Social Impact: Entrepreneurs and Social Innovation examines the accelerating economic relationship between government, business and the third sector to deliver social (including environmental) value in communities and the way in which this drives social innovation. The course first examines the social economy through the emerging spectrum of organisational forms that generate both social and economic value: from traditional charities, to social enterprises, through to socially responsible business and traditional corporations. It looks at why the traditional boundaries between government, business and the third sector have become blurred and fluid and what that means for the capacity to deliver new forms of social impact.
Second, the course examines trends and drivers re-shaping the dynamics of social impact. It reviews the key changes that have occurred within each of the sectors: the changing role of government from direct provider to enabler; the emergence of corporate responsibility within the business sector; the emergence of social enterprises and socially responsible businesses within the third sector and the consequent implications for leadership; and the emergence of new forms of philanthropy and social investment. The course examines the ways in which these changes drive social innovation and it concludes with a review of global trends and organisations that effect social change and impact.