This course is about using entrepreneurial skills to craft innovative responses to social problems. Entrepreneurs are particularly good at recognizing opportunities, exploring innovative approaches, mobilizing resources, managing risks, and building viable enterprises. These skills are just as valuable in the social sector as they are in business. Social entrepreneurship applies to both profit and non-profit firms who have programs designed to create social value.
The key issues today are measuring social impact, impact investment, and the blurring lines between social, public, and private sector. The field has also expanded into core institutions- corporate strategy and institutional investment. Michael Porter’s work has expanded strategy thinking to include shared value. Investment return analysis by JP Morgan and other firms have shown the financial returns of social investment which has opened up the field to professional investors and created a deeper analysis of social impacts. Governments across the world are also participating in social entrepreneurship activity with social impact bonds as one many areas of experimentation.