Social Impact

With guests Innocentia Mahlangu and Casey Canfield

20 October 2021

Infrastructure projects form the bedrock of modern society­—delivering expressways, clean water supplies, internet access and a bevy of other essentials. Yet project leaders must also ensure these initiatives deliver value now—and for decades to come. Guests discuss how they think about future-proofing infrastructure projects, the need for meaningful stakeholder engagement and the potential for true social impact.

With guest Dan Balaban

21 April 2021

Climate change is one of the world’s greatest threats—and project leaders around the globe are stepping in, helping mitigate its effects with ambitious and innovative initiatives. One guest discusses the need to be agile as his company launches one of the world’s largest solar projects, while another talks about the value of nature-based solutions designed to promote both environmental and societal well-being.

With guest Mac Glovinsky

16 December 2020

Virtual learning was already a high-growth sector, but that was nothing compared to skyrocketing usage among children shut out of schools by the pandemic in 2020. Guests from UNICEF and Nigerian startup Gradely discuss how each of their teams accelerated their efforts to meet students’ needs during the pandemic, the continued role of in-person teaching in online environments and the future of virtual education. 

With guest Devan Wardwell

22 April 2020

On Earth Day, Projectified® looks at projects to save the earth. Devan Wardwell, director of growth at Forest Carbon, discusses a project to restore peatlands and the technology teams use to make data-driven earth saving decisions. Michael Sweet, PhD, a researcher at the University of Derby and an officer of the International Coral Reef Society, talks about challenges facing coral restoration projects.

With guest Anne Petersen

18 March 2020

Can government interactions ever be smooth? Nations around the world are working on upgrading these citizen services. Anne Petersen, director of experience design at 18F, shares how they sidestep barriers to customer experience success and the mindset needed to achieve a customer-focused approach.

With guest Jane Canniff

7 March 2018

Jane discusses how project management is changing and how it differs among the for-profit and global development sectors.

With guests Gaurav Batra and Dan O'Shea

6 October 2021

As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, consumers are increasingly interested in electric vehicles (EVs). And that means lots of projects, not just to deliver cool new products, but also the underlying infrastructure that supports them. We discuss e-mobility trends with:

Gaurav Batra, global advanced manufacturing and mobility analyst team leader at EY in New Delhi: Batra discusses how the pandemic—and climate change—shifted EV adoption rates, and the role of government leaders in boosting the EV ecosystem.

Dan O’Shea, director of utility strategy and business development, EV infrastructure at ABB in Seattle: O’Shea talks about what’s needed to build out EV charging infrastructure and how projects leaders can adapt to the industry’s rapid rate of innovation. 

With guest Rafael Hoogesteijn

30 December 2020

When wildfires strike, project teams get to work—not just stomping out the flames, but helping animals and their ecosystems recover. Following megafires on Australia’s Kangaroo Island and in the Pantanal in Brazil, guests discuss how project teams collaborated to preserve threatened populations of jaguars and dunnarts, and what can be done to prevent future catastrophes.

With guest Khulan Batkhuyag

2 December 2020

All projects have an impact—and it’s up to project leaders to make sure the impact is positive. TED@PMI speaker Khulan Batkhuyag shares how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects. And RecyGlo’s Okka Phyo Maung discusses how his Myanmar startup uses tech and data analytics to reduce pollution in waterways.

With guest Dr. Ranu Dhillon

25 March 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting countries, people and projects around the globe. It’s one of several deadly diseases the world has faced in recent years. Dr. Ranu Dhillon, a faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, served as the special adviser to the president of Guinea during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. He discusses creating strategies to control the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the value of early detection and how that can be applied to the coronavirus.  

With guest Lori Tanner

3 October 2018

Making the world a better place is no simple task. Especially when funding is in short supply. Leaders from government agencies and NGOs share how transparency and accountability help them do more with less on their projects and programs.