May 15, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Social entrepreneurs have developed innovative approaches to pressing social problems, and government should do more to encourage them, according to a new paper.
“Advancing Social Entrepreneurship,” published by the Aspen Institute, a think tank in Washington, and Root Cause, a nonprofit research and consulting organization in Cambridge, Mass., offers 13 recommendations for ways that government agencies can use their influence and grant dollars to promote social innovation.
Among the report’s recommendations:
- To encourage creativity, agencies should give nonprofit groups greater latitude in how they spend government grants, but at the same time set performance standards and publish results.
- Local, state, and federal governments should set up offices that promote social entrepreneurship. The report points to Louisiana’s new Office of Social Entrepreneurship as a model.
- Agencies should confer awards to recognize and reward innovation.
Government officials and social entrepreneurs have a lot to offer one another, says Andrew Wolk, chief executive of Root Cause and author of the new report.
Social entrepreneurs have developed creative approaches to many of the pressing problems that government officials are trying to solve in areas like education, health care, and poverty, he says.
Government, in turn, has the resources that social entrepreneurs need to expand the reach of their programs and create systemic change.
“What social entrepreneurs are really doing is, they’re responding to market failures, not unlike a regular entrepreneur responds to market opportunities,” says Mr. Wolk. “They are trying to do that by creating transformative, innovative solutions that are sustainable.”
Forging Ties
Root Cause has started a new project, Public Innovators, that seeks stronger ties and more dialogue between government and social entrepreneurs.
Over the next 18 months, Root Cause and Aspen plan to hold a series of meetings nationwide to discuss how government officials and social entrepreneurs can work together more. Those discussions will be followed by a conference for government officials to come together to share lessons learned about working with social entrepreneurs.
The report, “Advancing Social Entrepreneurship,” is available online.
