SiG@MaRS have embarked on a new study to learn how this innovative educational model would benefit our province.
Track our progress, learn about social enterprise and entrepreneurs, and watch this space for project news and announcements.
Do you know a social entrepreneur that we should be speaking to? Email us.
The feasibility study was presented this week at the SiG Information Session at the MaRS Discovery District to quite a crowd including some of the people who participated in the study.
It was good to see them again and hear their latest news. One of the panelists had just launched her own social venture, delivering healthy sustainable lunches across the city. (www.tiffinday.com)
We also invited Nick Temple, Policy and Communications Director of the SSE UK, to join us via speaker phone. It was wonderful having him on the line, particularly to provide feedback during the Q&A period at the end.
Conducting the research for the SSE study was a remarkable experience. We had the opportunity to reflect on the development of social entrepreneurship and think about its future. We spoke to and learned from people at schools and organizations around the world and across Canada. We traveled across the province and met fascinating people working extremely hard to address major social issues. This has been one of the real joys and privileges of this study.
Five extraordinary social entrepreneurs talk about their defining moments - when the urge to change the world gathered such force they couldn’t ignore it.
NEW YORK - From protecting our natural environment to improving our children’s education to combating global poverty and disease, we’ve come to rely on extreme do-gooders to tackle the world’s toughest problems. And they’re happy to do so, even though their dedication will cost them in the long run. Few of them will make as much as they could in the private sector. All of which raises the obvious: Why? What makes these people tick, and how do they sustain a lifetime of commitment to a change that might take generations to see? More…
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…
Recently, MASS LBP was contracted by SiG @ MaRS — Canada’s leading centre for social innovation within one of the country’s most dynamic research institutions — to evaluate the feasibility of setting up a new school based on or affiliated with the UK’s School for Social Entrepreneurs. The promise and ability of social entrepreneurs to address important and outstanding social needs is one of the prime drivers of this study.
The School for Social Entrepreneurs was established in London in 1997 and has since expanded, opening 13 regional schools throughout the UK, as well as a school in Melbourne, Australia. We want to understand the value a School for Social Entrepreneurs located in Ontario might create, and how it would operate.
Over the course of the next eight weeks we’ll complete a literature review that sets out the most current thinking in the field of social entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship educations. An environmental scan will identify and assess comparable programs in Canada and abroad.
We’re also interviewing a range of experts and opinion leaders to get their perspective on social entrepreneurship education. Finally, we’re organizing events across Ontario where participants with an interest in this study can learn more about the UK model and help us design and refine their own, ideal school for social entrepreneurs.
So welcome to our project blog. Watch as this project develops, learn more about social entrepreneurship education, send us your comments and get involved! We’d love to hear from you.
