90-811 Foundation of Social Innovation and Enterprise
6 units, Carnegie Mellon University
All innovations big and small propel society forward and contribute to economic prosperity. Although we customarily think of innovators and the innovative process as driven primarily by a profit motive there is a growing class of individuals who are directing their creative and entrepreneurial energies to address the challenges of faced by literally billions of people around the world unable to consistently enjoy even the most basic human needs like clean water adequate food and suitable shelter. We might even think of these individuals as extreme innovators given the magnitude of the problems they are addressing and need for radical solutions that defy conventional boundaries. They are literally changing commonly held perceptions of whats possible in both social and economic impact. In addition these innovations often drive entirely new organizational forms to be created specialized enterprises custommade to both do well be profitable and do good save the world. This course provides an introduction to the field for budding social innovators future funders and enablers of their efforts and anyone else interested in learning more about the novel ways that some of the worlds most pressing problems are being addressed. The context for social innovation and the power shifts driving the field will be presented. The introduction of humancentered design and solution prototyping concepts will allow participants to begin formulating their own ideas to solve big problems. Fundamentals in introduction plan modeling and refinement along with an overview of both traditional and emerging capitalization strategies such as microfinance competition prizes venture capital and government funding will shape implementation plans. Particular emphasis throughout the course willa hrefhttpwww.heinz.cmu.eduacademicresourcescourseresultscoursedetailsindex.aspxcid427...Read Morea
Prerequisites: none listed
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