There is a myriad of organizations in the United States that gather and network people and organizations that are actively using the power of doing business to create positive social and environmental impact.
The list is composed by a variety of organizational models: networks, alliances, consortiums, universities, corporations, nonprofits, funds, foundations, associations, clubs, ventures, forums, institutes, offices, etc. However, this community doesn’t seem to recognize many things in common.
In a meeting organized by REDF in the context of the Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) conference in 2009, Sonal Shah, President Obama’s appointed Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation, engaged in a conversation with leaders of Social Enterprise.
As Carla Javits reported in her blog “She repeatedly asked us for ideas about government’s role in creating the right environment, and also how to get out of the way as appropriate”. Sonal was clearly eager to be educated about concrete aspects of the Social Enterprise, as understood by its leadership, gathered for SOCAP. She was particularly interested about how to begin to build a dialog with the Social Enterprise and about specific ways in which the Obama administration could support the Social Enterprise.
There were great conversations and really relevant insights. Some comments were very specific like procurement processes and access to funding; others were somewhat abstract like the way society views and values trades versus professions. These conversations were important because they got people to talk to one another.
In retrospect, I felt a little like the day of the college presentation when your team is asked to present, but even when you know your teammates, you never really talked about the presentation.
I felt that we – the team of us doing what we do– weren’t completely ready for that conversation. I would have liked for us to be the other team that shows up dressed for the occasion and each person has its own role, and they place the report on the desk and move on to the stage to make a phenomenal presentation with embedded video and cool transitioning slides – it’s never too late.
It’s never late to take the time and energy in getting to know one another and talk. It proved important during the meeting with Sonal. We can flush our thoughts and ideas internally, as a team; so we can present them as a clear proposal of how we could work together.
I thought relevant to take a look at the work that other social enterprise teams have done to prepare for their presentations.
Social Enterprise World
The leaders of organizations that network social enterprises in the world got together in the context of the 2009 Social Enterprise World Forum in Sydney. The leadership of networking organizations of social enterprises in Australia, the United States, Canada, Scotland, Denmark and New Zealand shared their insights, experiences, perspectives and visions for advancing the social enterprise in their individual contexts. The highlights of the conversations were Scottland, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Global Social Enterprise
Many of the movers and shakers of social enterprise at a global scale support social enterprise-related efforts in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia – practically everywhere! These are globally active and globally recognized organizations such as the Grameen Foundation, The Hub, Ashoka, United Way, Leap Frog, the Acumen Fund, the McArthur Foundation, and many others.
Scottish Social Enterprise
It was clear in these conversations that the social enterprise in Scotland is the most privileged. The Scottish government has been extremely supportive and actively involved with the social enterprise from the very beginning. The Scottish social enterprise community has been enabled to experiment and test the concepts of multiple bottom lines and the use of business models to address social and environmental goals. One of the main exponents of the Scottish social enterprise is Black.
In March of 2007, the Scottish SE leadership began to think of the Social Enterprise as a ‘third sector’, in addition to the private and the public sectors: privately owned for and nonprofit organizations and the government, respectively. They defined Social enterprises as "businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally re-invested for that purpose in the business or the community rather than driven by the need to maximize profits for shareholders or owners".
Under this definition, the government identified around 3,000 social enterprises in Scotland at different stages of development, from small start-up enterprises to well-established businesses with multi-million pound turnovers. The turnover of these businesses was calculated at £1 billion a year. The sector employed around 21,000 with an additional 18,500 volunteers in 2007.
In the same year, the Scottish government announced £1.5 million in resources for an action plan to promote four strategic objectives:
1. Raising the profile and demonstrating the value of social enterprise
2. Opening up markets to social enterprise
3. Increasing the range of finance available to social enterprises
4. Developing the trading capacity of social enterprises through better business support
Using these objectives, the government facilitated conversations among the social enterprise community members to develop a document called “Better business - a strategy and action plan for social enterprise in Scotland” that highlights the contribution a social enterprise business model could make to economic growth and business development while at the same time meeting social objectives.
Social Enterprise in Australia
The Australian Social Enterprise Community considers itself to be in an accelerated learning curve. Benefitting from lessons learned from other countries’ experiences, they are in the process of defining and categorizing the social enterprise as they put the concepts in practice.
The Australian SE leadership defines a social enterprise as “a social benefit business that trades to fulfill its mission.” And they explain: “The motivations and business models for social enterprises vary, as does the amount of income they derive from trade. Social enterprises build a more just, sustainable world by applying market-based strategies to today's social challenges.”
Canadian Social Enterprise
The Canadian leadership sees the social enterprise as a core sector. This way, they conceptualize the social enterprise as an alternative for anyone and everyone: government, private for-profits and private nonprofits, they can all do social enterprise!
In November of 2009, the Canadian Social Enterprise Community organized the 3rd Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise. A main component of this conference was its Policy Forum that happened November 19th and 20th in Toronto, Canada. During this third annual assembly, the members of the Canadian Social Enterprise community gathered to discuss and to build national consensus around a policy framework that will create an enabling environment for social enterprises to thrive.
Specifically, the 3rd conference aimed to reach agreements about how to take action on building the social enterprise movement using the key components identified the year prior. In 2008, the conference resulted in the identification of six integrated key components that provide a framework for creating a supportive environment for social enterprise. The 6 integrated key components (or pillars) are:
1. Enhance Enterprise Skills
2. Expand Market Opportunities
3. Accessing Capital and Social Investment
4. Demonstrate the Value of Social Enterprise
5. Network the Social Enterprise Sector
6. Enable Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment
The Canadian leadership did a terrific job at facilitating these conversations. They opened the forum for everyone in the social enterprise community in Canada to voice their input in a meaningful and organized way – in English or French!
The information generated during such gathering was concentrated and disseminated back to the community at the end of January of 2010 in a document entitled Synopsis: Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise Policy Forum and Invitation to Engage in Next Steps. This document presents a list of specific action items that are framed as strategies to advance the pillars of the social enterprise in Canada. Examples of these action items are: accelerate the growth of existing pools of capital, partner with the private sector, agree on a definition of social enterprise, among a total of 27 strategies agreed upon.
The document closes with an Invitation to Engage directed toward the forum participants, other interested individuals and other organizations active in the social enterprise or related efforts.
United States
The Opportunity in the United States
I think there is an opportunity for the social enterprise in the United States to leverage on the work that our Canadian colleagues have done on updating and re-identifying the key components for creating a supportive environment for social enterprise. For the US environment, I would broaden the pillars to be stated as:
1. Enhance Skills
2. Expand Market Opportunities
3. Procure Access to Capital and Social Investment
4. Demonstrate the Value of Social Enterprise
5. Network the Players
6. Enable Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment
Also, the core-sector approach of the Canadian leadership seems like a more realistic strategy for advancing the movement. Instead of competing with previously established sectors (government, private for profits and private non profits), the social enterprise becomes a welcoming space and an open invitation for already-established structures to join the blended value way of doing business.
I think the market is ripe. Because of our current socioeconomic and environmental circumstances, the media, the government, the corporations, the nonprofits, the peoples are beginning to think beyond profit. We are in a world in turmoil. The ideas of the individual and the ideas of the masses are shifting. The minds of the world are wondering if there is anything else beyond profit. Some have begun to realize that our planet is a high priority and they have begun to take action. Others have realized that the health of our societies is a high priority and they have begun to take action. The impetus is tangible; it’s energizing.
I am particularly excited about continuing last year’s conversations in Sydney during the plenary panels of the Social Enterprise World Forum 2010 in San Francisco.
I am hopeful and excited to see our team taking the time and energy in getting to know one another and talk.
No comments:
Post a Comment