Social entrepreneurship is a form of leadership that maximizes the social return on efforts to change the world while fundamentally and permanently changing the way problems are addressed on a global scale. Social entrepreneurs employ a wide variety of creative approaches and practices from diverse academic disciplines and professional sectors. These methods allow social entrepreneurs to develop and
implement pattern-breaking solutions for previously intractable social problems in ways that are sustainable and scalable to a larger population.
At New York University we have four assumptions that frame our understanding of the field, and shape of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship:
Social entrepreneurship can exist in any sector (private, not-for-profit, and government). Much of the most effective work crosses sectors.
To realize effective and lasting change, social entrepreneurial efforts cannot be relegated to one or two sectors. Policy makers, public service systems, private for profit and not-for-profit concerns are all critical components of sustainable and scalable change.
A “meta-profession,” and therefore cross-university.
Social entrepreneurship is best understood as an approach that can be taken up by a variety of professional disciplines or fields. As such, NYU has chosen to create Reynolds as a cross-university initiative available to students from throughout the greater NYU community. This approach will be a hallmark of our program, and one of the notions that makes it unique.
A focus on the work of social entrepreneurship and not just on the personal characteristics of individual social entrepreneurs.
We have chosen to focus on the work of social entrepreneurship rather than just on the personal characteristics of individual social entrepreneurs. Sustainable and scalable efforts require contributions from people in multiple roles.
Articulate skills, experiences and credentials young people need to move into this emerging field.