In September 2008, JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute initiated the first large-scale gathering of stakeholders in the "Jewish innovation sector" -- promising new projects, organizations and change agents for Jewish education and Jewish life.  To follow up on this conference and continue its efforts to strengthen the innovation sector, the Institute is partnering with Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Jumpstart on a Jewish innovation think tank to gather and disseminate insights from the broader field of social entrepreneurship, distill learnings and best practices from innovating organizations, and address key issues relating to the success of the innovation sector, such as funding strategies, defining and measuring success, program development, building support systems, and “scaling up” to maximize impact.  The Think Tank convened for the first time in December 2009, a two-day conference held in Toronto in cooperation with that community's UJA Federation.  Participants in the Think Tank explored a range of issues affecting the vitality and effectiveness of the innovation sector in Jewish life and relationships among the various constituencies comprising the innovation "ecosystem."  You can read a summary and analysis of the Think Tank and the ideas discussed here.

The Institute also promotes information sharing and ongoing communication among those interested in Jewish Social Entrepreneurship and New Leadership Development by sponsoring the Jewish Social Entrepreneurship group on Facebook.