The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan successfully organized the second international conference Third Sector Innovations: Sustainability and Social Impact.  The conference was held on August 6 to 8^th, 2008 at Senac Convention Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The international conference is an innovative forum of high credibility that promotes the discussion of concepts, models, practical applications and technologies regarding social impact and sustainability in the third sector. It aims to strengthen the social organizations in a better environment for social investment by the public and private sectors.

The 2nd International Conference aim to continue to be:

1. A forum for NGO's managers to share their best experiences and strategies concerning the sustainability, management skills and efficiency by public and private partnerships.
2. A unique source of knowledge and expertise.
3. A venue to promote high standing networking to improve the knowledge acquired and its best application

Through sharing best practice we hope to facilitate the ability of social impact organizations to become more efficient, and sustainable with the goal of maximized social impact.

The three-day conference offered NGOs the opportunity to share best practices and strategies to:

increase sustainability through innovative strategies such as revenue generation, new             donors organizations and new financing tools
increase efficiency by integrating some appropriate management tools and technologies
increase independence through the creation of public-private partnerships
recruit and retain valuable employees and volunteers
recruit and retain valuable employees, and other forms of subsidized talent

The conference offered a mix of keynote speakers, round-table paper presentations, learning-by-sharing and showcases of current and emerging innovations. Also 9 technical assistances was provided through training sessions on relevant topics such as business plan development, strategic, financial and human resource management, marketing strategy, communication or social capital and networking. The sessions were led by top University of Michigan Business School faculty and top national and international practioners.