In the days leading up to the forum, I've had a number of discussions with fellow social entrepreneurs about the state of our industry. Personally, I am an optimist - I believe there is evidence that we are growing, merging and converging very rapidly, on a global scale. There are still many areas where there's lots of work to do, however. Many argue that there is still so far to go before we make it to where we want the industry to be.

What do you think?

• Where are we now?
• How far have we already come?
• Where are we going?
• What is the vision that leaders in the field see for our important and exciting sector?

Delegates at the Forum and those of you attending virtually, please join us in exploring state of the social change industry in this thread. Share the evidence of change (or the continued need for change) that you see.

C Kirabo - Mar 30, 2005 11:20 pm (#1 Total: 13)
Webbed Strategist, Life in Africa Foundation

Bill Drayton calls the transformation of the Citizen's Sector the most powerful historical force in the world. According to the impressive 1st world figures he cited in his Keynote speech at the Skoll World Forum, we are catching up with business in productivity, in the provision of jobs, and in influencing how people think. What's more, most of this has been achieved - remarkably - over the past 30 years. Nonetheless, we still live in a world where the economically poorest 50% of the world's population own just 5% of the world's wealth. In that context, wherein lies the perceived value of the progress we have made? How do we convince the world that the change our sector stands for is real, or can become a reality?

Peter Samuelson stated the plight of the Social Entrepreneur well when he pointed out that our biggest challenge often lies in convincing people of something that doesn't exist yet. But even if we convince them, Joel Podolny cited studies showing that belief in a cause does not, in itself, lead people to actively participate in upholding or promoting a cause. Indeed, as Stan Thekaekara stated, the solutions of yesterday are not the answers for tomorrow.

If ever we are to tip the scale, and create a movement that the world of the powerful recognizes as a desirable force, then we must think outside the box that familiar power structures have led humanity into. The vision common to all of the Skoll World Forum's keynote speakers seems to lie - and I couldn't agree more - in making human, financial, political, media and economic networks work together for change.

But what does that mean in concrete terms? How can this lofty notion be applied at a very local level? Here are some of the take-aways that I plan to take home with me to Uganda:

1. Think local, act global.

With communications technology we now live in an age that is witnessing the death of distance as a limiting factor to the formation of networks. We are now able to cut across our perceived differences to connect groups of people according to what is in their hearts. For this reason, we must embrace technology. But we must also pay attention to and safeguard the values and ethical fibre in our communities, to avoid losing focus of the reasons we came together in the first place.

2. Networks are an end, not a means for change

The role of the social entrerpreneur is not to take resources from a network - as in the traditional business sense of "networking" - but to infuse and safeguard the values of the network. We are not at our best as matchmakers or event planners, but as agents for transforming the identity of community members - creating an active sense of belonging - and infusing values that can be shared by all. We should never sacrifice values in exchange for resources, but carefully manage the evolution of the networks we build. When we put community values first, change will flow from the community. A strong movement needs a strong community first.

3. Close the perception gap

The social change movement is a story that has a historical perspective, an individual perspective and a future perspective. By showing the history of the sector to organizational stakeholders, we can empower our communities with a sense of purpose and future as part of a larger movement. By telling stories using film and other democratic media, we can foster a lateral transfer of our success models into society at large. By understanding that some of the finest institutions of higher learning in the world are now teaching the principles and practicalities of social entrepreneurship, we can see the inevitability of the perception gap closing further, very rapidly, with each passing year.

Also very exciting to hear tonight was the news that Jeff Skoll and friends are moving into the film-making industry. Soon that media will be deployed to help achieve one of Skoll's childhood dreams that resonates very strongly with all of us today: If told stories, the powerful might understand how interconnected we all are, and how it could be in their interest to empower others. I don't know about you, but I'm eager to see some of those new films!

Our future as a sector looks pretty secure to me. But what do the rest of you think? Are we now, or will we be the most powerful historical force in the world?

Cheers -

C

 

K.L.SRIVASTAVA - Mar 31, 2005 6:36 am (#2 Total: 13)
Researcher and Consultant,Hyderabad,INDIA


Hi Christina,

Thanks for your informative and thought-provoking posts.

In my earlier posts, I had indicated my concern about dearth of educational and research initiatives in the field of social entrepreneurship in developing countries like India. Although I am convinced about the bright future of social entrepreneurship and its powerful role in creating a better future for the world, I still hold the view that something urgent needs to be done to convince the academic community in India to introduce courses on social entrepreneurship in the universities.

As I wrote elsewhere, I believe that social entrepreneurship is an old field of practice but a new field of knowledge and learning. Educational programs are therefore essential for mainstreaming (or institutionalizing) social entrepreneurship.

Thanks,

K.L.

Vaserius - Apr 1, 2005 1:43 am (#3 Total: 13)


I had breakfast with Dennis Whittle, Founder of GlobalGiving. Dennis is a great guy, and the work they're doing at GlobalGiving is wonderful. He has a refreshing perspective and 's one of a growing number of people in the sector who are championing open partnerships and shared value. I know, this seems simple and obvious, but it's a big problem in the sector - the "experts in house" syndrome. This mode of thinking needs to be thrown out the window and we need to share everything we know.

Information becomes more powerful when shared. And the wonderful thing about it is, you don't become weaker when you share your knowledge - you become stronger, too. As they say, "Information want to be free". If you free it, you will grow.

And besides, we can't change the world on our own.

C Kirabo - Apr 1, 2005 4:00 am (#4 Total: 13)
Webbed Strategist, Life in Africa Foundation


Hi K.L.-

Indeed, you've been much on my mind as the discussions about academics have unfurled over the past few days. As Timlynn mentioned in another thread, we all feel like we're drinking from a firehose these past few days. The information coming out of this Forum is fast and furious. We all look forward to taking some time to distill it into forms that are easily shareable.

About the academic side - two general things to say:

1) At the Said Business School here in Oxford, we've been told the the Social Entrepreneurship specialization is now one of the most dynamic and popular in the school. Clearly when institutions such as this one set a precedent that other institutions can see, there will be an impact. I remember when the MBA craze started back in the 80's - now nearly every University of repute recognizes the need to either offer an MBA or courses that can help undergrad students apply for one. The same process seems to be in motion now for Social Entrepreneurship as a component of MBA programs. The trend is there... the question will be how long it takes other institutions arounmd the world to recognize that trend and catch on to it in practical terms.

2) Pamela Hartigan of the Schwab Foundation made an extremely interesting point this morning that I think deserves some attention. The qualities that make a social entrepreneur, in her view, are personal qualities that may or may not be teachable. What a true social entrepreneur holds inside is an incredible will to face system level changes in very every-day kind of ways. Moreover, Social entrepreneurs as we define them now come from all fields - medicine, engineering, agriculture, economics... One could argue that the ability of those specialists to see into the systems within which they work, coupled with the will for change, that lead an individual to pursue an entrepreneurial lifestyle. Quite simply put, an engineer or doctor can be a social entrepreneur without social entrepreneurial training, but a trained social entrepreneur cannot be a doctor or an engineer. So the risk then, of putting too much emphasis on training people in social entrepreneurship, is that we will have more superficial approaches to specialized sector-based system level issues.

For what it's worth, I think Pamela has a point. Wonderful that people want to be and study social entrepreneurship, but we must be careful not to get to a point where we require a degree for someone to be recognized as one.

More coming.... -C

C Kirabo - Apr 1, 2005 8:44 am (#5 Total: 13)
Webbed Strategist, Life in Africa Foundation

There was an important emphasis during the Skoll World Forum on celebrating the heroes in the Citizen's Sector. The Skoll Foundation's "New Heroes" series that will soon be aired on PBS is a great step forward in bringing the achievements of Social Entrepreneurs into the public view. This is valuable in terms of demonstrating the power of an individual to make a profound difference in the world, but at the same time, it makes me uncomfortable in a way that I'm having a hard time articulating within myself. I'd love to hear other people's views on this.

My main thoughts - as far as I am able to distill them - are as follows:

In the context of the Life in Africa project, I feel it's extremely important to empower others as owners of the project. Those that are able to take the ideas and run with them are the heroes that I would really wish people to see. The project is not about or for me and my glory, but for the glory of those who are empowered by it, and I spend a lot of time and effort trying to make sure that message is delivered to our stakeholders. In fact, if someone wanted to make me a public hero (luckily nobody has yet!), I feel it would be counterproductive to my own objectives.

Over the past few days as I watched the videos and the awards being doled out, I kept wishing that some of their stakeholders were there too. My fear is that while learning by example might occur among the population who sees these heroes in the spotlight, the pedestal that individual Social Entrepreneurs are being placed upon could lead to a sense of detachment. In fact, the people we work with and for are integral to our individual success. Their absence in the spotlight is I guess what makes me feel strange about it all.

Any other thoughts from the hearts out there?

tutormentor - Apr 2, 2005 9:39 am (#6 Total: 13)
Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Connection

In business schools people are being taught to invert the traditional leadership pyramid and lead from the bottom of the organization in ways that enable everyone else to act as CEO's in achieving the organization's mission.

I've attached a power point essay that illustrates how we do this in the Tutor/Mentor Connection, a small charity based in Chicago but connected with thousands of people through the Internet and our efforts to help all neighborhoods have comprehensive volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs, not just our own.

http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/Partner/CC/Presentations/Leadership_pyramid/t_mc_pyramid_files/frame.htm

Other sections on the T/MC web site illustrate efforts to encourage others to be owners of the T/MC strategy.  At www.lend-a-hand.net  you can see how that is beginning to take shape in the Chicago Bar Association.  At http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/OHATS/TMC/TMC_OHATS_page.htm you can see how we attempt to teach others to be leaders, focusing on actions that must be repeated over and over by many people, for many years, if we're to achieve the goals set for the organization.

I feel that almost anyone can now establish a web site where they state their vision and invite others to share it.  Our web sites have had more than 120,000 visitors any the OHATS sections illustrates how many are  using this information and how we're constantly reaching out to others to invite them to participate.

In many ways I feel this is a form of open source development. If we launch a place on the Internet with a question that is important to many people, then we can create a platform that is owned by many, and is not dependent on any one person to sustain the enterprise over many years.

Our question is "What are all of the things a community needs to do to assure that every child born in poverty in one year is starting a job/career by age 25?" 

As people who participate in this collaboration collect and sequence what is already known, that information becomes valuable knowledge that anyone can use to improve existing programs, start new programs, or innovate new solutions to questions that still are unanswered. 

I share your wish that "some of the stakeholders were there, too". However, I feel that if we succeed in gathering more of those who care about what we're doing, we'll some day draw along others who we now wish were part of the enterprise.

Daniel F. Bassill
President
Cabrini Connections
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Chicago

K.L.SRIVASTAVA - Apr 4, 2005 5:55 am (#7 Total: 13)
Researcher and Consultant,Hyderabad,INDIA


Hi Christina,

Many thanks for presenting different perspectives on social entrepreneurship education.

I respect the views expressed by Pamela Hartigan of Schwab Foundation. But you examine critically, almost same arguments can be given to prove the futility of business entrepreneurship, management or leadership education. Business leaders/entrepreneurs/managers come from many different backgrounds, and personal qualities are extremely important. I remember it was a usual belief 30-40 years back that these categories of people are born rather than made.

Now we know that we can select potential candidates for these fields through aptitude tests etc. We also know that good education is highly effective in honing their skills and producing better quality of business leaders.

I don't know if any body has suggested that only trained people should be allowed to practice SE. However, there is suggestion for emphasis on ethical fiber. As you know, Ashoka Foundation is very particular about it. I have a feeling that some kind of accreditation by respected professional peers may be desirable for certain levels of SEs for maintaining professional and ethical standards. As you know, NGOs are also being accredited in recent years.

As I said in the beginning, this is a good topic for further discussion on Social Edge. I think you should host this discussion.

Regards,

K.L.

monica - Apr 4, 2005 4:16 pm (#8 Total: 13)
Internet4change.Com

Hi,

Sure our industry is growing but I would say we are just at the beginning stage as there are still so many things which need to be put in place to address the growth of our industry. There is still that imbalance in the different sectors as regards our social change industry. If only there were equal opportunities to have access to the tools which lead to rapid development all over the world then, we would be many steps ahead and the evidence would be visible without say. Communication facilities are a great challenge to the developing countries and yet so many people from these areas have great ideas for change but how to get the world to listen to their voices with the expensive tools as a media of communication is still a nightmare.

I believe if something was done at the grassroots level to create a common ground for all the agents of change then the world would easily recognise what is happening.

Monica

 

Aikidosphere - Apr 8, 2005 11:06 pm (#9 Total: 13)
introduced concept of Integrated (Aikido) Entrepreneurship

We have quite a dilemma (and so quite an opportunity) - that the main teacher of behavior is culture itself, especially cultural traditions ... and what is the main influencer of that going foward (movies and television perhaps?).  If mainstreaming sustainable living requires mainstreaming sustainable work and play, where will culture learn this .. both business culture and culture in general?  And is business culture more influenced by training of ideals at university or by popular culture driven by storytelling (media storytelling) and by what is SEEN (house we/they live in, car we/they drive, etc.)?

Dilemmas can be solved though if understood, no?

I see the two sides each to training in sustainability and simply advancing sustainability amongst those "trained" in business, but as described in the 1st paragraph above, we have to be truthful to ourselves about where the real training comes from.  I offer three quotes in this regard.  The first is from Marx:

“The question is not what goal is envisaged for the time being by this or that member of the proletariat, or even by the proletariat as a whole. The question is what is the proletariat and what course of action will it be forced historically to take in conformity with its own nature.”  (I would change proletariat to "society at large", and then interpret this to say that tradition has powerful inertia, change comes slowly, and that culture is self-reinforcing ... we do what others do, because they do what seems in their best interest, and if it takes from us, then we must compete with them on level playing field and so are we not prone to do similarly?)

The second from Edison:

“I believe, as I have always believed, that you control the most powerful instrument in the world for good or evil. Remember that you are servants of the public and never let a desire for money or power prevent you from giving to the public the best work of which you are capable. It is not the quantity of riches that count; it is the quality that produces happiness, where that is possible. I wish you a prosperous, useful, and honourable future.” - Thomas A. Edison (speaking to contemporary elites at his 71st birthday celebration ... from which I'd infer that Thomas felt visual storytelling was a huge influencer of tradition.  He'd be right, wouldn't he?)

The last quote - from Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru - is actually three short quotes which fit nicely together:

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” “Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think.” “Action to be effective must be directed to clearly conceived ends.” - Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) (Here we again see culture as teacher, but also challenge as opportunity AND the importance of having a model for directed action to be effective in reaching clearly conceived ends.  Thanks to those working on such a model.  I have worked aiming to advance such a model.  I hope more people will think deeply about such a model.)

This is perhaps already enough (or too much even) for a single post, but for those whose interest is whetted, it will be more complete to go one step further to advance the idea more fully and then end with a question.

Perhaps the inertia of tradition - with all the challenges that represents - is the CORE challenge that we must be forced to think about by present and coming crises.  From physics we know inertia is overcome with momentum - both are physical embodiments of power, and the term "overcome" implies a reversal or redirection ... which it seems Nehru would suggest should come from having a clearly conceived end that is different from the de facto end towards which current inertia is thrusting us.

These principles undergird the thinking in my writings and my advocacies for a fundamentally different approach, but one that is not so fundamentally different as to be unsynchronizable with the current approach of tradition.  If there were already a monster truck moving down the highway, it might be able to use its momentum to redirect another monster truck ...  The point education is perhaps that a monster truck DRIVER could illuminate for another monster truck driver the dangers up ahead, and suggest a better course - and of course education on how to drive a truck is still relevant, as long as "trucks" (or whatever traditions suit the metaphor) are still part of the picture.  Perhaps too, a monster truck designer with a view of coming pitfalls for truck operations or the industry could design a new truck configuration and share that with other designers.

To make this tangibly relevant beyond the metaphors and generalities of the challenges of inertia in tradition requires defining unambiguously the CORE challenge.  While quite helpful, it remains insufficient to simply say that the CORE challenge is the inertia of tradition, because tradition has both good and bad, so identifying the bad tradition is an equally important part of the problem (although even once identified, the inertial aspect of the problem presents the greatest opposition to be overcome).  So what is the bad tradition to be overcome?

I supsect that when any community has defined that successfully, it is already well on its way to overcoming that tradition, because no one aims to do things that are bad - except perhaps if they see good in it for themself.  Perhaps that is a clue.

Let me leave this post with two things.  One, a question, and two, a last quote that is a hint to what I think might be relevant in that question.  The question is, what is that bad tradition (or those bad traditions) in the world today to be overcome?

Now the closing quote, from Clive Crook, Deputy Editor of the Economist (January 2005):

“To improve capitalism, you first need to understand it. The thinking behind CSR (corporate social responsibility) does not meet that test.”

 

Aikidosphere - Apr 9, 2005 1:51 pm (#10 Total: 13)
introduced concept of Integrated (Aikido) Entrepreneurship

I am still getting the aspects of posting on Social Edge worked out.  I need to edit to add something missing to contextualize the Edison quote (and apparently no longer can edit?).

Edison's quote was in a talk to the nascent FILM industry - the implication being that Edison recognized the major influence of culture on life, and the major influence of film on culture.  And by the way, Edison was the inventor of one of the very first commercial film cameras and one the first film projectors.

C Kirabo - Apr 10, 2005 1:48 pm (#11 Total: 13)
Webbed Strategist, Life in Africa Foundation

Perhaps the inertia of tradition - with all the challenges that represents - is the CORE challenge that we must be forced to think about by present and coming crises. 

When this first jumped out at me, I thought I agreed. But upon reflection I think we perceive change more slowly than it actually occurs. Perhaps the inertia of tradition is something we think is true because that is what we think we see.

We are blinded (by something) to our most sacred universal tradition of inner peace and global unity. That something has disguised itself as a tradition. I think we must go even further than simply looking at the systems which allow it to continue to masquerade among us - we must identify the terrorist that keeps us from understanding our true selves and get rid of it.

My theory on the culprit is money itself.

It annoys me to no end that we all live believing we are dependent on something that is external to the world humanity was born into - a dirty piece of paper that is completely fabricated by man in meaning, value and design and has nothing to do with who I am as a person. For part of my life I had a great distaste for people with money, but it's not their fault. I understand now that rich or poor has nothing to do with money - and that's the point.

As pragmatists, I believe that we in the Citizen's Sector must understand and practice politics of reconciliation in our approach to transforming networks of people who hold power in today's world. We need to build strong communities, and connect those into networks. We need to build functional networks of networks that penetrate all levels of society with alternative rewards systems (plural!) for helping us to create and witness our own versions of "success" in this life.

Thanks for provoking these thoughts.......

C

C Kirabo - May 14, 2005 6:33 am (#12 Total: 13)
Webbed Strategist, Life in Africa Foundation

There are two excellent posts about the Skoll World Forum made by John Sayer of Africa now in the welcome thread at jsayer, "Skoll World Forum: Some contrarian comments" #1, 29 Apr 2005 2:09 am

 

I'm reposting some of what John wrote that's relevant to this thread below:

 

During some of the more zealous talk about social entrepreneurship becoming an unstoppable worldwide movement for change, I had to steady myself by recalling the broader the context of other events that have taken place between the first and second Skoll World Forums. These include the hurt and divisions caused by the Iraq war, and the re-election of a US President who has pointedly chosen not to participate in international initiatives on climate change and human rights. Social entrepreneurs may seek to innovate in ways that are unencumbered by preconceived ideology, but if they are to succeed, they certainly need to keep a sense of perspective about the forces at work in the world in which they operate, including the forces that seek to preserve unfair distribution of business opportunity, resources and power.

 

That said, whether the phenomena is called social entrepreneurship, new NGO thinking, or socially responsible business, it is heartening to be among people from diverse backgrounds seething with ideas about how we might do more to improve the environment, end poverty, confront injustice and create inclusive opportunities. The challenge for us now is to find ways to radiate this positivity, and prevent its evaporation.

 

Thank you John, for this important reminder of how important it is that we don't ignore the world while we're trying to save it.

Karl Baba - May 15, 2005 1:31 am (#13 Total: 13)

Civilization's openness to global social change is dependant on the totality of global circumstances. Our expectations of progress and success are projections of current trends based on the assumption of gradually evolving circumstances.

This may not prove to be the case.

Just as after 9-11, fear compelled many people to give up their rights and freedoms, dramatic change in global circumstances could mean dramatic change in the climate for positive global social change.

The catalyst for coming change in my view is the inevitable and unpredictable results of oil depletion on the world economy. Every individual and social organization needs to evaluate and analyze this situation to gauge its possible bearing on their goals and expectations.

The US in particular, with it's huge budget and trade deficits, financed by borrowing enabled by petrodollar recycling, is vulnerable to severe economic problems soon after any dramatic and sustained tightening of the oil supply.

Imagine the attitude of large portions of the population as the world economy gets desperate and competition for energy between developed and developing nations becomes acute. Will nations continue to resist dangerous or polluting energy technologies? Can nations rich in oil expect to retain real democracy and sovereignty without aligning themselves with "big brother" nuclear powers?

Don't believe me but don't make blindly hopeful assumptions regarding the viability of solutions you have heard about. Do some research, regarding peak oil proponents and its naysayers, and make rational strategies for possible contingencies.

It may be necessary for social entrepreneurs, whatever their focus, to network together to apply pressure for society, corporations and governments to invest heavily, and I mean heavily, in infrastructure, R & D, and deployment of energy technologies and efficiency technologies well in advance of any oil supply crisis. Waiting until energy runs short means waiting until it is too late to make the vast changes required. The possibility of positive social change depends on how the eventual oil supply crisis develops and is handled by us all.

A mix of perspective can be found starting at these sources:

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

Many folks find the "doomsday tone" of that link to be too extreme. Those interested in balancing their perspective or sending relatives a more sober and conservative analysis of the same issue might be interested in a study commissioned by the US Departement of Energy. The executive summary and link to the full report is here:

http://www.energybulletin.net/4638.html

A hipper, more readable summary of the problem was published by Rolling Stone recently

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7203633?pageid=rs.Politics&pageregion=single1&rnd=1115147664954&has-player=unknown

Peace

Karl