Update: Touching base with INSEAD

INSEAD’s Social Entrepreneurship Program has a different audience and student body than the SSE and some of the other SE programs run through business schools.

ISEP attracts people who are usually already successful social entrepreneurs, many of them (up to about 50%) come to the program via organizations such as Unltd, Ashoka, Schwab and so forth. The students at INSEAD are operating at a wider, global scale rather than at a local level. 

A strong focus at ISEP is the notion of scaling up and replication of existing projects or businesses. By building stronger networks they want to learn what happens when, for example, you take a project that was launched in Brazil and try to replicate it in Kenya. Right now, they have 8 different pairings of SE replications, which will help answer some key questions about knowledge transfer and sustainability. 

ISEP graduates are giving back to the sector at a macro level: by leveraging partnerships, measuring impact, creating new business models, and establishing best practices. Networking is also extremely important.  ”When you have 50 people talking, you may end up with 50 good ideas. When you get 100 people sharing information, you’ll end up with 500 good ideas.” 

Update: First conversations

Yesterday, I had two wonderful and very informative phone calls with some leaders in the field of social entrepreneurship education. 

The first call was with the Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Alberta School of Business. The second call was with the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School.

A common theme in both conversations was the need for more research in the field of social entrepreneurship education. Because it’s a relatively new area, it’s important to start building a case for support — tracking the success and longevity of program graduates. To be able to teach social entrepreneurship properly, there needs to be a strong knowledge base or a foundation of insights to develop a curriculum with a long-term view. 

Academic involvement of some kind would help to bring credibility to the field; however, we should take care to prevent SEE from becoming solely theoretical. A practical component is vital, “If you really want to learn, you have to get your hands a little bit dirty.” 

Interestingly, Columbia has a broad approach to SEE to cater to their diverse student body. While a primary focus is to develop the next generation of social enterprise leaders, they also aim to inspire leaders in other areas to contribute back to the sector by sitting on boards, investing or interacting at a business level. Similarly, at CCSE anyone can enrol in the course (Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility) and, if they choose, use their newfound skills to launch a social venture.

Question: what kind of balance do we need between a theoretical and hands-on approach to teaching social entrepreneurship? 

News: Skoll Foundation Invests in Leading Social Entrepreneurs

The Skoll Foundation announced today second round investments in fifteen social entrepreneurs in its portfolio driving large-scale impact worldwide. In addition, the Foundation announced the first Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in its 2010 round, a $765,000 grant to Civic Ventures, plus investments in two key partners who promote social entrepreneurship and social innovation, Ashoka and ShoreCap II. In aggregate, the new grants and program-related investments total $14,165,000. More…

[Reuters]

Document: SSE Prospective Student Brochure

To learn about the School of Social Entrepreneurs in a nutshell, download the brochure.

Document: MaRS White Paper - Social Ventures

Real World Systems, engaged by the MaRS Discovery District and generously supported by the Government of Ontario, completed a review of social impact measurement systems as they apply to social ventures. The review aims to help social ventures as well as their investors and funders determine how to design measurement systems that will help them meet their goals.

This whitepaper explores the opportunities and challenges supporting the growth of social ventures in Ontario.

Download the MaRS White Paper Series: Social Ventures

Article: Chicken before egg: How do new fields of practice emerge?

For any emerging field it would seem that investment opportunities and vehicles of investment must develop along side. In this way, both social entrepreneurship and social finance are gaining momentum at virtually the same time. However, still in question is what’s commonly (or colloquially) referred to as “the stick factor.” Social entrepreneurship as it pertains to business model innovation and social system transformation should not be seen as a trend. So, how to make it last? 

Having a distinguishable legal entity for social ventures is an important piece to the puzzle, not only to promote a general understanding of their blended value, but to also lay a crucial legislative framework. If a framework were in place, this would necessarily legitimize the emergence of the social innovation space. More…

Document: Evaluation of the SSE 1997-2007

In 2006, the School for Social Entrepreneurs commissioned the New Economics Foundation to do an independent longitudinal evaluation of its work since 1998. This involved storyboard and impact mapping workshops with stakeholders (staff, trustees, students, fellows, etc.), and then an in-depth questionnaire sent to all SSE Fellows.

The executive summary provides an excellent overview of the SSE - its vision and objectives, its impact, its value, and even a few recommendations for the future.

Download the Evaluation of School for Social Entrepreneurs 1997-2007

Presenting our Advisory Council

Our advisory council is made up of leading experts who have kindly agreed to provide feedback and guidance over the course of the study. Here are the members of the advisory, in no particular order…

Sonia Pouyat, KidsLINK - Chief Executive Officer

Albert Plant, MaRS - Volunteer Advisor

Earl Miller, MaRS -Director, Strategic Partnerships

Marco Campana, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) - Online Capacity Development Coordinator

Jacqueline Powell, Ontario Trillium Foundation - Program Manager, Future Fund

Ann Armstrong, Rotman School of Management - Lecturer and Director, Social Enterprise Initiative

Allyson Hewitt, MaRS - Director, Social Entrepreneurship; Director, SiG@MaRS

Cheryl Rose, SiG@Waterloo - Director, Partnerships and Programs

Nick Temple, SSE-UK - Director, Policy and Communications

Anne Jamieson, Toronto Enterprise Fund - Chair of Indigenous Studies; Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies & Business Administration

Charmian Love, Volans - Chief Operating Officer

What is action learning?

Social entrepreneurs are proactive, hands-on, inquisitive, “people” people. They aren’t interested in learning programmes that don’t seem relevant to them, and they often move straight into action without any educational preparation. They learn as they go.

The School of Social Entrepreneurs was the first organisation in its field to recognise that social entrepreneurs are much more suited to ‘action learning’, rather than traditional classroom based learning. 

Action learning is based on learning-by-doing. It involves small groups meeting to talk about their recent achievements and problems in a non-judgemental atmosphere. People can ask each other questions, but do not give advice. In this environment, students can be open and honest, acknowledge the personal and emotional issues that affect their projects’ development, and learn from each others’ experiences. 

Students also get training in essential skills like fundraising, marketing and business planning, and the chance to grill expert witnesses, policy-makers, politicians and funders.

Here’s a nifty diagram (courtesy of the SSE) explaining the action learning cycle:

More information on Action Learning.

News: Indian Institute of Management launches SE program

There has been a certain degree of change in the students of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) who want to work for the downtrodden as well. At least, Samriddhi, a social initiative of the entrepreneur cell (e-cell) of the institute, which came into existence on Saturday, promises to do so. More…