For students seeking co-operative education opportunities in the social enterprise space, just across the river an organization called Root Cause, a leading research and consulting firm for nonprofits in Cambridge, has embraced Northeastern students like Justin Bergeron through it’s co-op program with the Sociology Department.
Bergeron, a Political Science major currently working in Root Cause’s Social Impact Research (SIR) department, says Root Cause exists in order to “bring business, nonprofit, and government together in a social impact market in order to create solutions for today’s pressing social problems”. Through his co-0p, Bergeron says he came away with a snapshot of the social entrepreneurship field as well as deeper insight into the social sector through his involvement with research.
SIR is an initiative within Root Cause that publishes information on best practices for solving particular social issues, such as homelessness, school readiness, healthy aging, and workforce development. Through synthesis of independent research, this department produces clear, actionable reports for leaders across all sectors. Businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and the government use these reports to make well-informed, strategic decisions on investments in and development of social impact.
Bergeron’s experience involved working in collaboration with the New York City Human Services Data Project, which was striving to standardize definitions of language used throughout the Senior Services and Workforce Development fields. The ultimate goal was to establish a common benchmarking tool for organizations working within these fields to compare their performance against each other. Bergeron expressed some of the challenges faced. “Different organizations measure success differently, so it is hard to create standards of success in a field and hold organizations accountable to those standards,” recalls Bergeron.
Jared Sholk, an International Affairs and Economics dual major with a minor in Social Entrepreneurship, co-oped at Root Cause as a Research Assistant as well. “It met and exceeded my expectations, and was a terrific foundation for my future interests and work. It both professionalized my work style while also allowing me to grow in my knowledge of impact measurement,” said Sholk. He worked on reports concerning Workforce Development and International Disaster Relief and was also assigned to the project with the New York City Department of Health and Human Services.
As of this January, McKenzie Freeman, a Human Services major and International Affairs minor, has been working as the Operations Assistant under the Senior Manager of Finance and Administration. Her duties revolve around the organization’s finances and general operations, which include handling invoices and credit reports, researching new office products, and maintaining the facility. “I have learned about what the daily tasks are for running a successful nonprofit and all the detail that goes into maintaining it,” she says. Freeman is also engaged in Root Cause’s Black Male Achievement work in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation, which works to strengthen the efforts of organizations aiming to improve the life outcomes of black males in the United States.
Another initiative of Root Cause, the Social Innovation Forum (SIF), selects the most innovative nonprofits in the Greater Boston area and provides them with the opportunity to build capacity and expand their networks, especially with investors. Performance measurement and results are highly valued in order to connect the local impact investment community to these efficient nonprofits. Co-ops within SIF are heavily involved in the continuous process of recruitment, selection, and communication with the extensive network the department has developed. The interdepartmental efforts at Root Cause all contribute to the organization’s mission of fostering a social impact market in which there is a universal understanding of effectively addressing social issues.
Students who have worked at Root Cause found that they were working with very intelligent, passionate staff. “I worked with some of the brightest people I have ever met. The environment was one of constant improvement where everyone challenged each other to do their best,” said Sholk. Their co-op experiences provided the opportunity to truly learn about social entrepreneurship from experts in a dynamic environment. Freeman adds, “I work with all sorts of people, all coming from a variety of backgrounds, but all striving for creating positive and sustainable social change.”
Root Cause attracts highly motivated individuals willing to engage in a dynamic, innovative environment and be challenged by the goal to find solutions to today’s pressing social problems. Sholk claims, “I would absolutely recommend the co-op to students who are committed to the mission of the organization. The job sometimes required long hours and short deadlines, but the reward at the end of the day was worth every minute of work.”
