Social Entrepreneurship

In the research line 'Social Entrepreneurship' we look at urgent questions surrounding this theme from a practice-oriented perspective. Such questions are in the area of:

1. characteristics and skills of the social entrepreneur;

2. recognition and acknowledgement of the social enterprise;

3. collaboration in the ecosystem around social entrepreneurship.

We formulate lessons and design practical tools for (future) social entrepreneurs, policy makers and professionals supporting social entrepreneurs.

What do we do?

At the Research Group Entrepreneurship we do scientific and applied research on social entrepreneurship in a broad sense. We work together with various faculties and departments within and outside the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Objectives

The goal is to contribute to the development of social entrepreneurship in the Netherlands, as we see it as an important step towards a sustainable and fair economy. Social entrepreneurs are pioneers on the road to this new economy. We help develop them in different ways:

• We help young people develop their social entrepreneurial skills.
  We do this by researching educational programs around social entrepreneurship and its impact, at a variety of levels. This is how we discover what competencies fit social entrepreneurs. In addition, researchers are of course involved in social entrepreneurship education at the HvA itself.

• We help social enterprises to get a better picture of what they mean to society and to get this recognized.
  Social enterprises are focused on solving social problems. Their contribution to those solutions is expressed in terms of more than just money. But how do you map out impact? And how do you reward that impact? That's what we do research on.

• We help social enterprises collaborate with other organizations and vice versa. The ecosystem around social entrepreneurship is developing rapidly.
  The government is increasingly interested in it and 'regular' companies also like to work with social enterprises. But how exactly do you do that? That is what we are doing research into.

In our research projects we develop new knowledge, but especially practical tools that social entrepreneurs, teachers of social entrepreneurship and others in the ecosystem can use.

In particular, we strive to:

• Gain more insight into the characteristics of social entrepreneurs, and the competencies you need to be a successful social entrepreneur. This provides direct input for the development of education around social entrepreneurship.

• Contribute to better recognition and acknowledgement of social enterprises. This includes working on tools that allow social enterprises to map their social impact. We are also contributing to the debate on the definition of a social enterprise and the development of a new legal form.

• Gain more insight into the workings of social enterprise ecosystems and the collaboration between social enterprises and others within those ecosystems. More and more regional ecosystems are emerging in the Netherlands in which social enterprises collaborate with municipalities and other governments, as well as with socially driven enterprises. What works well in these collaborations and what could be better?

Researchers

Projects