Conditional Cash Transfers in Pittsburgh?

Michele Jolin referenced "civic entrepreneurs" in her article, "Innovating the White House." In an effort to learn more about how a civic entrepreneur is defined, I came across the blog "Civic Entrepreneurship - Social Edge" which largely draws from the book, The Power of Social Innovation, written by Stephen Goldsmith. Jolin references Mr. Goldsmith repeatedly throughout her article. This blog, linked to the title of this post, is a program of the Skoll Foundation.

While reading through some of the blog entries, a few salient points jumped out at me: 1) One of the entries profiles the Family Independence Initiative in San Francisco. An interesting aspect of this initiative is that it serves the working poor - people who may be living 30% above the poverty line but still living paycheck to paycheck. Another interesting aspect is that the initiative embodies the conditional cash transfer idea discussed in Tina Rosenberg's NY Times article, "To Beat Back Poverty, Pay the Poor." The blog post states "individual households report on behaviors - each of which earns them $25... In two years among the San Francisco cohort, households increased their income by an average of 20 percent; half the school-age children improved their school performance; three out of five households reduced their debt; and three out of four increased their savings." In addition, this system relies on word-of-mouth and peer influence. The blog states that when members of the community see these families succeed, they are inspired to do the same. Within six months of contacting the initial families, two hundred new families contacted the initiative's leader to become part of the program. The initiative inspires participants to shift the power dynamic, to take control of their situation, and begin to ask themselves instead of the program leader what they need to do to take the next step.

In another blog post, civic entrepreneurship is defined as producing "exhilarating change in a person, family, or community by expecting them to succeed and by viewing their own jobs as clearing away the obstacles. Executive leadership, whether from the president, governor, mayor, foundation president, or student activist can create the conditions for change." So, what can we do to clear away obstacles in the Pittsburgh community? Could the conditional cash transfer idea work in conjunction with programs in the Pittsburgh community? I think it can; in fact, our project group will present an idea tonight that I think would be a prime candidate for the conditional cash transfer idea.

-Whitney Coble