Social Impact Strategy: Tools for Entrepreneurs and Innovators

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Social Impact Strategy: Tools for Entrepreneurs and Innovators

Instructor: Peter Frumkin

57,417 already enrolled

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,480 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

7 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,480 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

7 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 4 modules in this course

This course offers an introduction to social impact strategy and social entrepreneurship, including key concepts, an overview of the field, and tools to get started as a changemaker. Students will learn how to innovate and design new ideas and new organizational forms to implement those ideas. Students who take this course will be better prepared to launch social impact

organizations of their own invention. By moving through four stages, Define, Design, Pilot, and Scale, students will turn their passion for changing the world into concrete plans for launching a nonprofit or for-profit venture designed to achieve a social goal. This course will allow students to systematically think through problems; develop and test an innovative solution; assess risk, competition, and performance; and spread impact in a way that is financially sustainable. Students who complete the course become eligible to apply for an in-person educational experience, called the Global Social Impact House. GSIH is a seven-day residential program that provides fellows with the tools, community and training they need to advance their ventures. Workshops are customized to the needs of fellows and explore advanced concepts in business models, design thinking and leadership. The program is also designed to help fellows build meaningful, global connections while living together in an inspirational host location. For more information on the Global Social Impact House, please visit: https://csis.upenn.edu/residential-program/gsih/

Learn about the key qualities of social innovation, social enterprise, and social entrepreneurs. How do social entrepreneurs approach problem solving? How might we identify social initiatives that are truly innovative in their approach to delivering on their mission, sustaining their venture, or scaling their impact? This module introduces the topic and offers examples of initiatives you might study as cases organizations throughout the course.

What's included

7 videos1 reading1 assignment2 discussion prompts

7 videosTotal 33 minutes

0.1. What to Expect in this Course2 minutes
1.1 Introduction to Social Innovation6 minutes
1.2 Traditional approaches to public problem solving5 minutes
1.3 A social entrepreneur's approach to problem solving6 minutes
1.4 Introduction to the social enterprise and the social enterprise spectrum6 minutes
1.5 The Importance of the business model1 minute
1.6 Traits of social enterprise across the spectrum6 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Recommended Readings for Week 1. Introduction10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 40 minutes

Week 1 Quiz: Introduction to Social Innovation, Enterprise, and Entrepreneurship40 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Introductions10 minutes
Admirable social innovators and entrepreneurs10 minutes

Learn the inputs and basic blueprints of a well-articulated vision. Develop an understanding of the design process, and learn to use an empathy map and a mind map for client-oriented innovation. Learn to build a logic model, which will help you articulate your innovation's theory of change from resources (inputs) to activities to impact. We encourage students to apply these tools immediately, to an active or idea-stage social initiative, that you are working directly on or that you admire.

What's included

11 videos1 reading1 assignment2 discussion prompts

11 videosTotal 58 minutes

2.1 How Do We Find Innovations? Introduction to the Design Process7 minutes
2.2 Why is Design Thinking Important for Social Innovation?4 minutes
2.3 How to Design Part 1: Spark Useful Insights by Listening with Empathy5 minutes
2.4 How to Design Part 2: Identify the Most Powerful Insights and Potential Solutions by Building a Mind Map6 minutes
2.5 How to Design Part 3: Prototyping3 minutes
2.6 Embracing Creativity and Innovation4 minutes
2.7 Articulating your Roadmap to Impact: The Logic Model3 minutes
2.8 The Logic Model: Critical Elements6 minutes
2.9 The Logic Model: How to Use It7 minutes
2.10 Three Examples of Logic Models10 minutes
2.11 Tips for Building a Strong Logic Model2 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Recommended Readings for Week 2: Define and Design10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Week 2 Quiz: Finding Innovations and the Road to Impact30 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Mind Mapping for Powerful Insights and Potential Solutions10 minutes
Logic Models for Building a Roadmap to Impact10 minutes

We must test our ideas in the real world, early and often, to determine if they can truly deliver on either their social or financial mission. Learn to build and use the balanced scorecard, a key tool to assess the real-world performance of a social innovation. The scorecard will allow you to measure and articulate both the initiative's current reach and health, as well as the work that is left to be done. An innovation achieves the intended social impact in a way that is financially supportable may be a candidate for scale. Learn to assess whether and how to approach scale for your social innovation.

What's included

10 videos1 reading1 assignment2 discussion prompts

10 videosTotal 47 minutes

3.1 Two Approaches to Measuring Performance: Social Return on Investment (SROI) and Ratings6 minutes
3.2 A Third Approach to Measuring Performance: The Balanced Scorecard5 minutes
3.3 Examples of Balanced Scorecards7 minutes
3.4 How to Develop a Balanced Scorecard - Overview2 minutes
3.5 How to Develop a Balanced Scorecard - Detail7 minutes
3.6 What is Scale?4 minutes
3.7 The Importance of Scale in the Social Sector2 minutes
3.8 Five Approaches to Scale - Overview3 minutes
3.9 Five Approaches to Scale - Details and Implications5 minutes
3.10 Approaching Scale Critically5 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Recommended Readings for Week 3. Pilot and Scale10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Week 3 Quiz: Performance Measurement and Scale30 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Performance Measurement10 minutes
Paths to Scale10 minutes

This course concludes with an exploration of the organizational forms and modes of delivering impact across the business model spectrum.

What's included

13 videos1 reading1 assignment2 discussion prompts

13 videosTotal 59 minutes

4.1 Why you Need a Business Model8 minutes
4.2 Features of the Business Model3 minutes
4.3 Business Models along the Business Model Spectrum4 minutes
4.4 Choosing a Model - Introduction5 minutes
4.5 Choosing a Model - How to Choose5 minutes
4.6 Drilling Down on Assessment 2: Competitive Positioning7 minutes
4.7 Competitive Positioning: Market Characteristics and Differentiation5 minutes
4.8 An Example of Competitive Positioning: Blue Avocado6 minutes
4.9 An Example of Competitive Positioning: Jolkona4 minutes
4.10 Key Criteria of Competitive Positioning Assessment3 minutes
4.11 Choosing a Model - Pathways Lead to Many Organizational Forms that Can Result6 minutes
4.12 Balancing Mission and Profit2 minutes
4.14 The bottom line1 minute

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Recommended Readings for Week 4. Sector Selection and Business Models10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Week 4 Quiz: Sector Selection and Business Models30 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Sector Selection and Competitive Positioning10 minutes
What's Next and Staying in Touch10 minutes

Instructor

Instructor ratings

(375 ratings)

Peter Frumkin

University of Pennsylvania

3 Courses84,506 learners

Offered by

University of Pennsylvania

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Reviewed on Nov 11, 2019

Excellent course for anyone planning to start a nonprofit or wanting to think more strategically about an existing nonprofit. Lessons are well-organized, concise, and informative.

Reviewed on Aug 30, 2020

Great course, questionable scoring model on quizzes. Can get 12 out of 13 questions correct yet still score a 54%. Too much emphasis on one question rather than broad understanding of concepts.

Reviewed on Jul 28, 2024

Amazing experience! I've learned a lot from this course on how to start an organization that could alleviate the sufferings of certain population if not all of my society.

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Frequently asked questions

This is the only Coursera class that invites students who complete the course to apply for an in-person educational experience, called the Global Social Impact House: http://socialimpactstrategy.org/residential/gsih.

The course is available on the following dates:

Oct 3 - Nov 7

Oct 31 - Dec 5

Nov 28 - Jan 2

Dec 26 - Jan 30

Jan 23 - Feb 27

Feb 20 - Mar 27

No, you do not have to pay for the certificate. You simply have to complete the course and apply for consideration. For more information on the Global Social Impact House, please visit: socialimpactstrategy.org/residential/gsih

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.