for schools in underserved markets, is accessing
the technology, which can be expensive to purchase and difficult
to maintain. Finally, study after study has illustrated that, even in
classrooms where technology is provided, it is often poorly deployed,
without context or appropriate teacher training, leading to its disuse
and stagnating student outcomes.
Verizon chose its education strategy based on the ability to leverage
its core competencies—mobile devices and wireless technology—to
address these central barriers and enhance student outcomes in the
STEM field.
Identifying the Solution: Making Technology Relevant to Educators
and Students
Verizon launched Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) as the cornerstone of its corporate
citizenship education programming. VILS is the most established example to date of Verizon’s innovative
approach to incubating shared value and radically rethinking the role of its various functional units in
creating shared value.
Seeing the increased trend of school districts using technology in the classroom—whether provided
by school systems or encouraged through bring-your-own-device programs—Verizon wanted to learn
more about how mobile technology could enhance student learning outcomes, specifically in STEM
fields. Verizon had begun to explore this territory through a program called Thinkfinity, a comprehensive
digital learning platform providing free content to educators to enhance STEM learning outcomes. As
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 8
With slow-motion video, kids saw physics principles in action
Verizon adopted the Shared Success mindset, it quickly realized that introducing a technology delivery
component—particularly one that leveraged the reach and benefits of mobile devices—would likely
strengthen impact and be more aligned with Verizon’s business lines.
The new strategy faced initial challenges. Due to regulations in 2012, Verizon was unable to gift its
technology directly to schools, limiting its ability to gauge the effectiveness of its specific products and
services. However, given the promise of the educational technology market, Verizon sought a creative
solution to this restriction that would still allow it to have measurable social impact and leverage findings
for the benefit of the core business.
To maximize both impact and actionable intelligence for the business, Verizon’s Office of Global
Corporate Citizenship staff designed VILS to leverage partnerships that would provide the appropriate
professional development to educators in schools already using mobile technology in order to help
them better leverage the power of mobile technology independently and over the long term. Verizon
could then assess the social impact that mobile technology—when used appropriately—could have,
and use the related knowledge to inform product and service development for education markets on
the business side.
Verizon
partnered
with
the
International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE), a thought leader in
educational technology, to implement
a “train the trainer” program with inschool teachers. ISTE’s professional
development training for educators
included not just initial training on
device use and deployment, but also
continuous personal coaching and
mentoring, active collaboration among
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 9
teachers, and the placement of in-school technology coaches
to reinforce best practices and serve as resources for problemsolving. As part of their commitment to the VILS program,
schools were required to hire an on-site technology coach who
would be dedicated to enhancing teachers’ technology skills
and provide continuous options for support and improvement.
These supports combined to make schools self-sufficient in their
deployment of mobile technology, making the enhancement
sustainable and effective over the long-term.
Verizon chose its VILS pilot sites based on their needs, funding
a total of 24 schools over the two-year pilot period. Within this
sample, Verizon specifically targeted underserved populations,
achieving significant diversity in demographics (46% Caucasian,
28% Hispanic, 22% African American, 4% other), location (46%
urban, 29% suburban, 25% rural), and socio-economic status
(69% of students engaged in VILS programs qualify for free/
reduced lunch programs).
At Verizon Innovative Learning School
in Vista, Calif., Karla Cruz and every
student receives a tablet and 24/7
internet access.
With a recent change in regulations, Verizon is able to gift its
technology to non-profit partners who in turn select and give
devices and data to schools, Verizon can now assess the viability
and efficacy of its own products and services. This also enables the
business to run the program with corporate dollars. This shift in
implementation allows Verizon to more directly assess the impact of
its own technology and mobile services on educational outcomes.
Since the social impact can be relevant beyond Verizon, the company
also still makes its full range of results available publicly.
Measuring Impact and Success
Across the enterprise, Verizon values metrics and measurement to drive its strategy and operations.
“What gets measured, gets managed” is the institutional mantra, and the company employs detailed
internal scorecards that hold employees and business units accountable for performance on both social
and business metrics.
Within Global Corporate Citizenship, a dedicated manager collects data from across units and functions,
enabling the company to view results with discipline. For VILS, Verizon hypothesized that the focused
approach on professional development and strategic technology interventions would engage students
more, and be reflected by improvements in test scores for STEM-related fields.
Verizon complemented its rigorous internal measurement system with a thorough external evaluation,
which provided additional perspective that supported and validated Verizon’s own results. And, per a
January 2015 evaluation by ISTE that sourced data from almost 200 teachers and 11,000 students at the
24 schools, the VILS pilot appears to be a resounding success for students and schools.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 10
FIGURE 3—VERIZON PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD (2014)
In its 2014 Corporate Responsibility Supplement, Verizon outlined its shared value incubation targets
and strategy for an external audience. The graphic illustrates the maturity of the VILS programs:
VERIZON INNOVATIVE LEARNING SCHOOLS
GROWTH IN
PARTICIPATION:
n VILS SCHOOLS
24
Participated across three cohorts during the school year that began in 2014:
15,838
32
67%
PARTICIPATING STUDENTS
32
PERCENTAGE OF
VILS STUDENTS IN
FREE OR REDUCEDPRICE LUNCH
PROGRAMS
556
SCHOOLS
PARTICIPATING TEACHERS
12
Cohorts 1 and 2 Outcomes
2012
2013
Cohort 1 included the schools that started in 2012. Cohort 2 included the schools
that started in 2013. Both programs are in partnership with the International
Society for Technology in Education.
2014
In 2014, we expanded by an
additional 8 schools through our
partnership with Digital Promise.
24
11,338
206
PARTICIPATING
TEACHERS
PARTICIPATING
STUDENTS
PARTICIPATING
SCHOOLS
teacher practices changed*
60%
OF TEACHERS SAID
THEY GAVE MORE
INDIVIDUALIZED
INSTRUCTION
47%
SAID THEY SPENT
LESS TIME LECTURING
TO THE ENTIRE CLASS
student behaviors changed*
98.6%
OF TEACHERS
REPORTED POSITIVE
OUTCOMES ON EITHER
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
OR LEARNING
35%
SHOWED MORE
ENGAGEMENT
WITH THEIR
SUBJECTS
39%
60%
SHOWED MORE
PROFICIENCY WITH
TECHNOLOGY
OF STUDENTS WERE
COMPLETING WORK
MORE PROMPTLY
Student impact
was assessed by
examining teachers’
reports of student
technology use,
engagement and
learning
student performance improved*
Math scores rise for the second year at
the schools that have been surveyed
n NON-VILS SCHOOLS** n VILS SCHOOLS
2014
2013
4.63%
4.23%
6.97%
-4.19%
42%
OF STUDENTS
EXHIBITED MORE
SOPHISTICATED
STUDENT PROJECTS
OR PRODUCTS
37%
OF STUDENTS
EXHIBITED
HIGHER SCORES
ON CLASSROOM
ASSESSMENTS
37%
OF STUDENTS
IMPROVED
OVERALL IN
ACADEMICS,
ACCORDING TO
THEIR TEACHERS
* Source: ISTE research study on cohorts 1 and 2 outcomes, January 2014
** These are schools with similar demographics and with technology for students,
but without the professional development that VILS provides
Justina Nixon-Saintil, Director of CSR Program Development, recalls the excitement over the degree of
positive impact the VILS program demonstrated on teachers and students. “I was personally surprised,”
she says. “Based on all the studies we had seen, we had targets, but we were cautious because we
understood the challenges that these schools and students faced and the other factors that could
influence our intervention.”
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 11
While the social impact of the VILS program is trending positively, ongoing measurement challenges include:
• Increasing specificity in measuring outcomes. As does any educational intervention, VILS operates
alongside a number of other school improvement programs and socio-economic contexts that affect
outcomes. Verizon is honing its measurement systems to more accurately show the specific impacts of
its programs, understanding the importance of isolating its impact vs. attributing the totality of student
outcomes to VILS alone.
•S
etting clear expectations around measurement with partners and stakeholders. Verizon
has found that, particularly in the nonprofit space, there often is no clarity around impact and
measurement goals. It is important to set those expectations up front so that the correct metrics are
set and data collected.
• Accounting for unpredictable and inconsistent implementation. In education, each year varies
tremendously given staff turnover. Teachers are trained through the VILS program and then may leave,
which means new teachers have to be trained, effectively placing a particular school back in Year 1.
This means that continuous year-over-year trends are difficult to identify, and results, as well as data
comparison year over year, may be stalled.
Toward the Future: From Market Intelligence to Shared Value Collaboration
Verizon has taken an important step in transforming its purpose from a community grant-maker to an
effective lab for testing educational technology approaches and accelerating potential shared value
products and services within the business. Verizon’s giving has undergone a fundamental shift from
classical corporate philanthropy to strategic corporate investments in pilot interventions that provide
data and input into populations, products and services that Verizon corporate may prioritize in the
future. In this way, the company can provide solid data on social impact and discover technologies,
supports, and other resources that create lasting results for students and schools across the country.
Verizon can learn from these insights, and VILS’ early success in positive student outcomes has
illuminated a number of ways that Verizon can potentially contribute to student achievement through
its product and service lines.
While Verizon is in the midst of its shared value journey, its evolution and innovation along the
continuum—from corporate philanthropy to corporate social responsibility to shared value—shows
that the gradual approach is laying the foundation for a strong shared value approach at the enterprise
level for years to come.
Verizon’s business units are actively seeking data and information from experts on the Global Corporate
Citizenship team as they pursue new opportunities for the business. “We are hand in glove with the
business, and can inform them on what is happening in the education industry, how the tools we bring
to bear—like devices and connectivity—can play in a classroom setting, and heavy analytics around
those issues,” Kirk says. “Over time, we will move from providing insights and market intelligence to
collaboratively building shared value opportunities.”
VILS is not the only example of Verizon’s innovative approach to incubating shared value. The Global
Corporate Citizenship team is also working on programs in Verizon’s other two social impact areas—
healthcare and energy—that are demonstrating promise in identifying social solutions.
• Healthcare: Verizon is working with non-profit partners like the Arkansas Baptist Health Program to
infuse technology into the care of patients with chronic health problems.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 12
• Energy: In a pilot of low-income households in Texas, Verizon is deploying technology solutions to help
residents understand and manage their energy usage.
With proven success to date and a positive outlook for the program, the shared value incubation and
acceleration approach will lead to positive outcomes for society and business over time. The Global
Corporate Citizenship staff, meanwhile, is continually working to strengthen an innovation mindset while
balancing corporate bureaucracy, and building the case for more direct collaboration with the business.
Thus far, the “market intelligence” gained by Global Corporate Citizenship through its VILS work has led
to some product development ideas, but given the long corporate product development cycle, Verizon
hasn’t yet seen a full transfer of social program results to new product development to market and,
eventually, to profit. This is expected to happen as Verizon’s incubation programs and their results grow
and internal processes for knowledge transfer are continually strengthened.
“I think the big learning for me is that you have to be patient,” Kirk reflects. “It is not a straight line. For
the business, this is a new approach, and we need to prove its relevance. To do that, we need to be
disciplined in our measurement, understand the challenges the business is trying to address and convey
information and results in a way that helps the business address its challenges.”
the business, this is a new approach, and we need to prove its relevance. To do that, we
need to be disciplined in our measurement, understand the challenges the business is
“
“
I think the big learning for me is that you have to be patient. It is not a straight line. For
trying to address and convey information and results in a way that helps the business
address its challenges.
Case Study | Investing in Innovations 13
Sources
• “ Education in 2014,” Verizon Corporate Responsibility website. Available at: <www.responsibility.
verizon.com/education> (accessed June 30, 2014).
• Gwynn, Lisa. “Where Business and Social Innovation Meet,” The Corporate Citizen, Boston College Center
for Corporate Citizenship, Issue 11 (Summer 2014), 14-21. Available at: <www.bcccc.net/pdf/magazine/
CorporateCitizenMagazine-Issue11.pdf> (accessed September 15, 2014).
• Iksewski, Brandon. “Executive Briefing: VILS Student Achievement Results, 2012-13,” International
Society for Technology in Education, January 31, 2014.
• Kanani, Rahim. “Verizon Foundation: An Incubator for New Social Solutions,” Forbes.com, April 15, 2014.
Available at: <www.forbes.com/sites/rahimkanani/2014/04/19/verizon-foundation-an-incubator-fornew-social-solutions> (accessed September 15, 2014).
• Shared Value Initiative Interview with Christopher Lloyd, Executive Director, Public Policy and Corporate
Relations, Verizon, July 17, 2014 (via phone).
• Shared Value Initiative Interview with Angela Peluso, Director, Corporate Communications, Verizon,
August 7, 2014 (via phone).
• Shared Value Initiative Interview with Rose Kirk, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Verizon, August
19, 2014 (via phone).
• Shared Value Initiative Interview with Justina Nixon-Saintil, Director of CSR Program Development,
Verizon, September 12, 2014 (via phone).
• “ Sparking a Passion in Students,” Verizon Foundation website, April 23, 2014. Available at: <www.
verizonfoundation.org/sparking-a-passion-in-students> (accessed June 30, 2014).
• Verizon 2013 Corporate Responsibility Supplement. Available at: <www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/
files/cr-report-supplement-2013.pdf> (accessed September 15, 2014).
• Verizon 2014 Corporate Responsibility Supplement. Available at: <www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/
files/2014_Verizon_Corporate_Social_Responsibility_Report.pdf> (accessed March 24, 2015).
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