|

Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation

“Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation—International Case Studies and Practice” is a new book by Ashoka Fellow and Tech Awards Laureate Ken Banks. The book is published 3th March 2016.SocialEntrepreneurshipAndInnovation
 
In the book thirteen entrepreneurs tell their stories with a brutal, refreshing honesty.
From a life-saving project that brings solar-powered lighting to midwives in Nigeria, tools to help activists spread democracy, a massage to relieve the effects of autism and empowering conservation in North Africa, to a news dissemination service that’s grown from small beginnings to have a global impact, each case study in the book draws out the lessons learnt by the innovators, providing guidance and advice for those looking to follow in their footsteps.
According to Ken Banks the key objective of the book is to inspire people by ‘humanizing’ entrepreneurs and democratizing social change. Although the individuals achieved great things, there’s no reason why many others can’t follow their path.
The book hopes to make their successes feel realistic and accessible to others—especially younger generations.
You can buy the book here 

Similar Posts

SIT 2019: Europe’s 15 best social entrepreneurs selected

If you can create an impact you must. Fifteen finalists have been selected for the 2019 edition of the Social Innovation Tournament, the flagship initiative of the Institute’s Social Programme recognising and supporting Europe’s best social entrepreneurs. Two out of 15 finalists are coming from the Baltic Sea region: Wholi Foods from Denmark making energy bars using insects and PositiveCV from Finland that helps find talents in children.

The 15 finalists, whose primary purpose is to generate a social, ethical or environmental impact, were selected from 168 candidates in 27 countries by EIB Group experts.

Over three days in July, they 15 high impact ventures, from 11 countries, will participate in a mentoring bootcamp in Amarante, Portugal, organised in cooperation with social incubator IRIS and IES-Social Business School.

There, experts on business and social entrepreneurship will offer practical advice to improve all aspects of each project and prepare them to pitch their venture at a Final Event in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 October.

At the Final Event, four prizes will be awarded by a jury composed of specialists from the academic and business worlds: General Category and Special Category 1st and 2nd Prizes of EUR 50 000 and EUR 20 000 respectively.

In 2019, the Special Category Prizes will go to projects focusing on sustainable consumption and sustainable production (SDG 12) including the circular economy.

| | | | | | |

European social entrepreneur and ESE – Operational course for social innovation

The European Social Entrepreneur -ESE project coordinated by CO-LABORY

During its implementation, project’s participants produced a high-quality materials and provided the best possible education for trainers, staff of participating organizations, and young people in disadvantaged situations.

ESE – Operational course for social innovation

As the project results an online platform  was developed containing training material on SE, the role of the social entrepreneur, how the funds are obtained, and which concrete tools can be used to launch a social enterprise.

“Operational course for Social Innovation” is a course aiming at the inclusion of diasadvantaged groups in society by acquiring skills and tools that wil assist them and make them valuable members, will gain more ingormation on social entrepreurship and will be able to create their own businesses. These results will be achieved through the developed materials of the course. Each module contains a theoretical and methodological part, to check and ensure the acquisition of knowledge on learners in a more practical way.

The project website also was developed with newsletters, videos, articles, information material, and the Manual on Social Entrepreneurship. Also projects results included the following:

  • The live Facebook “An opportunity towards (y) our future” to raise public awareness through the use of social media, on social entrepreneurship issues by answering questions and curiosities of the participants.
  • The virtual tour on social entrepreneurship that consists of video interviews with representatives of successful social enterprises in each partner country of the project.

Enrol now and start learning more on Social innovation: online platform

Below a brief summary of the e-course content:

Module 1 – “WHAT IS SOCIAL ENTERPRENEURSHIP” is an introduction on the basic concept of social entrepreneurship that will be followed by an interactive workshop for better understanding of the term.

Module 2 -“WHERE TO FIND FUNDINGS FOR A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE” focuses on the financial aspect of a social business, and provides information on all the funding opportunities assisting learners in their path of creating their own business.

Module 3 -“LAUNCH A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PLAN” launches the idea of a business plan, points out the significance of a business plan and provides useful guidance on how to prepare one. This effort is strengthened with a practical workshoip for personal reflection.

Module 4 – “BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS”- In addition to the business plan in this section another useful tool is explained, business model canvas.

Module 5 – “WHO IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR”. In this module more information ad tools are shared for better understanding of the term social entrepreneur.

Module 6 – “IMPACT OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISES”-In this module the impact of social entreprises is measured by studying succesful examples of sustainable social enterprises.

All the above modules are focusing on essential topics that will enhance learners’ skills and prepare them better for the business world achieving social inclusion and personal growth

 

Learn more on project development via the following link:https://socialentrepreneur.eu/

|

Report on key mind-set elements for successful social business development in Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden

Social entrepreneurs, agents of change, with the desire to make the World a better place for all of us to live in. Nowadays, it is “trendy” to be a social entrepreneur and their work is gaining the attention on the national and international levels. But what is it that drives social enterprises to succeed? Is it the desire to make a world a better place? Is it the business opportunity that would also create value for society? Or is it a motivation to improve their own life conditions?

All over the world we see examples of social entrepreneurs creating innovative solutions that are dealing with some of the toughest challenges that we, worlds inhabitants, are facing. Some found solutions to improve hygiene among children by providing affordable soap, some are teaching emotional intelligence and fighting bullying, and some provide homecare and nursing services even in the most developed countries out there. We see new examples coming up in the news every day.

The interest about social entrepreneurship growing rapidly and social enterprises becoming an even more important block in an inclusive labour market, sort of a bridge to pursue social goals of the EU 2020-strategy. Therefore, it becomes more and more important to create a supportive environment for emerging and existing social enterprises. This project aim is to identify mind-set elements, such as different skill sets (competencies), values and motivations that social entrepreneurs have and should obtain, and thereafter provide a knowledge sharing possibility.

This study will not only identify the key mind-set elements that social entrepreneurs should have, but also competencies and skills that are needed to become a sustainable social business that creates an impact. The study will combine information gathered from various educational materials, international studies and a conducted ground research by project partners in their respective countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.

You can find fool study material here: Study_final

Info graphic Overview of current competences and needs of social entrepreneurs in respective countries, developed based on study of key competences of social entrepreneur, will help educators to adjust their training programs and fill the gaps Infographic

Authors:
Social innovation centre: Latvia
Anita Stirane
Jevgenija Kondurova
Nordic Association for Social Innovation: Sweden
Charlotte H Carlmark
Louise Weinreder
Ulf Andersson
Skudutiskis academy: Lithuania
Loreta Stelbiene
Nijole Butkeviciene
2018

Logo+Nordplus

This material is part of the project “Boosting key mindset elements for successful social business development”, co-financed by Nordplus programm “Nordplus Adult”, project identification number NPAD-2017/10203.
Responsible for the content solely publisher/presenter; it does not reflect the views of Danish Agency for Science and Higher education, the Administrator of Nordplus and any related financial body. Those institutions do not bear responsibility for the information set out in the material.

| |

Case studies on civil society making sustainability transitions

We collected a variety of inspiring success stories from six Baltic Sea region countries!

We make transition! project engages local authorities, civil society actors and businesses in co-creative processes to enhance cooperation for eco-social sustainability. One of the core aims is to improve understanding of the role and added value of active civil society for sustainability.

We collected many incredibly inspiring case studies related to social sustainability, circular economy, biodiversity, sustainable food and lifestyle from the Baltic Sea region. You can read about them in this publication:

Find the vision document here.

About the “We make transition!” project

Local and regional authorities have a crucial role in driving resilience – societal ability to adapt and react. Due to the complexity of sustainability challenges, there is a need to mobilise all levels of society to create and implement solutions that enable systemic changes in our unsustainable practices. Civil society actors – associations, social entrepreneurs, cooperatives, communities, individuals – can have a pioneering role in enhancing ecological and social sustainability.

We make transition! project engages a great number of regional and local authorities, civil society, and other innovation actors from the Baltic Sea region. Partners from six countries cooperate with altogether 12 cities and municipalities in implementing local transition arena workshop processes including co-creation of a joint vision, pathways, concrete solutions, and initiatives that enhance the cooperation with civil society actors. The topics of the processes focus on either 1) sustainable lifestyle, 2) agriculture & food, 3) biodiversity, or 4) circular & sharing economy. The main output of the project will be a practical manual for applying the transition management approach to make strategy processes such as climate plans, roadmaps, and local strategies more interactive to involve also civil society actors.

On this platform we invite you to read and comment our publications including:

  • Case studies on civil society making sustainability transitions.

  • Baltic Sea region vision of sustainable life and recommendations co-created by a transnational group of change agents.

  • How to improve cooperation between local authorities and civil society actors? – a transnational gap analysis.

  • How to use the Transition Arena method to empower cooperation between local authorities, civil society and business actors? – A manual for regional and local authorities (available in spring 2025).

Find more about the project here.

| |

A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs: Collect and Report!

“Know Your Impact: Social Impact Management Tools for Young Social Entrepreneurs” is the project lead by Koç University Social Impact Forum (KUSIF), that works as a research and practice centre on social impact in Turkey. The activities of organisation are focused on social impact measurement and creation of collaborative networks among civil society, public and private entities.

To enlarge the positive impact of social entrepreneurs  and help them to succeed KUSIF in collaboration with Estonian Social Entrepreneurship Network, Mikado Sustainable Development Consulting and Social Value International has created a guide for social entrepreneurs, which describes accountability of stakeholders, correct data collection for design of products and services and the concept of “impact thinking”as a basis of social change. “Maximise Your Impact. A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs” is the intellectual output of two years project that educates and recommends on how to report the impact to founders, other stakeholders, as well as make them know how data is being used in order to inform change.

Download “Maximise Your Impact” publication here or read it on the website.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *