The Social Enterprise Forum
Despite disruptions for some interstate travellers due to volcanic ash and delayed flights, the Social Enterprise Forum 2011 went ahead successfully on Thursday 23rd June. The event brought together practitioners, enablers, buyers, academics and those with an interest to enjoy the breadth of thinking across the spectrum of social enterprise. Around 140 people enjoyed a day where they were able to find each other and be stimulated by a host of great speakers.
The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive for an event that met or exceeded expectations. There was a great diversity in the audience of people from different backgrounds including the government, corporate, philanthropic, and community sectors. All of the sessions were conducted in one room enabling the audience to hear keynote presentations from the two international guest speakers and the two panel sessions involving a diverse mix of local entrepreneurs and practitioners.
The day started with a snapshot of social enterprise in Australia by Mark Daniels from Social Traders. Ana Maria Peredo Director of the Centre for Co-operative and Community-Based Economy at University of Victoria, Canada, followed with an engaging perspective of social enterprise theory as an alternative to neo liberal economics. Her presentation was an excellent platform for thinking about social enterprise as providing a different way of doing business, which puts community at the centre of how people think and respond to issues.
After morning tea, the event focussed on the experience and challenges of running a social enterprise. We heard from three diverse businesses all experiencing levels of success that have come through extended periods of learning. All three were dramatically different in the way that they raised capital, the industry sector in which they operate and their social mission. However, each of them faced similar challenges. The most compelling aspect of this session was the blend of business savvy and social value by all three speakers, along with their openness in talking about financial losses in the early stages and their determination to overcome road blocks along the way.
The session after lunch was used to highlight the range of products and services provided by Social Traders for both start-up (explorers) and existing social enterprises. This was followed by a presentation from Jeffrey Robinson, from Rutgers University in New Jersey who shared key lessons captured from research into social entrepreneurship around the world. These lessons were presented as practical tools that can be applied to any social venture.
The discussion during the closing Forum session at the end of the day was focused around impact measurement and investment.
Social Traders was pleased to co-host this Forum with the Centre for Social Impact and the Asia Pacific Social Impact Leadership Centre at Melbourne Business School. Our thanks goes to all those who took the time out to join the Forum, in particular to our local and international speakers.
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