Entrepreneurial Solutions for Social Challenges (IOMBA 2004)

Abstract

This course takes a strategic perspective on social change. It asks how emerging leaders - social entrepreneurs and strategic philanthropists - can stimulate systemic change through local interventions and collaboration. The course was developed by Maximilian Martin and co-taught by Maximilian Martin and David Dror for the IOMBA program in the 2004 fall semester. Combining their passion to solve social issues with an entrepreneurial outlook on life, social entrepreneurs find innovative ways to leverage scare resources in the pursuit of social value. To be practical, the course deploys a variety of case studies. The course is divided into three parts. Unit one sets the stage by introducing the core conceptual material on social entrepreneurship and philanthropy, deploying case studies to render the challenges concrete. Unit two leverages David Dror's international organizations experience and his leadership of Social Re, a social change initiative with a similar transformational potential as microfinance. It examines the nitty-gritty of social innovation inside international organizations, and highlights why social entrepreneurs often need to create their own organizations, rather than seeking to advance large-scale social change from within an established institution. Unit three asks how we can strategically orchestrate social innovation. Which roles do "intermediaries" (civil society vehicles that service grassroots social entrepreneurs) play? How can wealth managers serve as a catalyst for the implementation of their clients' philanthropic aspirations?