PERSBERICHT Hollands goed doel is voorbeeld ... - Max Foundation

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Hollands goed doel is voorbeeld voor top MBA
Insead publiceert case Max Foundation online
Het Insead Social Innovation Centre van de Insead Business School in Fontainebleau, (Fr.), publiceert
vandaag hun business case over Nederlands goed doel Max Foundation online.
http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/maxfoundation/home/
De case over Social Entrepreneurship werd geschreven door Dr Martijn Thierry in samenwerking met
professor Luk van Wassenhove, oprichter van het Social Innovation Centre. Doorgaans publiceert het Centre
zo’n 10 cases per jaar, waarvan er 2 a 3 onder het onderwerp Social Entrepreneurship vallen. Het online
publiceren van de case stelt andere Business Schools en universiteiten wereldwijd in de gelegenheid de case
aan te schaffen als lesmateriaal voor ondermeer (MBA) studenten en executives.
De case beschrijft hoe Max Foundation door innovatief en rendementsgericht te werk te gaan in staat is
geweest om in 6 jaar tijd meer dan 200.000 mensen van schoon water, sanitatie, en hygiënevoorlichting te
voorzien op het platteland van Bangaldesh. Daarmee heeft Max Foundation de levens van vele kinderen gered,
hetgeen zij zich ten doel heeft gesteld. “De innovatie van Max Foundation ligt in het slim organiseren van haar
business model en het gebruik maken van bewezen, goedkope technologie. Deze aanpak leidt tot een hoog
gezondheidsrendement per uitgegeven euro”, aldus Martijn Thierry, sinds maart 2011 bestuurslid van Max
Foundation. Professor Luk van Wassenhove stelt ‘Max Foundation is a rare example of a social venture that
excels in business model innovation. This is important as the potential of business model innovation in the
humanitarian sector is very significant but often overlooked’.
INSEAD, opgericht in 1960, heeft naast Fontainebleau vestigingen in Singapore, Abu Dhabi en Israel en
samenwerkingsprogramma’s met opleidingen in de VS, China en Brazilië. In de wereldwijde MBA Ranking van
de Financial Times staat INSEAD op nr 4 wereldwijd en op nr 2 in Europa. 136 faculteitsleden uit 36 landen
inspireren jaarlijks meer dan 1000 MBA, Executive MBA en PhD studenten die de Insead programma’s volgen.
Daarnaast nemen 9,500 executives deel aan INSEAD’s Executive opleidingsprogramma’s. Jaarlijks publiceert
Insead circa 100 cases, waarvan het Social Innovation Centre er 10 voor z’n rekening neemt. Voor de Max
Foundation-case is een aparte site opgericht met veel achtergrond informatie en video materiaal.
Max Foundation is als particulier initiatief van Steven en Joke le Poole opgericht in 2004 na het overlijden van
hun zoontje Max. De stichting bestrijdt kindersterfte door lokale WASH-projecten (Water, sanitatie en
hygiënevoorlichting) te financieren in Bangladesh, daar deze aanpak na studie de meest rendementsvolle een
effectieve wijze bleek om kindersterfte tegen te gaan. De organisatie wordt gerund door vrijwilligers die actief
zijn in het bedrijfsleven. De stichting draagt alle donaties voor 100% af aan de projecten Bangladesh en koppelt
op transparante wijze terug naar donateurs waar hun geld aan is besteed middels foto’s van de geslagen
waterput. Eind 2010 bereikte Max Foundation de mijlpaal van 1000 geholpen dorpen = 200.000 mensen die
voorzien zijn van een gezonde toekomst. Bij de viering op 17 maart 2011 was ZKH Prins Willem-Alexander
aanwezig en werd een paneldiscussie gevoerd over rendementgericht-denken in ontwikkelingshulp.
Voor meer informatie: www.maxfoundation.nl, Insead: www.insead.edu
Zie bijlage voor interview met Van Wassenhove over de case.
Contactpersonen voor pers:
Max Foundation: Elinor Driesen-Rottinghuis, elinor@maxfoundation.nl, 06-23885117
INSEAD: Luk van Wassenhove, vwl@insead.edu
Martijn Thierry, martijn@maxfoundation,nl, 06-55871379

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Bijlage: Extract uit een interview met prof. Luk van Wassenhove, ter gelegenheid van de publicatie:
1. How did you identify the need for the case series? E.g. why did you focus on that particular subject,
organisation, issue or problem?
At INSEAD’s Social Innovation Centre, we are always looking for humanitarian organisations that are innovative
and from which we can learn something, both academically and in terms of lessons to improve the impact of
humanitarian organisations in the field. Max Foundation is a rare example of a social venture that excels in
business model innovation. This is important as the potential of business model innovation in the humanitarian
sector is very significant but often overlooked. In a period of 5 years, Steven and Joke le Poole, the founders of
Max Foundation, have created an effective, low-cost, social venture that has delivered clean water and
sanitation to 200,000 people in rural Bangladesh, saving the lives of hundreds of children.
2. Did you encounter any difficulties when writing the case series and/or teaching note, and how were
these overcome?
We had the benefit of a wealth of internal data from Max Foundation, supplemented by various external
sources. We interviewed all the key people at Max Foundation. As Max Foundation’s decision making is very
much data-driven, we had access to all key materials and supporting data since the start of Max Foundation in
2005.
3. What are the benefits of presenting the material as a case series?
There are two different cases, which work very well together. Case A highlights how Steven and Joke le Poole,
founders of the Max Foundation, used business model innovation to create a social venture to maximise the
(health) return per-euro-spent. The main focus is on business model innovation and on identifying innovative
elements in the foundation’s business model can be adopted by other (humanitarian) organisations.
On March 17 th 2011, HRH Prince Willem-Alexander, Crown Prince of the Netherlands and Chairman of the UN
Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, recognised the accomplishments of the Max
Foundation and went on to express the hope that many more people in the developing world would be given
access to clean water and sanitation through its efforts. At this very moment, Max Foundation is considering its
future, contemplating the key strategic decisions for the next 3 to 5 years.
Case B focuses on these strategic decisions and examines the challenges and opportunities around up-scaling
strategy, impact measurement, and marketing.
4. What teaching objectives did you hope to satisfy with this case series and were they met?
Case A pursues the following aims:
Familiarizing students with the concept of business models for social ventures and explaining the key
decisions and activities within the business model
Recognising different opportunities for business model innovation by social ventures
Identifying concepts and tools from the business world that can be used in the humanitarian sector,
highlighting potential challenges, and finding solutions to them
Deciding which type of innovation – business model innovation or technological innovation – offers the
highest value for money in the fight against child mortality
Highlighting opportunities for humanitarian organisations to engage in business model innovation
The issues raised in Case B are:
Identifying different ways in which social ventures can scale up and increase their impact
Evaluating different options for scaling up and identifying the implications for the Max Foundation’s
business model

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Highlighting the importance of impact measurement in the humanitarian sector
Identifying challenges related to impact measurement in the humanitarian sector and solutions to deal with
these challenges
Recognising the marketing requirements for humanitarian organisations
Familiarizing students with the development of a marketing strategy for a specific donor segment
Teaching objectives are very much met in that this suite of cases is richly documented with a lot of
supplementary materials (videos, articles, slide sets) and can be used for virtually all types of audiences from
undergraduates to MBAs and executives, and not in the least for programs with participants from NGOs or
social entrepreneurs. It is sufficiently flexible to be used in different ways, from a short class (using only case A
or case B) to a series of classes injecting supplementary materials.
5. How do you envisage that this case series could be used by colleagues in other organisations?
The case can be taught in various courses related to social impact, including courses on non-profit and NGO
management, policy making, international health care, and social entrepreneurship. It also covers topics
relevant to classes on strategy, organisational behaviour and marketing. The case is particularly suitable for use
as an integrative and inter-disciplinary exercise, bringing together the perspectives of different groups.
In addition, it can be taught in courses outside the domain of social impact, particularly those related to
business model innovation, organisational learning, and entrepreneurship. It is suitable for undergraduate,
graduate, and executive audiences.
Fontainebleau, October 2011