A presentation on social innovation and social enterprise given at Simon Fraser University to students in the Department of Communications

1. CREATIVITY AND SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Problem solving and opportunity creation
Wes Regan & Paola Qualizza
March 5th 2015
CMNS 458
Simon Fraser University

2. WHAT PROJECT OR IDEA ARE YOU
WORKING ON?

3. SOCIAL INNOVATION (CREATIVITY)
A RESPONSE TO WICKED PROBLEMS?
• Wicked Problems (Planning/Sociology Term) are:
● extremely complex
● sometimes hard to understand the causes of
● most often extremely difficult to solve
● Karl Marx (socialist revolution) aside…
• Can be created by or made worse through:
● Lack of political will or ideologically based policy creation
● Competing interests
● Market Failures (Vancouver housing…)
● Loss of an industry or economic shock/restructuring
● Public health crisis (disease, aging etc.)
● Natural disaster, war, famine
● Time

4. INNOVATION VS SOCIAL INNOVATION

5. INNOVATION VS SOCIAL INNOVATION

6. SOCIAL INNOVATION
What can be done NOW?
• Finding unique solutions to social problems or social needs
where government (public sector) or the market (private
sector) has failed to
• Often requires a non-profit or for-profit venture of some kind
that can bring together elements of public and/or private
sector, formal/informal/social economy to take a different
approach
• BUT can also take place within government or a single NGO
or business
• Examples…

7. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is
the process of
starting a business or
other organization.
The entrepreneur
develops a business
model, acquires the
human and other
required resources,
and is fully
responsible for its
success or failure..

8. • Social Innovation + Entrepreneurship = Social Entrepreneur

9. LOHA- A SOCIAL INNOVATION RESPONSE TO
VANCOUVER’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS

10. LOHA- A SOCIAL INNOVATION RESPONSE TO
VANCOUVER’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS

11. THE SHARING ECONOMY – NEW WAYS OF
BUYING AND OWNING

12. CROWDFUNDING - NEW WAYS OF FINANCING
FUNDRISE (U.S.) - REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

13. DEMOCRATIZATION OF FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT?

14. SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
• Understood to have begun in the late 1980s early 1990s (with
respect to earlier entrepreneurial charitable models as far
back as the 1800s.
• A response to government de-funding the social safety net
and more financial pressure on charities to deliver public
benefits
• Much ambiguity today (Typology)
●Social Purpose Business
●Social Venture
●Social Impact Business
●Community Contribution Company
●Enterprising Non-Profit

15. EMPLOYMENT BASED SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
MISSION POSSIBLE, POTLUCK CAFÉ AND CATERING

16. SKILL DEV/WOMEN’S HEALTH/ECONOMIC JUSTICE
BASED SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
East Van
Roasters
Common Thread Sewing
Cooperative

17. MICRO-ENTERPRISE FOCUSED SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES

18. SOCIAL ENTERPRISE REVENUE GENERATOR TO SUPPORT
NON-PROFIT OR CHARITY

19. For-Profit Social Impact Business

20. B-Corp (Benefit Corporation)

21. COOPERATIVES
• Founded on the idea that people know what is best
for themselves
• Highly democratic structure
• Often used to deliver social services, sometimes as
non-profit organizations
Examples:
• Worker-owned: Urban Shift Delivery, Victory Gardens, The Wood
Shop
• Consumer-owned: MEC, housing coops, credit unions
• Producer-owned: farmers, artists, professional services

22. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Blended ROI
• Social ROI
• Patient Capital (longer timeframe for profitability)
• Absorption of additional costs (33% Est. Shahmash,
2010)
• Tax credits (ENP, Buy Social)
• Social Impact Bonds
• Community Bonds
• Reporting and monitoring
• Emerging Procurement Policies?

23. FUNDING AND RESOURCES FOR STARTUPS
• For-profit
• 3F (Friends, Family and Fools) Debt financing (loans, line of credit), equity
raise (Eligible Business Corporation, issue shares to investors – tax creditable
for EBC) Crowdfunding (Indiegogo, Kickstarter) Futurpreneur, Small Business
BC, Angel Investor (the Unicorns of the investment world) LUSH FUNd
• Non-profit
● Foundations - Vancity Community Foundation, Vancouver
Foundation, the Real Estate Foundation, Mconnell Foundation,
Central City Foundation, Tides Foundation, Ashoka, Lush
● Government Granting Agencies – Provincial (Proceeds of
Crime, BC Gaming) City of Vancouver (Direct Social Services
Grants, DTES Capital Grants, Social Innovation Fund,
● Greenest City) Federal Government – Arts Council, IRAP
(technology)

24. THE PIPELINE/ECOSYSTEM
• Groundswell
• RADIUS, ISIS (UBC), THNK
• Futurepreneur
• Ashoka (BC Ideas)
• DTES Community Investment Fund (BOB)
• Community Futures (Regional ED in BC)
• Small Business BC
• WESBC
• IRAP
• Tides
• Vancity
• DevCo (BC Co-op Association)
• Foundations/Government Grants
• BDC/investors (scaling up)

25. GROUNDSWELL:
GRASSROOTS ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES
• Building a more democratic economy
• Addressing youth un/underemployment & social
isolation
• Creating an ecosystem of
support for social enterprises
and community projects
Community & Clubhouse
Hard & Soft Skills
Mentoring
Visit the café at
566 Powell St!

26. GROUNDSWELL OFFERS PROGRAMS BASED
ON THREE INTERWEAVING THREADS:

27. GROUNDSWELL VENTURES LOOK AT
INCREASING VALUE BESIDES $$ AND
ORGANIZE DEMOCRATICALLY
The Wood Shop Co-op
upcycled custom wood
furniture
Living Legends
Raw and living food
products & education
The Plant Collective
Plant thift shop, seed
library and gardening
workshops

28. THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP….
...AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
PARTICULAR!
WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

29. CREATIVITY (and patience, and risk, and thick skin, and determination and…)

30. SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR STARTUPS
RISK, FAILURE AND LEARNING
• Part of entrepreneurship is assuming risk
• It’s ok to be a little bit scared or intimidated, this is totally
natural, but the more you validate your assumptions (or
prove them wrong and pivot) the more confidence you
will gain
• Don’t be afraid to fail...but remember you are
accountable and responsible and your decisions and
actions will impact people
• But if you do, embrace it fully as a learning opportunity
• For social entrepreneurs you are taking on additional
challenges as running a “regular” business is hard
enough as it is!

31. RADIUS – FAILURE WAKE 2013

32. BUT DON’T BE AFRAID OF SUCCESS EITHER!

33. CONCLUSION
BE PRESENT AND EMBRACE THE PROCESS,
BE CURIOUS, BE HONEST, BE HUNGRY
Thank you, happy to be here with you!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyregan
wes@shapecontent.com
paola@groundswellcommunity.ca