March 23, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
The term “social entrepreneur” has become a buzz phrase in the philanthropy world.
But what, exactly, does it mean?
The School for Social Entrepreneurs asks that question in light of a recent essay in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
The Stanford piece — written by Roger L. Martin, dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and Sally Osberg, president of the Skoll Foundation — broadly describes social entrepreneurship as the identification of a social problem, the identification of an opportunity to solve that problem, and the broader effort to solve the problem.
The piece includes substantial discussion about how this is achieved — but the anonymous author of the School for Social Entrepreneurs blog says the essay focuses too much on the idea that social entrepreneurs initiate wide-scale social change.
The blog’s author instead says many social entrepreneurs work on a much smaller scale.
The author writes: “Why must a definition…exclude those who demonstrate the same characteristics, the same entrepreneurial spirit and mindset, with the same primacy of mission, and achieving the kind of changes they discuss, but on a smaller scale?”
What is a social entrepreneur? Is it a new phrase for an old concept, or does it reflect something novel? Does a social entrepreneur necessarily have to lead a large-scale change?
Click on the comment link just below this posting to share your views.
