This Little World: A How-To Guide for Social Innovators

Shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2025 in the Change & Sustainability Category

Our planet has never been smaller. Technological advancements have compressed time and space, making the world more immediate and interconnected. This Little World clearly sets out how social innovation practices can enable organizations and communities to create a more sustainable, just, and equitable future for our shared lives on Earth.

Today, cloud‑based communication systems span the globe, connecting people and markets in the blink of an eye. Remote workers interact daily on high‑impact, virtual teams. Telehealth professionals provide medical care to the residents of secluded mountain villages. But a shrinking planet is not without its challenges: climate change, food shortages, pollution, and war are persistent headwinds. We need strategies and tools that promote stability and growth, and we need technology that is more inclusive, trusted, and focused on community goals. This Little World seeks to inspire those who aim to explore the rich and rewarding world of social innovation. It is a practical guide to innovation opportunities that will enrich an organization’s capacity for transformation and impact. The book explores how social impact employees can create projects that are purpose‑driven, scalable, and successful. With insights from leading social innovators, the book demonstrates how "tech for good" organizations are using social innovation strategies, emerging tools, and sustainable practices to support environmental causes, humanitarian initiatives, accessibility, healthcare, cultural heritage, and more.

This Little World: A How‑To Guide for Social Innovators is for technologists, business leaders, managers, and employees in the social impact sector, as well as anyone with aspirations for purpose‑driven outcomes in their work. Corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and students alike can learn from this new model of innovation, where it is possible to do good and do well. For more about the This Little World project, visit www.thislittleworld.org.

Michael J. Halvorson, Ph.D., is a professor of business and innovation history at Pacific Lutheran University and the author of 40 books about history, computing, and technology.

Shelly Cano Kurtz is an award‑winning social entrepreneur and marketer. She is an advisor for Concordia and on the Board of Directors at Guardify and the Center for Workforce Inclusion.