Welcome
After reviewing the content and learning activities for this week you should:
- Understand the key components of the unit, including topic areas, assessments and how to contact teaching staff
- Be able to define key concepts and understand the differences between them
Key Concepts: Social entrepreneurship, social enterprise and social innovation
Many of you may already be familiar with the terms social entrepreneurship, social enterprise and social innovation. We are certainly seeing these terms used more frequently, both in the community more widely, and in academia where new journals have been created in the fields of both social entrepreneurship and social enterprise. Whilst the hype surrounding social entrepreneurship and social enterprise may be growing, many of the activities and organisational forms associated with these concepts have in fact been around for a very long time. It is the language that is used to describe and conceptualise them which is new. The discussion that exists around these concepts is quite complex, and in many cases, a common definition has yet to be agreed upon. With this complexity in mind, the following lecture seeks to introduce these concepts and provide an illustration of the connections between them.
- Video: Video: Lecture 2 - Conceptualising social entrepreneurship, social innovation and social enterprise
- PDF Slides: r Lecture 2
Social entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon, and we are seeing social enterprises emerge from all corners of the earth. The types of social issues they address are diverse, but the core unifying feature of these organisations is the desire to create positive social impact. The following short videos provide some insight into some of the important issues addressed by social entrepreneurs in their community.
The first video is of Bec Scott, who is the CEO and Co-founder of one of SEDA's favourite social enterprises - STREAT. This video provides a great snapshot into the motivations driving the formation of STREAT and the way in which this enterprise addresses the issue of youth homelessness.
The next video is an interview with Laura O'Reilly, founder of social enterprise Fighting Chance. Laura's motivation to establish this social enterprise is very personal, and arose from the challenges faced her younger brother Shane, who had profound Cerebral Palsy, when trying to find work. Shane was bubbly and intelligent, and had a passion for IT and computer work. At the time, no programs existed to help people like Shane build vocational skills, and be trained within a real business.
Week One Activities
Discussion Board Activities
Being a breadth unit, students from a diverse range of areas often take this unit. We love to get to know our students, so please take the time to write a short introduction about yourself in the Social Cafe Discussion area.
Over the next few weeks, please visit these forums and provide a short description of why the issue you have selected is of particular interest to you. Do you have personal experience with this issue? Is it something that you are interested in learning more about (and why)? Below is a list of issues that we will be focusing upon this semester:
- Social issue #1: No Poverty
- Social issue #2: Quality Education
- Social issue #3: Life on Land
- Social issue #4: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Week One Quiz
To help guide your learning throughout this unit, we have developed weekly self-assessment quizzes which cover the content provided for each week. The quizzes are not assessed, and you can attempt the questions as many times it takes to answer correctly.
- Social entrepreneurship is a field that is distinct from the broader field of entrepreneurship because:
- innovation is inherent to social entrepreneurship, but not to entrepreneurship
- innovation is inherent to social entrepreneurship, but not to entrepreneurship
- social entrepreneurs don’t attempt to scale up their initiatives, but entrepreneurs typically attempt to scale up
- creating both social and economic value is a complex process that social entrepreneurs tackle, whereas entrepreneurs are typically driven to attain economic (profit-driven) outcomes
- Social innovation is significant within socially entrepreneurial activity because:
- it minimises the impact that contextual factors may have on the socially entrepreneurial activity
- it makes a social enterprise viable, without it a social enterprise will fail
- it is the one key component that leads to social entrepreneurship
- it is inherent to the processes by which social entrepreneurs use resources in new ways and ultimately can lead to system-level change
- Which of the following statements best describe social enterprise?
- Social enterprises do not strive to generate profits
- Social enterprises are driven by a primary desire to generate social impact, and they engage in trading activities to support their social mission
- Social enterprises sell goods and services, these activities only take up a minor part of their overall business model
- All social enterprises operate as a non-profit
- In order to be socially innovative, an idea must be totally original (not already thought of or applied elsewhere).
For Assessment Task 1, you will need to select a social enterprise and then write a report on the enterprise which examines different characteristics of the organisation. We would recommend that you read through the assignment information provided, and start thinking about a possible case organisation to study. To help you on your way, we have put together a list of possible enterprises. You do not have to choose an organisation off this list, but it may be a useful starting point as you familiarise yourself with the theory.
Other sources of inspiration may also be found at:
