Workshop at the Lancaster University Researcher Day on 26/09/2013 (http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/hr/development/courses/TeachingResearchRelated/Researcher-Day/index.html)
1. Researcher as social entrepreneur
Dr Emma Gillaspy, Vitae NW Hub Manager
@vitaenwhub
2. What I‟m going to cover...
What is Social Enterprise?
Examples of Social Enterprises and running
social enterprise alongside an academic career
Making a difference
Researchers are born to be social
entrepreneurs!
Thank you to Paul Spencer http://thedigitaldoctorate.com and
Paul Toombs http://paultoombs.org.uk/ who supported me in
putting together this session
6. What is a social enterprise?
"A social enterprise is a business with primarily
social objectives whose surpluses are principally
reinvested for that purpose in the business or in
the community, rather than being driven by the
need to maximise profit for shareholders and
owners.” - Social Enterprise Action Plan 2006
7. In other words…
Trading for a social or environmental purpose
“Double/triple bottom line” re-investing
Passionate/”crazy” people who change things
Highly motivated problem solvers
Enhanced stakeholder engagement
www.vitae.ac.uk/socialenterprise
10. “The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world; the
unreasonable one persists in trying
to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on
the unreasonable man”
George Bernard Shaw
11. What‟s your passion?
What ideas have you got?
How could you make a difference?
What social/environmental problem
could you address?
12. Valuable attributes of a
social entrepreneur…
Achievement
Initiative
Customer/client
service/orientation
Impact
Influence
Relationship building
Team leadership
Teamwork &
cooperation
Analytical thinking
Self confidence
Flexibility
Perseverence
13. Developing enterprise skills…
“The act of undertaking a doctorate is
a good training ground for the
development of enterprise skills.
Research by its nature requires
creativity, determination and problem-
solving. These skills are likely to be
useful wherever a researchers’ career
journey takes them”
What do researchers do? Vitae 2010
16. Where can I find out more?
www.vitae.ac.uk/socialenterprise
http://unltd.org.uk/hefce/ - UnLtd „Dare to be different:
HE Social Entrepreneurship Awards‟
http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/ - Social Enterprise
Coalition: the voice of social enterprise
http://www.clearlyso.com/ - ClearlySo: The global hub
for social business, social enterprise and social
investment
http://www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk/ - Social
Enterprise Mark: Trading for people and planet
Notes de l'éditeur
30min
‘Fifteen’ – This venture offers to young people, often in need of a break in life, the experience of learning to work in the restaurant business in a pioneering apprenticeship scheme that was first featured in a television programme entitled ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’. The Fifteen restaurants serve food of the highest quality made from the best ingredients: their kitchens are where the apprentices learn their trade, and their profits are ploughed back into the programme. There are currently four Fifteen restaurants, London, Cornwall, Melbourne and Amsterdam. www.fifteen.net‘Eden Project’ - The Eden Project is a social enterprise; all revenues and profits are owned by its charitable arm, the Eden Trust, and are used to further the Trust's charitable ambitions and commitments. The Eden Project's social impact is multifaceted, and crucial to its financial activities. The principal aim of the enterprise is to raise awareness and knowledge of environmental and social issues. It has also, however, brought more than £800m into the Cornish economy because it sources services and supplies from local businesses (2500 of them) wherever possible. The project leads by example to show visitors how to live in a sustainable and ecologically sensitive way while promoting the study and appreciation of the environment, the advantages of renewable energy, biodegradable waste and agriculture conservation, and by providing employment opportunities in the area. www.edenproject.com‘Divine Chocolate’ - Just under half of the company is owned by the farmers in Ghana who provide the cocoa for Divine Chocolate and have representatives on the company‘s board. The cocoa growers are guaranteed a fair price for their cocoa beans as well as receiving a ‘social premium’ to be invested in community projects. They also receive 2% of the company’s turnover, as well as a dividend. www.divinechocolate.comYou might like to also mention ‘The Big Issue’ - The Big Issue exists to offer homeless and vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income by selling an entertainment and current affairs magazine to the general public offering ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ to the vendors. Often mistaken for ‘just a charity’, it seeks to provide a much wider network of support to its vendors and offer a high quality publication worthy of its cover price.