The Social Entrepreneurship Teaching Resources handbook was created as a resource for faculty interested in understanding and teaching in the field of social entrepreneurship and includes initiatives, courses and research in this context. The primary objective is to find "best practices" in social entrepreneurship for faculty to share with one another. To read more about social entrepreneurship programs, business plan competitions, cases, conferences and courses offered in the US and abroad, select the title above.
See "Social Entrepreneurship Teaching Resources Handbook" below.

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurs are the revolutionaries that make large scale social impact in their communities and around the world. While there are a number of definitions for social entrepreneur, the most noted definition is Greg Dee's from Duke University's Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. To find out what social entrepreneurship is, and what it is not, download The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship paper by Professor Greg Dees. See "What is Social Entrepreneurship?" below.

"Entrepreneurs are change friendly, opportunity-oriented, innovative, resourceful, value creators. They see resources and they find a way to mobilize or move them to areas of higher productivity and yield. They find a way to create value. Social entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs who intentionally pursue the public good. They act as change agents in the social sector by:

• Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value 
• Relentlessly pursuing opportunities to serve their mission 
• Continuously innovating, adapting and learning 
• Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand 
• Exhibiting a heightened sense of accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created."
  -- J. Gregory Dees, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Duke University

In his book, Changing the World through Social Entrepreneurship, David Bornstein defines a social entrepreneur as: "A path breaker with a powerful new idea, who combines visionary and real-world problem solving creativity, who has a strong ethical fiber, and who is 'totally possessed' by his or her vision for change." The book provides a wonderful selection of stories of social entrepreneurs from around the world.

Resources

While the Social Entrepreneurship handbook provides detail on a number of resources, a few need special mention. The PBS New Heroes Series provides a low cost (under $30) video series for classroom use including materials for discussions on social entrepreneurs who are solving social problems around the world. The Ashoka Foundation launched a similar project with Ashoka Fellows. Profiles of the Ashoka Fellows who have achieved large scale social impact are available on the Ashoka website. Greg Dees from Harvard and Stanford's Social Entrepreneurship programs and now at Duke University has a comprehensive website on social entrepreneurship resources including free cases. The Skoll Foundation sponsors the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University each spring. An interesting paper that was published in the Journal of World Business, Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction and Delight by Johanna Mair and Ignasi Marti looks at the term social entrepreneur and how it should be studied including an investigation of social entrepreneurship as a part of the field of entrepreneurship or its own separate field of study.

ASHOKA: www.ashoka.org/home/index.cfm
Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE): www.fuqua.duke.edu/centers/case/   
PBS New Heroes Series: www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/
Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship: www.skollfoundation.org/skollcentre/skoll_forum.asp

Social Entrepreneurship Research: Mair, J., Mart, I. 2006.
Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight.
Journal of World Business. 41/1, 36-44. See "Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight" below.

Syllabus Exchange
As part of the entrepreneurship education division of USASBE, syllabi of entrepreneurship courses are posted on the USASBE website including a number of social entrepreneurship course syllabi. If you would like to have your syllabus added to the exchange, email Debbi Brock.

Social Entrepreneurship Network
If you would like to receive communications on social entrepreneurship initiatives, to share your knowledge in the field, or provide resources for the Social Entrepreneurship Knowledge Resources, contact:

Division	Authors	Year	Title	Download
Social Entrepreneurship	Debbi Brock and Ashoka’s Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship	2008	Social Entrepreneurship Teaching Resources Handbook
Social Entrepreneurship	Greg Dees	2006	What is Social Entrepreneurship?
Social Entrepreneurship	Johanna Mair Ignasti Marti	2005	Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight