Call for Proposals:

The British Council is pleased to invite you to submit a proposal to participate in our half-day forum on higher education’s role in supporting social entrepreneurs to start-up and thrive.  The event will take place in the afternoon of Wednesday 20 November at Westin Bayshore Vancouver; after the Canadian Bureau of International Education’s Annual Conference.

There are two participation options:

1. Deliver a 15 minute presentation, as part of a panel, on your institution’s experience of supporting social entrepreneurs within a higher education environment.
2. Participate in a facilitated, interactive discussion on best practice in higher education’s support for social entrepreneurs.

Proposal Deadline: Thursday 17 October

Event Synopsis:

Social enterprises use entrepreneurial innovation and reinvest profits to address a whole range of social needs.  In this era of austerity, as funding to traditional forms of public service delivery is cut, social entrepreneurs are called on to fill the gaps.

So how can higher education institutions create an eco-system of support for social entrepreneurs?  What are the skills and tools needed to achieve and sustain positive social impact? What are the skills required to be a social entrepreneur?  Can they be taught or are they innate? 

Higher education institutions across Canada and the UK are developing innovative programmes to engage and train the next generation of social entrepreneurs.  Are they working? 

The British Council is pleased to welcome UnLtd, a UK-based charity which supports social entrepreneurs, to present the results of its H.E. Support Programme.  The Programme has supported around 50 higher education institutions based in England to establish social enterprise support structures.

Example Presentation Themes:

• What can higher education institutions do to promote a culture of social entrepreneurship?  What support is needed and are higher education institutions well placed to deliver?
• How can higher education institutions collaborate to develop effective support for social entrepreneurs?
• What are the systems, tools, methods and processes needed to find, fund and support social entrepreneurs within an educational environment?

Date: Wednesday 20 November 2013; 12.00 – 17.15

Venue: Westin Bayshore Vancouver; in partnership with CBIE Annual Conference.

Background:

This event is part of the British Council’s two-year series of small-scale “conversational conferences” occurring across the Americas. Each one is focused on a relevant shared agenda in higher education and addresses a specific theme of partnership between Americas and UK higher education institutions. The purpose is to create opportunities to share best practice, discuss common concerns and to increase partnerships between institutions.

In 2009, the British Council launched the “Skills for Social Entrepreneurs” programme, which provides training and professional mentoring to aspiring and practising social entrepreneurs around the world.  The programme forms partnerships with national and international organisations and social investors that fund, mentor and support social enterprises.  It also organises public-engagement activities and policy dialogues that promote the social enterprise model, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable economic development at local, national and international levels.