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.
Table of Contents:
1. Think Big, Start Little 2. Opportunities for Impact 3. Digital Transformation Strategies 4. Embedding Purpose into Projects 5. Design Thinking for Changemakers 6. Developing a Theory of Change 7. Data for Social Impact 8. Scaling for Impact 9. AI for Good
About the Author :
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.
Review :
"Calling all social innovators and change makers! This Little World provides a pragmatic blueprint for those who want to activate positive change in the world through technology. Halvorson and Kurtz’s book is an important contribution to the rapidly developing tech for good industry."
Justin Spelhaug, Vice President Tech for Social Impact, Microsoft
"Halvorson and Kurtz provide clear guidance for tech-enabled social entrepreneurship, with the important message that the human fundamentals matter most."
Kentaro Toyama, Ph.D., Author of Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology
"This Little World shows tech can be good, when designed responsibly. AI innovation provides new ways to make real progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals –and will ultimately support the creation of sustainable and inclusive economies."
Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, National Transformation Partnerships, Microsoft
"This Little World fills an important strategic gap among leadership and training materials for the growing nonprofit and for-profit marketplace. This book hits the ‘sweet spot’ by balancing aspirational information about social impact work with the practical skills required to build scalable projects. I strongly recommend this project and its authors."
Julia Roberts, Vice President, Global Fundraising & Communications, PSI
"Must-read, right now."
Ben Jackson, CEO Guardify, a VidaNyx company
"Halvorson and Kurtz are bold, boundless thinkers. This Little World is an exciting tool for organizations that are preparing to embrace change and lean into social innovation. Both a practical guide and an inspirational call to action, this book is a masterclass on how institutions can leverage innovation, technology, and change theory to level up their social impact."
Allan Belton, President, Pacific Lutheran University
"An engaging and practical introduction to the opportunities and mechanics of social entrepreneurship useful to students in both business and liberal arts settings. This book equips readers to become ‘changemakers for good’ by combining interdisciplinary thinking, historical understanding, creative and ethical use of technology, and empathetic leadership."
Karen E. Spierling, Ph.D., Professor of History and Inaugural Director of the Global Commerce Program, Denison University
"Halvorson and Kurtz’s book sheds light on the challenges and critical elements of success associated with creating and scaling technologies that positively serve society."
Luis Salazar, Founder and CEO, AI4SP
"This Little World is a rare guide for aspiring social innovators."
Morgan Grimm, Senior Communications Associate, Tala
"Objective insights that have forced some of the most seasoned experts in the non-profit sector to re-evaluate long-held beliefs."
Chris Emura, Executive Director, Applied Science & Technology, Allen Institute for AI
"Kurtz and Halvorson’s approach is refreshingly brilliant. Through case study examples and practical instruction, they enable organizations of any size–small business to enterprise, government to nonprofit–to develop a plan that leads to structural, scalable, and sustainable impact through continuous improvement."
Cameron Royce Turner, Vice President, Data Science, Kin + Carta
"A must-read for the changemakers working to shape our collective future of limitless potential."
Sam Ushio, Founder, Ikigai Lab
"Kurtz possesses a remarkable blend of curiosity, creativity, energy, compassion, drive, and palpable joie de vivre. She is the consummate connector of ideas, people, and purpose—and has an uncanny ability to recognize meaning out of unexpected personal relationships and in developing and supporting scalable social impact organizations. Her ability to put this meaning into motion is unparalleled."
Sara Boyd, Founder, Ascend Advisory LLC
"This Little World presents an intriguing exploration into the evolving landscape of social innovation and purpose-driven work. The book captures the current zeitgeist where technology, social impact, and sustainable practices intersect."
Alexander Andino, Director of Engineering, Giving Compass Insights
"This book will be a valuable resource for non-profit leaders as we seek to lead our way through this period of transformation and disruption."
Gary A. Officer, President and CEO, Center for Workforce Inclusion & CWI Labs
"We can finally put the dichotomy between nonprofit and technology companies aside. This book shows changemakers how they can be both mission driven leaders and technology innovators."
Sasha Rabkin, Ph.D., President, Equal Opportunity Schools
"Kurtz is a force of nature and has a heart for the public good. When Shelly understood the important work of Children's Advocacy Centers, she swung into action developing a technology solution that could improve their work flow and securely store victim statements. Thank you, Shelly, for truly living the motto ‘tech for good.’"
Teresa Huizar, Chief Executive Officer, National Children’s Alliance
"It’s up to this generation whether the technological revolution lifts us all up or drags us down. This Little World: A How-To Guide for Social Innovators could not come at a better time to help us make liberating and transformative choices."
Matt Cherry, Director of Philanthropy, Ability Central
