Stanford GSB maintains centers and academic programs as resources to encourage curriculum development, research, and interaction among academic disciplines.
Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES)
Building on a half-century tradition of entrepreneurship at Stanford GSB, CES was founded to address the need for greater understanding of the issues faced by entrepreneurial individuals and companies.
The center focuses on case development, research, curriculum development, and student programs in the areas of entrepreneurship and venture capital. It also supports alumni and students engaged in entrepreneurial pursuits.
The center aims to:
- Promote research on entrepreneurial companies and on topics relevant to entrepreneurs.
- Enhance and expand the curriculum for graduate students who understand entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial companies.
- Provide resources for students and alumni embarking on entrepreneurial ventures.
- Establish relationships with the local entrepreneurial community.
Center for Global Business and the Economy (CGBE)
CGBE partners with Stanford GSB faculty and leverages the school’s diverse community in efforts to educate leaders who will change the world. The center’s initiatives and partnerships support Stanford GSB’s mission and enhance the school’s reputation globally.
CGBE’s current strategies are to:
- Provide transformative academic and immersive experiences that educate students.
- Advance global research and enrich the global learning environment at Stanford GSB.
- Coordinate the extension of Stanford GSB to an international audience.
Center for Leadership Development and Research (CLDR)
CLDR promotes learning and scholarship in the area of organizational leadership. It is based on the premise that although management skills can be taught in the classroom, leadership is something that is learned best through experience — especially when experiences are shared with others who are willing and able to support the learning process.
It focuses on three broad areas of activity:
- Pedagogical initiatives and educational resources that help students develop critical leadership capabilities.
- Research that enhances an understanding of leadership, its practice, and potential outcomes.
- Programming and events that bring together scholars, practitioners, and students to examine provocative leadership topics.
Center for Social Innovation (CSI)
The center is dedicated to breaking down boundaries and promoting the mutual exchange of ideas and values across sectors and disciplines and between theory and practice to develop innovative solutions to social problems. Its mission is grounded in a strong theory of change.
All programs and initiatives are designed, coordinated, and integrated to achieve the following outcomes:
- Raise awareness about the principles, methods, and potential impact of social innovations.
- Build skills through education programs, both conceptual and practical, that enable individuals to become successful change agents.
- Advance action by providing opportunities to implement social-innovation practices to make change.
Value Chain Innovation Initiative
The Stanford Value Chain Innovation Initiative brings together faculty and students from multiple schools, departments, and disciplines within Stanford University to conduct research and disseminate learning in partnership with practitioners. The VCI Initiative is actively engaged with a broad cross-section of leading and emerging industries to identify, document, research, develop, and disseminate best practices in a dynamic and increasingly global economic business environment.
Research projects focus on solving problems that are highly relevant to the greater global business community. They may be structured as theoretical or model-based research, empirical research, or detailed field-based case studies. Periodically, the VCI Initiative hosts events featuring thought leaders in the field of value chain strategy.
Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies
The Institute, known informally as SEED, seeks to stimulate, develop, and disseminate research and innovations that enable entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders to alleviate poverty in developing economies. SEED’s work is based on the belief that a critical route for economic growth is through the creation of entrepreneurial ventures and by scaling existing enterprises.
Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE)
Established in 1998, SPRIE is dedicated to advancing the understanding and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship in leading regions around the world.
SPRIE offers:
- Deep expertise and insights drawing on more than a decade of interdisciplinary and international research, publications and education at Stanford University
- Top-tier events, form international conferences to briefings and education programs
- Experienced leadership at the intersection of business, technology, policy and academia
- Broad reach to key people and organizations driving change in technology, energy, venture capital, policy, economics, education, and other arenas
Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance
Created in 2011 to help blaze an economically sensible path toward an advanced global energy system. The center, housed jointly at Stanford’s law and business schools, incubates practical ideas and actual businesses intended to transform the energy world in two ways. The first is by helping attract massive capital flows. The second is by helping ensure that money is spent intelligently and efficiently.