In October 2015, UN world leaders ratified 17 new Sustainable Development Goals for a socially and environmentally better world by 2030. This has encouraged a new generation of social entrepreneurs who contribute to this vision through innovative initiatives and by setting up new social businesses, NGOs, and social movements.
Based on recent leading-edge research, this course will give you the concepts, insights, and tools necessary to successfully start up, manage and scale-up innovative, sustainable businesses which are designed for social good.
Course Content
This course has four key areas:
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A theory of social change: Identifying the relevant theory and evidence for analysing a social problem.
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Social innovations and enterprises and their social impact: Key concepts, theories and evidence.
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Impacting social change vs. economic goals: How to design an innovative social enterprise that can achieve both.
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Design and plan a new social enterprise: Train, sharpen, and synthesize your insights in a team-based exercise by designing an actual new, innovative social enterprise with your fellow students.
While the insights from this course on social innovation and entrepreneurship are more fundamental, the focus will be on emerging economies where social and environmental problems are most extreme, including South Asia, Africa and South America. Interactive case studies form an integral part of the course; examining social innovations and their social impact in sectors such as solar energy, microfinance, gender and youth equality, mobile banking, e-education and more.
Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
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Demonstrate a critical understanding of the social innovation and entrepreneurship sector, in terms of whether, why, and under which conditions social enterprises create positive social impact
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Analyse local social problems and develop a theory of change
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Design an innovative and impactful social organisation – social enterprise, other sustainable business with a social purpose, NGO, or a social movement.
World-class LSE teaching
The Department of Management was established in 2000, and is committed to advancing the frontiers of the study of management, through its social-science based research, collaboration across the entire LSE, and its engagement with enterprises, organisations, and leaders throughout the world. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework has ranked LSE as the UK higher education leader for Business and Management Studies.
On this three week intensive programme, you will engage with and learn from full-time lecturers from the LSE.
Texts
There is no set text for this course. Students will be given electronic access to text/articles.
*Course content, faculty and dates may be subject to change without prior notice