Social Progress Imperative Competitors

Our Story 1948 marked the most tragic moment in the history of Palestine and the Palestinian people; the moment when thousands of Palestinians were violently displaced. Despite the tragedy, a generation of business leaders and intellectual figures flourished in the diaspora. Fortunately, no matter how successful or settled they became, their hearts remained in their homeland, Palestine. Driven by a need to keep Palestine alive, in 1983 a group of Palestinians met in London to discuss how they could leverage their intellectual, technical, and financial resources to continue to support their home and those who remained there or trapped in refugee camps in neighboring countries like Lebanon. Out of this incredible meeting of minds, came the birth of Taawon, a Palestinian non-governmental organization that is dedicated to promoting the steadfastness of Palestine and Palestinians. The journey of Taawon is one of continuous growth and evolution. From day one, Taawon founders agreed that their work will not be limited to charitable initiatives and humanitarian aid. They wanted an organization that embraced an integrated development oriented approach that focuses on cultivating healthy individuals, and more importantly, healthy communities. Today, we are Palestine’s largest non-profit organization with over USD800 million disbursed over the years. For as long as our homeland remains occupied, our journey will thrust forward supported by a team of Palestine’s top talents; a team working to build generations of Palestinians capable of reaching their full potential, in spite of tragedies they live.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a national economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in the United States. The ACSI uses data from interviews with roughly 70,000 customers annually as inputs to an econometric model for measuring customer satisfaction with more than 225 companies in 47 industries and 10 economic sectors, as well as over 100 services, programs, and websites of federal government agencies. ACSI results are released on a monthly basis, with all measures reported using a scale of 0 to 100. ACSI data have proven to be strongly related to a number of essential indicators of micro and macroeconomic performance. For example, firms with higher levels of customer satisfaction tend to have higher earnings and stock returns relative to competitors. Stock portfolios based on companies that show strong performance in ACSI deliver excess returns in up markets as well as down markets. And, at the macro level, customer satisfaction has been shown to be predictive of both consumer spending and gross domestic product growth. The Index was founded at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is produced by ACSI LLC.

At the Centre for Social Impact we believe in a stronger society for all. The Centre for Social Impact is a collaboration of four leading Australian universities: UNSW, Swinburne University of Technology, Flinders University and The University of Western Australia. Our vision is for a more effective and responsive social system for Australia: a nation where social challenges are addressed by attacking root causes instead of just the symptoms and where those affected have a say in the solution. We want to see the most sustained and effective change rewarded. We want a nation where solving our biggest problems is a generator of social good and financial value. We know we can do better than we’re doing. We trust that we have the collective knowledge and resources to make a difference now. We create and collaborate on research, education and forums so that knowledge about social impact translates to advocacy and action so that we can bring out the best in – and for – each other. We take a systems approach to developing innovative solutions to the biggest social challenges today, with a vision for a better Australia tomorrow. Through our research, education and forums we ensure knowledge translates to advocacy and action. We create and collaborate with the broadest network of bright minds to make change matter.