Social innovation and entrepreneurship were mediatised with Pr. Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A growing body of literature and experience suggests that social innovation and social ventures offer new answers to local societal demands, develop cross-sector collaboration and enhance capacities for social change.
The course aims at analyzing what social innovation and entrepreneurship can achieve, how it can be deployed by interconnecting civil society, public and private sectors and what are the pitfalls of the their development. The course will give an international perspective, based on experiences both in old and emerging countries.
It aims at providing the students with the social innovation and entrepreneurship fundamentals and with tools to analyse and develop social venture. It will follow a very concrete approach, based on field experiences and case studies, sharing of practices and experiences of experts from various sectors. It will give the students analytical and strategic skills. The students shall also develop tools and methodology in project management (theory of change, impact business plan, impact management and measurement) to develop social enterprises and social innovation.
Learning Outcomes
1.Build knowledge and understanding of the history, the diversity and key pillars of social innovation and entrepreneurship, through research and analysis.
2. Apply tools and good practices to develop social innovation and social venture, through theory of change design and impact business model canvas, scaling up strategies, financing, management and governance.
3. Analyse and measure innovative solution, through needs analysis, problem understanding and financial and social performance measurement.
4. Understand the social innovation eco-system and the cross sectors collaboartion.
Professional Skills
• Creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit through analysis of social venture model
• Leadership and Management , team management, through team work on strategic projects and case studies
• Basic financial analysis and funding strategy through strategic project and cases studies analysis
• Understanding stakeholders and Needs analysis, through case studies and essay
- Online learning activities: 1 hours a week / 12 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 1 hours a week / 12 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4hours a week / 48 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- They will hand-in a 4000 words essay. They choose a specific topic related to social innovation or create their own social business (the essay being their canvas to do so) 40% of grading. They will use the tools, facts and framework seen during the sessions -to be handed back at the end of the semester.
- Participation (class interaction and class games) will act as a malus or bonus.
The strategic group is the opportunity to develop the innovative and entrepreneurial mindset (initiative, creativity, needs assessment and solution design), the team work (coordination, leadership), and the necessary skills in project management (research, analysis, organization).
Examples of previous strategic groups:
• Social creative industry : Develop PPSE “cabaret” business unit in Phnom Penh
• Social creative industry: Increase the growth of Phare Creative Studio, a social animation studio in Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Research and development on participative rural micro-insurance (in emerging countries)
• Develop social housing in Senegal
• Set up an innovation fund for local agri-food network
• Promote an inclusive governance for a social business with a smallholders farmers cooperative as shareholder – Western Africa
• Propose a strategy of digital communication to highlight and promote social innovation for innovative access to water –social business in Western Africa
• Propose a development and fundraising strategy for innovative access to water –social business in Western Africa,
• Social creative industry: : Propose a digital strategy for a social cultural enterprise - Cambodia
• Measuring and Managing Impact, Latin America, Africa, Asia –focus on environment and gender
• Turning a conventional vineyard into an ecological one- France
• Smart Farming: dream or reality?- worldwide
• Social creative industry: Develop a social music production company in Cambodia
• Social creative industry: Develop a social circus festival in Europe
• Social creative industry: Develop a social cultural arts village in Cambodia
• Plastic waste pollution: identify and analyse business model of innovative social enterprises fighting plastic waste- worldwide
• Set up a rural impact investment fund- worldwide
• Develop a digital investment strategy into MFI- Asia
• Analyse public policies and the space for social innovation in India for access to energy
Feedback to students:
- working group: feedback based on individual and collective criteria, given back after the deliverables, to the members of the group. Grading done jointly by the instructor and the group coach. Oral presentation (and clarity and creativity) are included into the assessment criteria
- essay: feedback given on an individual basis at the end of the semester. The essay will have to show research and analytical skills