What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is most widely known as the technology powering Bitcoin, but its powers lie beyond that. The way it tracks and stores data decentralizes data, removing intermediaries in our transactions. This builds trust amongst users and has applications across many fields, including for social impact.
Blockchain Resources
Blockchain’s potential in working for social good has been recognized by agencies like the United Nations. Read more about how Blockchain is being used in the social and development sector below.
NEWS ARTICLES
- Blockchain: A Powerful Tool for Social Good | Huffington Post | Sanjay Podder, Sridhar Venkat | 2018
- Transforming the Social Sector: Bitcoin and Blockchain for Good | Huffington Post | Paul Lamb | 2018
- Blockchain: Transforming the Future Fabric of the Social Sector | IE School of Global and Public Affairs | – | 2018
- Blockchain Technology Could Be a Game Changer for Developing Communities | The Conversation | – | 2016
WEBSITES
- How Blockchain Technology Could Be Used for Social Good | Economic Policy Group | – | –
- Blockchain and the Sustainable Development Goals | Hackernoon | Laura Marissa Cullell | 2018
- Blockchain in Action for Social Good | Hackernoon | Blockheads.co | 2018
- Blockchain Research to Support Sustainable Development Goals | United Nations Development Programme | – | 2018
- Realizing Blockchain’s Potential for Social Impact | United Nations Development Programme | Tatsiana Hulko | 2018
- Has Global Development Reached ‘Peak Blockchain Hype’? | DevEx | Kelli Rogers | 2018
- Beyond the Hype: Blockchain for Humanity | Tech’s Good | Angela Wells, Lara Llopis | 2017
PUBLICATIONS
- UN Women and Partners to Pilot Blockchain Technology in Humanitarian Action | ReliefWeb | – | 2018
- Blockchain for Development: Emerging Opportunities for Mobile, Identity, and Aid | GSM Association | – | 2017
- Blockchain for Social Impact: Moving Beyond the Hype | Stanford Business Graduate School, RippleWorks | Doug Galen, Nikki Brand, Lyndsey Boucherle, Rose Davis, Natalie Do, Ben El-Baz, Isadora Kimura, Kate Wharton, Jay Lee | –
OPINION PIECES
- Opinion: Blockchain for Development, Explained | Devex | Ric Shreves | 2018
- Opinion: 7 Ways to Use Blockchain for International Development | Jane Thomason | 2017
JOURNAL ARTICLES
- Digital Currencies and Blockchain in the Social Sector | Stanford Social Innovation Review | David Lehr, Paul Lamb | 2018
Blockchain for social impact
Below are some different fields where Blockchain can be used for social impact.
AGRICULTURE
- E-Agriculture in Action: Blockchain for Agriculture Opportunities and Challenges | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Telecommunication Union | Gerard Sylvester | 2019
- Emerging Opportunities for the Application of Blockchain in the Agri-food Industry | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development | Mischa Tripoli, Josef Schmidhuber | 2018
- Using the Blockchain for Agriculture | National Press Foundation | 2018
- Blockchain for Agriculture and Food | Wageningen Economic Research | Ge, Lan, Christopher Brewster, Jacco Spek, Anton Smeenk, Jan Top | 2017
- Blockchain: Beyond Bitcoin to Agriculture | Gro-Intelligence | – | 2017
ENERGY, CLIMATE, AND ENVIRONMENT
- UN Women and Partners to Pilot Blockchain Technology in Humanitarian Action | ReliefWeb | – | 2018
- Blockchain for Development: Emerging Opportunities for Mobile, Identity, and Aid | GSM Association | – | 2017
- Blockchain for Social Impact: Moving Beyond the Hype | Stanford Business Graduate School, RippleWorks | Doug Galen, Nikki Brand, Lyndsey Boucherle, Rose Davis, Natalie Do, Ben El-Baz, Isadora Kimura, Kate Wharton, Jay Lee | –
GOVERNANCE
- Blockchain Government – A Next Form of Infrastructure for the Twenty-First Century | Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity | MysungSan Jun | 2018
- Blockchain and Economic Development: Hype vs. Reality | Center for Global Development | Michael Pisa, Matt Juden | 2017
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
- Blockchain Technology Fostering Financial Inclusion | The Cryptonomist | Fransesco Giacomini | 2018
- Can Blockchain Accelerate Financial Inclusion Globally? | Inside Magazine | Marco Lichtfous, Vivek Yadav, Valentina Fratino | 2018
- Is Blockchain the Missing Piece to Financial Inclusion? | Oradian | – | 2018
- Blockchain and Financial Inclusion | Chamber of Digital Commerce and Georgetown University | Reena Aggarwal | 2017
AID
- Blockchain for Humanitarian Action and Development Aid | Journal of International Humanitarian Action | Andrej Zwitter, Mathilde Boisse-Despiaux | 2018
- Blockchain for Development: Emerging Opportunities for Mobile, Identity, and Aid | GSM Association | – | 2017
- Blockchain and Economic Development: Hype vs. Reality | Center for Global Development | Michael Pisa, Matt Juden | 2017
DIGITAL IDENTITY
- The Promise of Blockchain and Safe Identity Storage for Refugees | UNHCR Blog | Monique J. Morrow, Mark Kovarski, Akram Alfawakheeri | 2018
- Can Blockchain Keep Refugees from Becoming ‘Invisible’? | BRIGHT Magazine | Helen Lock | 2019
- Inside the Jordan Refugee Camp that Runs on Blockchain | Technology Review | Russ Juskalian | 2018
- How Blockchain Is Changing Digital Identity | IBM Blockchain | 2017
HEALTH
- Real World Blockchain Applications – Healthcare | Blockgeeks | 2019
- Blockchain in Healthcare | Medtronic | 2018
- Blockchain in Healthcare Today journal
- Blockchain: Opportunities for Healthcare | Deloitte | RJ Krawiec, Mark White | –
- The Global “Blockchain in Healthcare” Report: the 2019 Guide for Every Executive | Healthcare Weekly | Codrin Arsene | 2019
- Who Will Build the Health-care Blockchain? | Technology Review | Mike Orcutt | 2017
- Blockchain: An Accelerator for Women and Children’s Health? | Global Health Journal | Jane Thomason | 2017
- Healthcare Rallies for Blockchains | IBM Institute for Business Study | Sean Hogan, Heather Fraser, Peter Korsten, Veena Pureswaran, Ramesh Gopinath | 2016
OTHER
- Blockchain for land rights
- Blockchain-based Property Registries May Lift Poor People Out of Poverty | The Conversation | Nir Kshetri | –
- Land Registry: A Big Blockchain Use Case Explores | Coindesk | Frederick Reese | 2017
- Blockchain for education
- Blockchain Goes to School | Cognizant | Alok Kumar Jain | 2019
- Blockchain for human rights
- Blockchain Technologies Offer Transparency that Could Improve Human Rights Practices | Open Global Rights | Dean Pinkert, James Ton-that, Ravi Soopramanien | 2019
Projects
Projects/events that are real life examples of how blockchain has been applied for social impact
