The coming months will see a lot of activity on the social enterprise front.....

Firstly, the first student run social enterprise conference in the UK is back again in Oxford on the 29th - 30th October. 
http://www.theemergeconference.org/ 


There is also the guardian social enterprise forum which is on the 8th of november, which is set to be a huge event.http://www.guardian.co.uk/socialenterprise

During Freshers Fortnight, the social enterprise has been busy organising new and exciting speakers like the "This is Rubbish" campaign and the "People's Supermarket from Bloomsbury. People are coming from all over the country to make the first student-run Social Enterprise Conference one to remember.

http://www.thisisrubbish.org.uk/
http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/
http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/ and many more.......

In the meantime, we are still trying to keep our ears on the ground with the latest in the sector. For a good overview of what the social enterprise landscape looks like in the UK have a look at 

http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/data/files/publications/Fightback_Britain.pdf 

It gives some tangible statistics and research into some of the enterprises . One of the best definitions I have read recently is "entrepreneurial activity with an embedded social purpose" (Austin, Stevenson, & Wei-Skillern, 2006).

The actual concept of social entrepreneurship is one that is constantly debated and contested. But still is an exciting area of debate and discussion as Michael Porter from Harvard Business School puts it

 “Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues we face. The purpose of the corporation must be redefined as creating shared value, not just profit per se. This will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity growth in the global economy. It will also reshape capitalism and its relationship to society."

At the cutting edge, we would like to explore this area more and would like to engage in the conversation that is happening globally.

Be a part of it.

We are getting excited about the first student run Social Enterprise Conference in Bristol and would like to share some of the things that we are reading, watching and keeping our eye on.

Been watching Sasha Dichter at the TED conference speaking on his generosity experiment as he addresses some of the issues that surround accountability in social businesses and non-profits. 

http://vimeo.com/29140232

Have found myself referring regularly to Ken Robinson