2008 Echoing Green Fellow Jane Chen has been busy. She was recently named a 2012 TED Senior Fellow and a World Economic Forum 2012 Young Global Leader. Embrace, a social enterprise Jane co-founded with Echoing Green Fellow Rahul Panicker, develops and comprehensively distributes low-cost infant incubators for use in developing countries.

At the Skoll World Forum last month, Jane discussed how innovative partnering has elevated and advanced Embrace's mission and bottom line. She noted, "I think the best partnerships are both commercailly aligned as well as ideologically aligned. So, while we're saving lives here, there's real revenue making opportunities for both parties." Jane also recommended "setting expectations up front as to what each party can bring to the table, being clear about timelines, and having a shared vision about what success looks like, even if it's a pilot program."

Innovative partnering is one of many tools that can be used to overcome the barriers in your social impact work. Tell us more about what's holding you back, or how you've overcome a barrier in your work.

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