About > About the Partnerships

This powerful business-academia-education collaboration utilizes the technology capabilities and education commitment of IBM, the theoretical underpinnings and practical research from Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and the education vision and experience of the CCSSO, NAASP and the NAESP to provide educators with information to learn, innovate, and solve problems related to education reform.

HISTORY
In April 1998, Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter led Business Leadership in the Social Sector (BLISS), a forum hosted at Harvard Business School, that showcased companies that were "doing well by doing good." Because of its efforts through the Reinventing Education grant program, IBM was one of a handful of corporations highlighted as "the vanguard of the new paradigm" for strategic corporate philanthropy. IBM's work was not only making measurable improvements in public education, but also bringing new learning and development ideas that were enhancing IBM's core businesses and technologies.

As part of the forum, Professor Kanter wrote two case studies on Reinventing Education, as well as a Harvard Business Review article, "From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation." Currently, three courses are being taught at the Harvard Business School based on the Reinventing Education cases.

Through this association, IBM's Corporate Community Relations (CCR) group was introduced to Professor Kanter's change management work. While intended for businesses, IBM CCR immediately saw the power and relevance of many of the principles to the education environment. IBM CCR invited Professor Kanter to visit eight Reinventing Education sites in the United States and Europe to share her change management ideas with school leaders.

The response was overwhelming. The school leaders attending the sessions were inspired by what they learned and eager to put the ideas to work, but also wanted tools and materials that directly related to the needs of educators.

And thus a formal relationship was born. To truly resonate in the education environment and to reach an even larger audience of school leaders, IBM and Professor Kanter joined forces with the CCSSO, NASSP and NAESP. Together, they collaborated to customize the change management tools to address the unique challenges faced by schools and to reach an even larger audience of educators to make these tools available through the Reinventing Education Change Toolkit Web site.

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business School is a prolific author, educator and speaker on organization change, strategy and innovation. Her influence on organizations and global business leaders positions her as one of the premiere thought leaders and organization experts in the world. (See: About Rosabeth Moss Kanter)

THE COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS
The Council of Chief State School Officers is a nationwide, nonprofit organization composed of public officials who lead the departments responsible for elementary and secondary education in the States, the U.S. extra-state jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. In representing the chief education officers, CCSSO works on behalf of the state agencies that serve pre K-12 students throughout the nation.

GEORGIA LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT (GLISI)
Georgia's Leadership Institute for School Improvement is a partnership devoted to the success of Georgia's educational leaders in meeting elevated expectations for student achievement and school performance. Their mission is to equip, support and inspire educational leaders by providing learning experiences for superintendents, principals, and aspiring leaders that blend best practices from business and education that foster improved organizational performance and success for every student.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has been working to promote excellence in school leadership. To this end, NASSP provides its members - middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring principals from the United States and more than 60 other countries - with a wide variety of programs and services to assist them in: administration, supervision, curriculum planning and effective staff development.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Since 1921, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has been advocating for and supporting elementary and middle level principals and other education leaders in their commitment to all children. Today, NAESP provides a peer network of more than 28,500 principals worldwide. NAESP works to strengthen the principalship and the profession through cooperation with the institutions that prepare school administrators; through counsel and constructive relationship with governmental bodies at all levels; and through a wide range of NAESP training programs, publications, conferences and professional meetings.