2. A case for Social Entrepreneurship
• The welfare state is under • Innovation in ideas and policies
increasing pressure, unable to will be vital to an active,
respond effectively to a growing problem-solving welfare system.
array of social problems Organisational innovation will
also be important to create new
• Radical reform is still institutions capable of delivering
controversial and highly a new form of welfare.
contested; have mainly focused
on cost cutting and gradually • Social entrepreneurs will be
reducing entitlements to benefits one of the most important
sources of innovation
• As a society we are stuck in an
impasse
• We need a wave of innovation to
develop a problem-solving
welfare system designed to
create social capital by
encouraging people to take
greater control over their lives
3. "Experimentationa
nd learning are the
only ways to reinvent
or create anew the
institutions that support
our society’s
objectives.” BrentonCaffin
CEO, TACSI
4. Entrepreneur & Social
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur Social Entrepreneur
• Exceptional ability to see • Targeting under-served /
new opportunities disadvantaged / broken
markets
• Determination to take those
opportunities • Large scale and
transformative change
• Unflinching willingness to • Ethical process to reach
take inherent risk that change (beyond
• Sees that a suboptimal compliance)
equilibrium = • Sees a stable but unjust
OPPORTUNITY equilibrium (not just
suboptimal)
• Outcome focused –
creative destruction • Is able to take the
opportunity to reach new
equilibrium
5. Growth in Australia
• Social Entrepreneurs Network
2001
• Social Ventures Australia
2002
• Pathways to the Enterprise State by Peter Botsman
2003
• Australian Social Innovation Exchange
• Geoff Mulgan – Adelaide Thinker in Residence
2008 • Centre for Social Impact (CSI) & Social Traders
• School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia
2009 • The Australian Centre for Social Innovation
• Social Impact Bonds in NSW
2010
• Social Procurement in VIC
2011 • Social Enterprise Development and Investment Fund (SEDIF)
6. Opportunities (and what’s
happening!)
More creative funding solutions
1. Under-developed capital markets however social finance is slowly beginning to become more
mainstream
2. Interest being shown in increasing the flexibility of philanthropic foundations and trusts
3. Traditional grant making bodies such as Community Benefit SA are exploring more investment based
approaches
4. Growth in Social Challenge models
Improvement of metrics and increased adoption rates
1. Social Return on Investment
2. Ongoing development and iteration of new tools and methods
3. Radical Redesign - blend of creative and analytic methods drawn from design, social science,
business and policy development.
The formation of an International community of social entrepreneurs
1. Rise in innovation laboratories
2. Co-working spaces
3. Local informal networks
Closing the gap between for profit and not for profit
1. Not for Profit reforms
2. Growth in Corporate Social Responsibility programs
3. Changes in consumer markets and consumer buyer behaviours
4. Growing collaboration between business, private, public and voluntary sectors
7. Opportunities (and what’s
happening!)
The Democratization of the Movement
1. Growth in the number of passive opportunities for civil society shape political & public discourse
2. Increasing emergence of citizen engagement in the political process
3. Building public sector’s capacity to engage with citizens
4. Growing move from traditional consultative engagement to co-creation
The evolution of a meta profession
1. Growing number of university programs in entrepreneurship, innovation and social sciences
2. School for Social Entrepreneurs
3. Action learning curriculum
Growth of the Youth Constituency
1. Exploration of new education models
2. Foundation for Young Australians
3. MaD Asia
More product-driven ideas
1. AroundYou.com.au
2. Who Gives A Crap
3. Aged Care Digital Lifestyle
8. Further reading
Pathways to Enterprise State
Peter Botsman
workingpapers.com.au
Social Entrepreneurship – a global perspective
souleconomy.com
Social Enterprise in Australia: an introductory handbook
Talbot, Tregilgas& Harrison
ucwesleyadelaide.org.au
The Rise of the Social Entrepreneur
Charles Leadbeater
demos.co.uk
Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition
Roger L. Martin & Sally Osberg
ssireview.org
Eight Trends on Social Entrepreneurship to watch for in 2011
Tamara Schweitzer
dowser.org
One of TACSI’s core values is a belief that experimentation and learning are the only ways to reinvent institutions that support our society’s objectives.
Case made by Charles LedbetterPoint one:The welfare state was designed for a world of male full-employment and stable families that no longer exists. The interlocking system of macroeconomic policies, state social insurance schemes and tax-financed services is under increasing pressure, unable to respond effectively to a growing array of social problems – mass long-term joblessness, drugs, family break-up, illiteracy.Point two:Although criticism of the welfare state is mounting, radical reform is still controversial and highly contested. Resistance to paying more taxes for welfare does not mean people support a dismantling of the social safety net. As a result, reform measures have mainly focused on cost cutting and gradually reducing entitlements to benefits.Point three:As a society we are stuck in an impasse. We have a welfare state system that we know is ill-equipped to deal with many of the modern social problems it has to confront. Yet we are unable to sanction radical reforms to make welfare more affordable and more effective.Point four:We need a different approach to break through this impasse. Britain needs a long wave of social innovation to develop a new philosophy, practice and organisation of welfare. This wave of innovation must develop a problem-solving welfare system, to take over gradually from the current system that often simply maintains people in a state of dependency and poverty. It must be an active welfare system designed to create social capital by encouraging people to take greater control over their lives.Point five:This wave of social innovation will come from several sources. Innovation in ideas and policies will be vital to underpin the values and philosophy of an active, problem-solving welfare system. Organisational innovation will also be important, to create new institutions capable of delivering a new form of welfare.Point six:Social entrepreneurs will be one of the most important sources of innovation. Social entrepreneurs identify under-utilised resources – people, buildings, equipment – and find ways of putting them to use to satisfy unmet social needs. They innovate new welfare services and new ways of delivering existing services. Social entrepreneurs who deploy entrepreneurial skills for social ends are at work in parts of the traditional public sector, some large private sector corporations and at the most innovative edge of the voluntary sector.
One of TACSI’s core values is a belief that experimentation and learning are the only ways to reinvent institutions that support our society’s objectives.
EntrepreneurAn entrepreneur is attracted to the opportunity to provide a new solution, product, service or process. Entrepreneurs see the imbalances or gaps as an opportunity to create something new, whilst so many others see it as an inconvenience that can be tolerated. This stems from a unique set of personal characteristics he or she brings to the situation – inspiration, creativity, direct action, courage and fortitude. These characteristics are fundamental to the process of innovation.The idea that what separates an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur is purely based on motivation is quite untrue – the idea that entrepreneurs are spurred on by money and social entrepreneurs driven by altruism.Social entrepreneursWe define social entrepreneurship as having the following three components:identifying a stable but inherently unjust equilibrium that causes the exclusion, marginalization, or suffering of a segment of humanity that lacks the financial means or political clout to achieve any transformative benefit on its own;identifying an opportunity in this unjust equilibrium, developing a social value proposition, and bringing to bear inspiration, creativity, direct action, courage, and fortitude, thereby challenging the stable state’s hegemony; andforging a new, stable equilibrium that releases trapped potential or alleviates the suffering of the targeted group, and through imitation and the creation of a stable ecosystem around the new equilibrium ensuring a better future for the targeted group and even society at large.
2001 – first formal regular gathering leading thought and discussion in Australia2002 – creation of Social Ventures Australia played a pivotal role is leading the development of social entrepreneurship and the non-profit sector as a whole2003 – Peter Botsman was commissioned by the Australian Government to consider the measurement and monetisation of the social and economic returns of social enterprise and social business.Botsman made key recommendations identifying ways the Federal government could support social enterprise development via third sector agencies and reforming unemployment and disability pensions.2008 – A growing focus on social innovation with the establishment of the Australian Social Innovation Exchange which aims to build networks to connect change-makers with the right people, tools, investments and knowledge nationally and internationally. It was also the year Geoff Mulgan came to Australia as part of the South Australian Government’s Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program. Geoff provided a number of recommendations to the South Australian Government regarding social innovation, the most significant being the establishment of The Australian Centre for Social Innovation which was born in 2009 along with the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
Tamara Schweitzer, Freelance Writer & Communications Strategist, wrote Eight Trends on Social Entrepreneurship to watch for in 2011. I’ve used this list to highlight a range of areas of opportunity for social entrepreneurship as well as showcase what’s happening in South Australia, Australia more broadly and across the international community.Creative funding solutionsThe UK has probably gone further than anywhere else with:new funds (like UnLtd, a £100m endowment, Futurebuilders and the health department’s Social Enterprise Investment Fund)new legal structures (the Community Interest Company)units within government (in the department for industry, the health department and the communities department as well as the Cabinet Office) support networks (like the Community Action Network) and training (like the School for Social Entrepreneurs).The US also has extensive supports, though mainly provided by foundations and through bodies like LISC. Barack Obama has already publicly committed to establishing a fund to support social entrepreneurs if he is elected.Australia is watching the UK and US closely and is beginning to explore and introduce creative funding solution.Improvement of metrics and increased adoption ratesSROI –principles-based method for measuring extra-financial value (i.e., environmental and social value not currently reflected in conventional financial accounts) relative to resources invested. It can be used by any entity to evaluate impact on stakeholders, identify ways to improve performance, and enhance the performance of investments. Social Ventures Australia is leading the introduction and development of SROIs in Australia, and there has been a lot of ground work in establishing an international network of organisations in order to share tools, metrics, and so forth.Radical Redesign – an innovative methodology being led by The Australian Centre for Social Innovation. The approach poses questions around a problem set and to answer the question, draws on creative and analytic methods drawn from design, social science, business, and policy development. We answer questions about what people want before we answer questions about what policy and systems need to look like to support change. We think good solutions enable people to help each other live different lives. In other words, we co-design co-produce solutions.Community of Practice‘innovation laboratories’ – TACSI (SA), Social Traders (VIC), The Difference Incubator (Donkey Wheel VIC), are popping up across Australia, and are mainly designed to support social entrepreneurs and enterprises.Co-working space – Hub Melbourne, Vibewire in Sydney, TACSI in Adelaide, SIIWA in PerthLocal South Australian networks:#4good brekkyBlue Sky SessionsNetSquaredAustralian Network:Australian Social Innovation Exchange