Courses / Module

Module Objective
Social Entrepreneurship: making a real difference looks at the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, its origins, manifestations and practical implications. Social entrepreneurship as a subject has evolved through two academic routes; the study of entrepreneurship and the study of social enterprise/nonprofit sector. This is still a developing subject of study but is increasingly relevant in the current economic environment with reduced public-sector expenditure and increasing social demands. The use of entrepreneurship and business models to achieve social value appears to be an increasingly important phenomenon in Ireland and Europe. (Coder-Dojo; GIY and Hireland are all recent examples).

The programme is split into 3 elements: theoretical underpinnings (session 1-4), an understanding of the implementation of social entrepreneurship in practice (sessions 5-8) and the practical assignment (social entrepreneurship in action) (sessions 8-11). This module is designed to give students an insight into the nature of social entrepreneurship and its application in various organisational settings. Much of the learning from practice will be done through role play and other exercises which will allow students apply the material presented and apply it to individual case studies.

Module Content
Topic 1: Course Introduction
Introduction to social entrepreneurship; concepts and definitions: Social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship : Earned-income strategies and where it fits in: Social entrepreneurship outputs: organisational types: Introduction to practical assignment and guidelines
Topic 2: Social entrepreneurship and social enterprise in the International context
Historical context: American versus European traditions: Pressures since the 1970’s: Commercialism, professionalism and entrepreneurial governance: The current situation
Topic 3: Social enterprise in Ireland
Historical background and traditions: The Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) : Social Partnership and the ‘Social Economy’: Social enterprise programmes: The extent of social enterprise in Ireland: The forms of social enterprise in Ireland
Topic 4: Theoretical understanding
Social capital: Economic theory: Entrepreneurship theory: Institutional theory
Topic 5: Setting up a social venture: Internal issues
Defining social and economic objectives: Social mission: Beneficiaries: Stakeholder engagement: Defining the business structure: The role of the social entrepreneur in the process: Culture conflicts: Mission drift
Topic 6: Funding and developing issues
The funding options: The funding mix: The public sector: The private sector: Philanthropy : Other options: Transition to alternative management – moving on
Topic 7: New Initiatives
Social Economy Task Force: WINSENT: Socialenterprise.ie: Social Entrepreneurs Ireland : Accountability: social auditing and social return on Investment (SROI)
Topic 8: Social entrepreneurship game
Role play/team competition
Topic 9-11: Practical assignment: introduction and planning session
Topic 12:Conclusion and wrap up
Presentation of learning from practical assignments: Final comments