Join the School of Public Policy (SPP) this month for a variety of events!
GAPPS-ICMA Career Panels: April 4th, April 18th and April 26th
Join GAPPS-ICMA from 7-8:30pm for an upcoming alumni career panel. Registration is now available!
- April 4th: Social Policy with Padraig Barry, Thomas Clynch, & Larissa Kottke
- April 18th: Local and State Government with Matt Pellowski, John Kleinhans with more to come!
- April 26th: Healthcare Policy with Parashar Patel, Chaz Plungis, & Tony Patelunas
Chao Guo of The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice
The Social Entrepreneur’s Dilemma? Entrepreneurial Strategy & Charter School Performance: April 6th
Professor Chao Guo, School of Social Policy & Practice, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Thursday, April 6, 2023
1:00pm-2:30pm, via Zoom
About the Event & Speaker
Social entrepreneurial ventures aspire to generate both social and economic value. Yet their ability to actually do so has hardly been theoretically justified or empirically validated. We address this gap by examining how a social venture’s strategic choices that lead to stronger social performance tend to negatively affect economic performance, and vice versa. We focus on two choices related to the fundamentals of business strategy: competitive scope of activities and source of competitive advantage. Using a unique panel data of charter schools in Texas (1997-2007), we find evidence that both a broader scope and a differentiation strategy improve a school’s academic performance, but reduce its economic performance. The trade-offs from the opposing effects become even more pronounced in a more turbulent environment: the positive impact of differentiation on academic performance would vanish, whereas the negative impact of scope expansion and differentiation on economic performance would increase even further. Our findings provide insights on how theories of strategic management and the public and nonprofit management literature can illuminate the challenges of performance in social entrepreneurship.
Chao Guo is Professor and Faculty Director of Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) Program in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Chao’s research interests focus on the intersection between nonprofit and voluntary action and government. He has many published articles in highly respected and influential journals, and has published two books: Social Entrepreneurship: An EvidenceBased Approach to Creating Social Value (Wiley, 2014; co-authored with Wolfgang Bielefeld); and The Quest for Attention: Nonprofit Advocacy in a Social Media Age (Stanford University Press, 2020; co-authored with Gregory D. Saxton). His research has been recognized by his peers and won awards from multiple disciplines.
Chao is actively involved in professional and community service activities. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) (2009-2015). He has also served as a co-Editors-in-Chief of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the premier journal in the field (2016-2022). Globally, he has helped ARNOVA create a regional conference series in Asia (ARNOVA-Asia). In 2019, he received the Distinguished Achievement and Service Award from ARNOVA. At Penn, he serves as Faculty Director of Penn Restorative Entrepreneurship Program (PREP), an innovative program geared towards helping formerly incarcerated individuals become entrepreneurs, participate in civic engagement, and advocate for social
Coffee in a County: April 14th
Join the Alumni Council at 8AM! They will be meeting at Perkatory Coffee Roasters (725 Main St, Suite 23, Middletown CT 06457).
MPA’s 50th Anniversary Gala: April 22nd
We can not wait to celebrate the MPA's 50th Anniversary! Currently we are sold out. Please email Operations Coordinator Maura Maloney regarding waitlist options.
Scott Gaul
Rachel Leventhal-Weiner
Pursuing the Digital Frontier: Data Management and Digital Government Functions: April 28th
With Scott Gaul, Chief Data Officer, and Rachel Leventhal-Weiner, Director of Evaluation and Impact, Federal Funding, CT Office of Policy and Management
Friday, April 28, 2023
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (with 30 minute break)
Hartford Times Building, UConn Hartford Campus
About the Program
Upcoming Info Sessions
Program | Date | Time (EDT) | Location |
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track | April 11 | 4-4:30pm | Virtual |
MPA Fellows | April 13 | 4-4:30pm | Virtual |
Survey Research and Data Analysis (M.A., Certificate & Fast-Track) | April 17 | 12-12:30pm | Virtual |
MPA Fellows | April 18 | 12-1pm | 165 Capitol Ave |
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track | April 18 | 4-4:30pm | Virtual |
MPA Fellows | April 18 | 12-1pm | 450 Columbus Blvd |
MPA Fellows | April 20 | 12-1pm | 470 Capitol Ave |
MPA Fellows | April 24th | 12-12:30pm | Virtual |
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track | April 25th | 4-4:30pm | Virtual |
MPA Fellows | April 26 | 12-1pm | 55 Farmington Ave |
Survey Research and Data Analysis (M.A., Certificate & Fast-Track) | April 27 | 12-12:30pm | Virtual |
Check back for additional sessions in the coming weeks. Learn more and register on our Meet With Us page!