Document: SSE Prospective Student Brochure

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

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

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.

A brief history of the SSE

To get the blog rolling, here is a little background information on the original School of Social Entrepreneurs based in the UK. 

The School for Social Entrepreneurs was founded in 1997 by Michael Young (Lord Young of Dartington), a social innovator who had previously launched the Consumers’ Association, the Open University and around 40 other organisations.

The SSE provides training and opportunities to enable people to use their creative and entrepreneurial abilities more fully for social benefit.  Individual entrepreneurs and their organisations develop and grow simultaneously through practical programmes built on learning-by-doing. The SSE also seeks to recruit more innovative and capable people into voluntary and other organisations.  Students range in age from twenty to seventy; from twelve years’ unemployment to running a community organisation full-time.

Following successful Millennium Awards programmes, the SSE expanded outside its original base in Bethnal Green, London. The school continues to flourish with 10 locations and over 400 SSE Fellows across England and Ireland. Earlier this year, SSE Australia announced the launch of its first school in Sydney, based on the highly successful UK model. 

Of course, this is just the beginning. We’ll be posting more about the SSE and other organisations as our project develops. In the meantime, learn more about the School of Social Entrepreneurs here.

Welcome to our Project Blog!

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.