Paris too has a unique stance on the subject of social business. Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris has partnered with Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate and considered one of the fathers of modern social business, to make Paris the Social Business capital of the world, and have their sites specifically set on the Paris 2024 Olympics, for which both have partnered with the French Olympic Federation and the International Olympic Committee to design the first ‘social business games’. It’s because of this partnership and initiative that I have structured my thesis research question the way I have: How might we design a sports based refugee integration program to be sustained on a social business model?

So what is a social business? That I could give a super simple and direct response to that question! It is a relatively new term and can be viewed as interchangeable with social enterprise, and sometimes gets confused with Corporate Social Responsibility and revenue-generating non-profits.

The first academic definition came from a scholar, Greg Dees, at Duke in 1998. He focused attention on defining the actions of the social entrepreneur:

“Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by:

Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value),

Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,

Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,

Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and

Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.”

Since then, this definition has been adapted, affirmed, challenged, and built on by an overwhelming number of academics and business professionals. Here is a helpful chart by the Social Innovation Center that adapts on Dees’ work distinguishing social entrepreneurship from other sectors:

It should be noted that these definitions will vary country to country. In the EU alone a number of legal designations exist in individual member states that do not apply to others.

The underlying premise is that the business or enterprise generates social and monetary capital.

What is most relevant to this MA in Design for Social Impact program at Paris College of Art is a specific definition that comes from Muhammad Yunus, as his model is used by MakeSense and the newly founded (November of 2017) Social Business Center of Paris. His definition consists of 7 key principles: 

“1. Business objective will be to overcome poverty, or one or more problems (such as education, health, technology access, and environment) which threaten people and society; not profit maximization

2. Financial and economic sustainability

3. Investors get back their investment amount only. No dividend is given beyond investment money

4. When investment amount is paid back, company profit stays with the company for expansion and improvement

5. Gender sensitive and environmentally conscious

6. Workforce gets market wage with better working conditions

7. ...do it with joy” (Yunus Centre, 2015, webpage).

The underlying premise behind Yunus’s definition is to modernise and reshape modern capitalism, which is widely acknowledged to be a contributor to social injustice and wicked problems of the world. Social business is one approach to redesigning a system that makes a positive social and environmental impact.

I hope that this special post helps clarify (or introduce!) a concept that, if you’re interested in the program, will come up when you’re here. It may even be a subject that plays an integral role in your thesis or your future post-graduation!

In my next post, I’ll share a bit more about my thesis and the social business development there - stay tuned!

References:

Dees, J. G. (2017). 1 The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship. In Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability(pp. 34-42). Routledge.

Week one of this masters program (and not just week one for our team of seven, but week one for the program itself) delivered unveiling after unveiling, question after question, motivation after motivation.  We met people we’ve been anticipating, were given snap-shots of how the year would look, negotiated with our own expectations and assumptions, and experienced affirmation (each of us in a personal way) about why we’re here.

We are joined by a common thread in this revelatory process. No prior knowledge existed about our courses, and we are the first to experience them. Another important common thread revealed itself too: Passion, a fire within each of us to create positive change.

Pulling Back the Curtains

This was the “big reveal”, when we were delivered our first taste of the classes that would form the basis of our program; the vehicles by which we would develop our knowledge of how to make an impact. 

What follows is a breakdown of our classes: a brief “snapshot” of each course followed by details unique to day one.

Research & Methodology 

Course Snapshot: Three groups of different masters programs. All working towards our theses. What does the course do? Gives us the skills and resources for building a thesis for the design process.

What else?

- Professors who are leading experts in their fields? ✅ (note: they will challenge you).

- Encouraged to delve into our passions? ✅ (note: you may experience decision fatigue trying to decide which passion to pursue).

- Endless research trails to trek? ✅ (note: to ensure safety, consult your map constantly [aka: The Craft of Research], travel in numbers [your cohort], hold onto your compass [advisor], and stay nourished).

- Bulk orders of coffee to sustain us throughout the year? ✅(note: buy and brew your own to eliminate plastic waste from vending machines).

- Special requests to J.K. Rowling to lend us Hermione’s time-turner? ✅ (note: will update you with Ms. Rowling’s response).

Day One: A lot happened in three hours, but the jewel that I think many of us took away was the sharing of topics, ideas and passions that each of the 25 masters students in this course are keen to pursue. We were each challenged to give a single word for our thesis topic of interest and then group ourselves with peers whose words indicated projects that might relate to our own.

Several connections were forged and, at least for me, it was an important step in giving voice to the idea that had been living in my head and in my heart. Beyond this, though, it was an exercise in collaborating. The professor of the course later told me that she noticed something during this activity: that our cohort of seven had a special quality; an ability to come together and encourage the ideas of others.

Social Entrepreneurship 

Course Snapshot: Here, we delve into questions of what IS a social business? How do they work? How do they differ from organizational models we are familiar with? Throughout the year, we will partner with social entrepreneurs in the MakeSense community to learn from and aid in the development their social business.

Day One: The big deal for us today was meeting the MakeSense team for the first time. We broke the ice with games that allowed us to know each other better, and then went through an introduction of what MakeSense is and how it operates.

How does MakeSense see change happening? Mobilizing people.

How do they come up with solutions? In groups.

What’s their strategy? Bringing people together.

Something interesting to note: Nothing about their programs is in isolation.

As our maverick cohort of seven is learning the basics of social enterprise, this observation is huge for us to carry throughout the year and into our future social change endeavors: We cannot create change alone. We’re better together.

Design Thinking

Course Snapshot: Essentially, this course is all about answering “How might we...[insert question]…?” through the 5 phases of the Design Thinking process: Empathizing, Defining, Ideating, Prototyping and Testing (you will be reading these words again in future posts! This process is integral to our program and how we go about designing projects).

Day One: Our professor for this course delivered our first lecture from Senegal, where she is leading a MakeSense project. A big personal take away? To really get what this course is about, we must learn to start from the view of others.

Fab Lab 

Course Snapshot: The course that yokes the prototyping component of the design thinking process into our curriculum. Here, we’ll learn how to use software and tools, like 3D printers and laser cutters, to better prepare us for the prototyping component of the Design Thinking process.

Day One: If you’ve ever had an experience in a space where you’re immediately inspired to create upon entering, you’ll understand the feeling that pervaded for our class as we entered Draft Attellier, the Fab Lab space housing the tools we will learn how to use, as well as the professors from whom we will learn. Today showed us a glimpse of what those tools look like in action and teased us with the possibilities of what we can create.

Leadership Development

Course Snapshot: How can we effectively lead social change movements? How can we make a change for a small group of people? How can that impact a community? These are central questions guiding this course. We will move through various tracks that empower us with skills for accelerating community mobilization, engage with other leaders, share ideas and tips, be a part of MakeSense community activities and ultimately lead our own activities, like SenseDrinks, Hold Ups and Workshops.

Day One: The first time we visited the MakeSense HQ as a group! We toured the space that serves as the hub for the social entrepreneurs and met a few more people who would play a role in our journey this year. Beyond this, we learned more about the development tracks MakeSense offers, which help entrepreneurs grow as leaders of and equip them with skills to effect positive impact through social business.

Questioning Everything

As you read and reflect on this synopsis of week one, do you have questions?

Our group did! And a broad spectrum of emotions and experiences informed these questions: Exceeded expectations. Disappointments. Clarity. Confusion. Doubt. Affirmation. Intense gratitude.

I’m going to hone in on that last element shared above: Intense gratitude.

When I reflected on week one, I asked myself “What is it that makes me most grateful?” A number of questions arose:

We’re here?

We are encouraged to explore our passions for design and change?

We have a unique network of support?

Failure is okay, even celebrated?

We get to pioneer this program?

We get to collaborate, learn from others and grow together?

Truly, the most accurate response for me was “All of the above.”

Igniting Fire

As I considered these questions further, it struck me how special this group is. I believe all of us knew going into the program that passion for social change was integral, but something else was too: teamwork is at the program’s core. To affect change, we need the skill to share ideas, to work as a team, and to empathize and connect with people. The roller coaster of emotions and experiences that transpired in week one, coupled with a willingness to express ourselves, created space for us to tap into these skills and affirm that we have each other.