Former Googler Sonal Shah to Lead White House Office of Social Innovation

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2009-04-20 10:04:00 UTC
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Sonal Shah, from Getty Images

Late last week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that the White House will appoint Sonal Shah to head the first ever Office of Social Innovation, a new Obama Administration initiative designed to help government better coordinate with, support, and scale up the work of social sector innovators.

The appointment has not yet been formally announced, and it is still unclear precisely what the mandate and scope of the Office will be. One responsibility almost definitely falling within Shah's purview will be sheparding the new experimental Social Innovation Fund, signed into law as part of the Serve America Act:

The office will no doubt be involved in the Social Innovation Funds pilot program that was just created by the Serve America Act, a national-service bill that will be signed by the president next week. The funds, which will be administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, will provide money for groups that are “developing innovative and effective solutions to national and local challenges.”

Sonal Shah is not a surprise pick, but so far is a welcome one. Craigslist founder Craig Newmark calls her the "real deal," and Jane Wales of the Aspen Institute writes that she is "remarkaby talented."

What I'm even more interested in than "who," however, is "what?" What will Shah's mandate really be? How much room will she have to spread her wings and experiment? How many of her responsibilities will be pre-determined? How much voice will social sector leaders have in the new Office, and what will the communication channels be? These are the details I'm really waiting for.

Still, it's nice that there finally seems to be some movement here. And as a side note, Google.org seems to be a good platform for jumping to exciting new initiatives, with Larry Brilliant being announced last week to lead the new Skoll Urgent Threats Fund.

For more background on the Office of Social Innovation, see the following links:

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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