"Corporate America has both an opportunity and an obligation to help the U.S. education system "“ our future workforce and global competitiveness depend on it," noted Beth Brooke, global vice chair of strategy and regulatory affairs for Ernst & Young. "The business world has unique skills and competencies that both individually and collectively can help to make a real difference in our education system. This white paper is a strategic framework for companies focused on education reform."

Research participants included representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BellSouth Foundation, ExxonMobil, GE Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs Foundation, IBM, Intel, Grantmakers for Education, Junior Achievement Worldwide, Microsoft, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, New York Public Schools, Teach for America, Business Roundtable, State Farm Insurance, and Texas Instruments, among others.

The research includes valuable lessons from leading companies that are blazing a trail in public-private partnerships on education. It also provides practical recommendations for how corporations can repeat the successes and avoid the pitfalls of past corporate initiatives in education. Opportunities for corporate involvement fall into three key areas that impact student achievement: 1) Teaching and Learning, 2) Human Capital, and 3) Systems and Structures.

The paper highlights six key recommendations to guide corporations and key stakeholders as they design, structure, and implement effective corporate initiatives in education:

1) Start at the top: CEO-level commitment can exert significant influence on education reform. A CEO's decision to adopt the cause of education sends a strong message about the importance to employees and local education stakeholders.

2) Lead with your strengths: Education professionals want help with something at which companies excel. Experience suggests that companies which offer initiatives most closely aligned with their own strengths are most effective.

3) Scale Appropriately: Avoid trying to have large-scale impact on a school system by applying a small-scale commitment of time and money. A small investment of funding and time will need to be modestly scoped and tightly managed.

4) Adapt, don't prescribe: Create programs around local classroom, school, and district needs "“ don’t offer prepackaged solutions. The most effective programs include collaboration with partners and experts around existing entry points.

5) Be in it for the long haul: Education improvement requires a long-term commitment "“ quick fixes and shortcuts are not appropriate. Improving educational outcomes is not a short term intervention.

6) Measure and Manage: Measuring success will ensure a greater likelihood of improved educational outcomes. Setting measurable, achievable goals for initiatives is a critical success factor for a program that is sustainable and delivers results.

In addition, FSG Social Impact Advisors notes that corporations can serve as better agents of change by adopting systemic problem-solving approaches to the persistent, chronic challenges facing the U.S. education system today. FSG states in the white paper that only a handful of corporations are currently engaging in systemic methods to education reform (e.g. lobbying federal and state policy makers, convening stakeholders and communities, mentoring urban school district leaders) and notes that there is a greater need for widespread involvement in this type of corporate philanthropy.

"Leading corporations are addressing global competitiveness concerns by engaging more strategically to improve the U.S. public education system. The most effective firms have moved beyond simply writing checks to improve education and are applying their full range of management and technical expertise to address problems in the education system," noted John Kania, managing director, FSG Social Impact Advisors. "Still, there is a unique opportunity for corporations to do more by focusing on more systemic problems, scaling effective solutions and collaborating with other companies and funders on educational improvement."

Ernst & Young plans to study the insights from this independent white paper carefully to further its strategic focus on education and mentoring. Ernst & Young will continue its history of supporting higher education and volunteering at local schools - while strengthening its national commitment to improve K-12 education in the United States by applying the workplace skills and expertise of its people. The firm's intent is to make a sustainable, systemic contribution to improving U.S. competitiveness.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company limited by guarantee, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

About FSG Social Impact Advisors

FSG Social Impact Advisors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise that works with foundations, corporations, governments, and nonprofits to accelerate social progress by advancing the practice of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. FSG was founded in 1999 by Professor Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer as Foundation Strategy Group, LLC, and converted to nonprofit status under its new name in 2006.

FSG achieves its mission in three ways:

With offices in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Geneva, FSG Social Impact Advisors’ international team of full-time consultants combines the highest standards of strategy consulting with a deep understanding of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. For more information, visit www.fsg-impact.org.