The new model: doing good in partnership

Friday, November 22, 2013

The new model: doing good in partnership

Professor Anne de Bruin.

‘Blurring boundaries, transcending barriers’ is the theme of the second Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference, which takes place at Massey University’s Albany campus from November 27-29.

Conference organiser Professor Anne de Bruin says the theme reflects the need to transcend silos like ‘private sector’, ‘public sector’ and ‘not-for-profit’ if we are to solve the world’s social and environmental problems.

“Innovative partnerships across all sectors are the way of the future,” she says. “Businesses are recognising that they are not separate from the communities they operate within and that it’s in their interests to find solutions to social problems.

“Meanwhile non-profits are looking to generate income to sustain their activities – instead of asking for funding, many are selling a service or product to create income. It’s a real shift that requires different organisations to work together and share their resources and skills.”

Professor de Bruin says the conference is an opportunity for businesses, social entrepreneurs, non-profits, academics and policymakers to share ideas.

“This is not a purely academic conference – we have many social entrepreneurs attending who will discuss what they are actually out there doing.

“One of the more interesting sessions will focus on innovative responses to the Christchurch earthquake. The panel discussion will include Dr Suzanne Vallance, who has researched collaborative partnerships in Christchurch; Liz Hampton from IBM who will talk about its Smarter Cities grant; and Student Volunteer Army founder Sam Johnson.”

The conference will open with a public lecture from Massey alumnus and serial entrepreneur Linda Jenkinson. Her talk is titled ‘Giving back – An Entrepreneur’s Search’ and will discuss her social enterprise WOW Investments, which invests in high-potential businesses run by women in West Africa.

As the founder of three multi-million dollar companies, as well as being the first New Zealand woman to take a company public on the NASDAQ stock exchange, Ms Jenkinson is a good example of the new breed of social innovators.

“I don’t believe in focusing on building businesses that do not respect the environment, employees or the social fabric of life to make money, and then taking that money to give back in non-profit activities that do not build sustainability,” she says.

“I see a social entrepreneur as someone who builds a sustainable, fully balanced economy. It’s important to give back but, for me, giving back is not about helping at a soup kitchen. It’s about taking the skills I have to make the maximum impact. I have spent years building new business models, so it makes sense to take those skills to help develop women-led SMEs in West Africa, the poorest place in the world.”

The conference will close with a handing over of the baton to the next generation.

“The global financial crisis has led to austerity measures globally and a reduction in government support for social services – just look at the UK government’s ‘Big Society’ platform as an example,” Professor de Bruin says.

“At the same time, the next generation see social entrepreneurship as a natural extension of being globally engaged and environmentally aware. When they look for business opportunities they do it through this lens – that’s why we decided to close the conference with a special session called ‘A New Economy for a New Generation’. There are a lot of young people out there doing amazing things.”

Notes:
Professor Anne de Bruin is the director of Massey’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre (SIERC), which organises the biennial Social Innovations and Entrepreneurship Conference.

The event takes place at Massey University’s Albany campus from November 27-19, 2013. The full programme can be viewed on the conference website: http://sierc.massey.ac.nz/conference/

Linda Jenkinson’s public lecture ‘Giving back – An Entrepreneur’s Search’ takes place in the Sir Neil Waters Lecture Theatre, Albany campus, at 6pm on November 27. To RSVP email Public-Lectures@Massey.ac.nz.

ENDS

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