The first session of The Power of Social Entrepreneurship series opened with an introduction by Ray Offenheiser, the William J. Pulte Director of the Pulte Institute for Global Development. After a brief introduction to the Pulte Institute, Offenheiser presented the series and explained how it will explore the concept of social entrepreneurship and why it’s both gaining popularity and causing controversy around the world. He then provided an agenda for the first event and introduced the speakers, Melissa Paulsen, Associate Director, Entrepreneurship and Education Programs and Keough School Concurrent Assistant Professor of the Practice, and Michael Morris, professor of the practice with the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business.
Before introducing the concept of social entrepreneurship, Paulsen began by asking Morris about entrepreneurship. He discussed the definition of entrepreneurship and how it’s about implementation rather than just dreaming. Paulsen follows up with the question of what is social entrepreneurship? Social entrepreneurship has the same foundation but with the goal of creating social value. Morris provided a definition and six key, but not linear, steps that happen in the process of social entrepreneurship, along with a variety of different examples of the concept in action. Morris proceeded to hone in on what makes social entrepreneurship different from entrepreneurship by addressing stakeholders, revenue models, and the difficulties of quantifying success. He then went on to describe what aspects of social entrepreneurship make it entrepreneurial and what aspects make it social. The entrepreneurial aspect is about the mindset and how it is brought to solve the problem. The social aspect lies in how one manages the social processes, relationships, and dynamics necessary to solve community problems in innovative ways.
The discussion continued as Paulsen presented the Social Entrepreneurship Continuum and how it shows the multiple forms that social entrepreneurship can take. This is further discussed through a series of three case studies.
- Case Study #1: Black Church Food Security Network – Asset-based Community Development Example
- Case Study #2: Better World Books – For Profit Example
- Case Study #3: Playpumps
Morris proceeded to address six of the big distinguished challenges that exist at the level of the entrepreneur him/herself as well as on the broader level in understanding the field. These include a disconnect between passion and business competence, sustainable revenue models, and the measuring of social return on investment.
The discussion transitioned into the topic of how Social Entrepreneurship is being fostered at Notre Dame. Social entrepreneurship is present throughout campus, but they are trying to formalize it with a variety of events and opportunities. Notably, the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor launched Spring 2021 and it provides undergraduate students of all disciplines the opportunity to study SE and apply it to what they do.
Offenheiser then opened the conversation for Q&A from the viewers and the questions were as followed:
- In terms of high failure rates, what is the experience for social entrepreneurs? Is there a similar rate of failure? And how would you compare that to the for-profit and nonprofit failure rates? What often is the case for why these efforts fail?
- How do you advise funders to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization when the outputs or outcomes are soft? And on the flip side, how do you advise organizations to pursue funding when the outcomes are soft or longer term beyond the duration of the grant?
- Who defines a social entrepreneur? Do we define one ourselves? Others? Or is it largely based on impact? And what mechanisms should entrepreneurs have to ensure that their work is truly social?
- What role do you see Notre Dame Alumni playing in support of the University’s social enterprise efforts?
Lastly, Offenheiser closed by thanking the audience for participating and inviting them to join a breakout room.
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