This class is aimed at students interested in social entrepreneurship and the launching of social purpose organizations in areas such as for example the voluntary sector, microfinance, fair trade, or the arts and culture. As a participant in this course you will gain hands-on experience with the practice of business plan writing. You are expected to identify a real-world opportunity in the form of an innovation that will create charitable or societal benefits, either being developed in an academic environment or in the private sector. You will then be required to "transfer" that idea into the real world. This will consist of developing a mission statement in which the intended social impact is identified clearly. Furthermore, you will have to identify and describe a business model, determining relevant market segments, income strategies, and financing models. This content will then be assimilated into a specific business plan. The course will be completed with the students presenting their business plans/opportunities to an audience of social entrepreneurship specialists who will provide feed-back help with practitioner contacts. The course will include lecturing and case studies but will also require team-based work on your social enterprises ideas. Access to successful social entrepreneurs will be provided to the teams.
 

The course's development of personal competences:

The course will develop capabilities in social opportunity identification as well as the writing of business plans for social enterprises. You will learn how to identify ideas for social innovation that will help create charitable or societal benefits. Furthermore, you will be introduced to the discipline of business plan writing. As a participant you will practice the use of theoretical texts in a practical context. In particular you will be asked to set up your own social enterprise during the course of the class, which will expose you to the practical challenges associated with launching social ventures.

This course is part of the minor in Social Entrepreneurship

 

• Arthur C. Brooks, “ Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Approach to Social Value Creation”, Pearson Higher Education.
• Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, 2010: Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.
• McKeever, Mike P. (2011). How to write a business plan, Nolo, tenth edition.
• Baden-Fuller, Charles; Morgan, Mary S., 2010: “Business Models as Models,” Long Range Planning, Vol 43, Issues 2-3, April-June 2010, Pages 156-171.
• Teece, David J., 2010: Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation, Long Range Planning, Vol 43, Issues 2-3, April-June 2010, Pages 172-194.
• Yunus, Muhammad; Moingeon, Bertrand; Lehmann-Ortega, Laurence, 2010: „Building Social Business Models: Lessons from the Grameen Experience,” Long Range Planning, Vol 43, Issues 2-3, April-June 2010, Pages 308-325.
• Thompson, James D.; MacMillan, and Ian C., 2010: “Business Models: Creating New Markets and Societal Wealth”, Long Range Planning, Vol 43, Issues 2-3, April-June 2010, Pages 291-307.
• Emerson, J. 2003. The Blended Value Proposition: Integrating Social and Financial Returns. California Management Review, 45(4): 35-51.
• Meehan, W., D. Kilmer, et al. (2004). Investing in society, Stanford Social Innovation Review.