A new report, which uncovers the scale and variety of social enterprise activity in over 200 higher education institutions in 12 countries across the globe, was recently launched at the Going Global conference in Cape Town. Commissioned to SERIO at Plymouth University, it found that 75% of the institutions surveyed are currently partnered to a social enterprise and 26% of these are additionally involved in an international linkage or project involving social enterprise.
The launch event brought together academics from Kenya, South Africa, and the UK, to provide insights into why and how universities are collaborating with social enterprises.
Plural partnerships
Partnerships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and social enterprises develop in many ways. They can be initiated by students, faculty, university, or social enterprise. The tie-up may be at an individual, departmental, or institutional level, and engagement may fluctuate through the project lifecycle or in response to evolving social needs.
Many HEIs that have successful partnerships with social enterprises are growing their engagement from defined projects within certain departments to wider, longer commitments. Some are even mainstreaming these partnerships across the university.
Judith Reynolds of Plymouth University says that, “it is absolutely possible to do social enterprise through different disciplines and embed social enterprise learning into a variety of courses.”
Benefits for communities
Many of the world’s fastest growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is in the midst of a “hope revolution”, it is said, yet inequality persists and has a severe impact on poverty and human development. Cape Town, for instance, has the highest Gini coefficient - a commonly used measure of inequality - in the world, and provides a powerful example of the need for inclusive, sustainable economic growth that benefits all members of society.
The University of Cape Town has developed a Master’s programme in inclusive innovation through which students are partnered with a social enterprise. The course takes applicants who have a passion for solving socio-economic challenges. Nicola Jowell, who runs the programme, believes that “through social enterprise we can seed the production of new thinking and new solutions for Africa.”
Within wider development the bigger is better syndrome poses an issue; when something goes well it must be scaled up. But the University of Cape Town programme emphasises the potential of small ideas and encourages students to spend time in underprivileged communities to understand and respond to real needs.
One graduate discovered through his research that many street traders were vulnerable to robbery because they struggled to register with banks and operated cash-only businesses. In response, he developed a relatively simple mechanism to introduce mobile phone payments into the informal economy, and this has improved the lives of many traders.
Benefits for students
Engagement between social enterprises and HEIs opens routes into further education for students who may otherwise feel excluded or have diverse interests and learning styles.
Moreover, students who have chances to work in, or launch their own social enterprise develop a network and a broader skillset that have real world applications. This can increase their academic performance, student experience and employability.
Reynolds notes that, “when it comes to student entrepreneurship, once they get it, they really get it. They become passionate and motivated above other students. You can give them real world skills in a very exciting way.”
Benefits for HEIs
The speakers noted that engaging with social enterprise enhances an HEIs reputation, improves student recruitment, and supports fundraising. It also widens research opportunities for faculty members and supports the internationalisation of their projects.
Abel Kinoti, business school dean at Riara University in Kenya sees social enterprise activity as core to their institution’s values and mission. He said, “as an institution, we are keen to do what other HEIs are not doing; to see what we can do for the greater part of the world; to develop solutions in the African field and showcase this internationally.”
Unintended consequences
Engaging with social enterprise involves more direct contact with communities and people than other university activity, so it entails a level of responsibility which demands sensitivity.
Nicola Jowell warns against unfairly raising expectations. She stresses the need to be honest and realistic about what the partnership can achieve since many initiatives are project and time bound – ie within a term, module, assignment or academic year. Giving support and interest but then withdrawing it after a finite period can have negative repercussions.
Lifelong learning
Students and institutions who engage with social enterprise typically become passionate about it. Many find new motivation and focus for what they want to achieve. As with higher education, social enterprise provides a frame for lifelong learning – both personally and professionally. It keeps you questioning and challenging yourself, the world around you, and what you can do to improve it.
Social enterprise in a global context is one of the first research projects to explore this topic from an international perspective and uncover the benefits that these partnerships produce. 12 country profiles will follow (with additional countries being studied in a second phase of the research) and their case studies will exemplify how to ensure that HEI-SE partnerships are successful and sustainable.
A summary and the full report are available here.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by the British Council, sponsor of the international social enterprise hub
