Predictions for the Future...of Social Entrepreneurship

As we conclude this class, the final week’s readings are focused on the future of social innovation and enterprise.  Moving away from looking at the policy or funding of social innovation and enterprise, the articles looked at what next steps are, ranging from discussing ways to measure the impact, to looking at what new or future innovations are succeeding or failing, and why.  On one hand there is the 3D Printing being used to help people with disabilities, while on the other there is the probable failure of the internet-balloons in Kenya.  These articles show us that one thing is clear: the future of social innovation and enterprise is uncertain.

To dive deeper into this topic, the always trusty Forbes website provided a great article titled “Five Predictions for the Future of Social Entrepreneurship,” which goes through a list of likely predictions on the topic.  The first prediction is that social entrepreneurship will fold as an independent sector and be incorporated into the existing sectors.  This should be seen as a positive movement, as the tenants of social innovation will emerge in large corporations.  The second prediction is that innovators and investors will need to rethink the ability to post high profit margins while remaining aligned to their organizational mission. The third prediction holds that “the greatest social change will be unleashed by moving the corporate needle” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2012/11/19/five-predictions-for-the-future-of-social-entrepreneurship/).  This means that, much as suggested by the first prediction, primary change will come through the adoption of socially-minded policies within the existing for-profit corporate realm, as opposed to small yet revolutionary start-ups.  The fourth prediction is that social impact assessment will become both more sophisticated and more integrated into sector-wide analysis.  This will help to measure the impacts of enterprises across the board.  The final prediction says that, in line with other job sectors, social innovators will be prone to continual career change, as the new normal is for constant career changes throughout an individual’s working-life. 

Given the uncertain nature of social innovation, it is a hard call as to whether or not any or all of these will come true.  I do think that the first and third are likely to come true, as they seem to be the natural progression that would be expected.  As social enterprises become more and more common, it is expected that more companies will start to incorporate the innovations and social-impacts into their existing models.  This will be beneficial to society at large, for instead of rely on small-time innovators and venture funding, social change will be aided by the large corporations that receive large profits.  These 2 changes are almost incongruent with change #2, stating that agents of change will need to recalibrate their goals of social change and large profit margins.  With this incongruence, I am unsure as to which theory will win out.  Of course, it would be better if profits and missions can both thrive.  What do you think will happen with these predictions?  Do any stand out as more or less likely to occur? Are any more or less beneficial to society?  It will be important to track these changes to see the direction everything goes.