Corporates could definitely be a strong help here. We know about CSR and the philanthropic work that many of them do. But what about going further and funding social entrepreneurs to lead business innovations. They could be the risk takers to support social impact organisation aligned with their business vision. We see some corporates starting to innovate by using some of their R&D budget to help incubate social entrepreneurs.
Brittany your point about leadership change and the need for renewal of focus is a great one. My thought is that the rewards of multi-sector engagement have to be apparent at several scales (short-term, mid-range and long-term) and that the short-term benefits must be measurable; these keep the relationship top of mind of new leaders on both sides who come in to the company or org with a mandate to improve the bottom line. They need to know what their resources are, and if the existing partnership can be communicated in those terms (i.e., profitable to some extent) then it may be looked-to for further investment.
Yes I do.
I think the community and the general awareness of intrapreneurship as an opportunity for individuals to make a difference through their companies in a profitable, sustainable and innovative way will make a significant difference. The notion itself is engaging people (at all levels) in some of the world's largest companies...in a way that I don't think would have happened even 5 years ago.
Thanks Caroline, looks interesting !!!
Hello Beth! Excellent points. When engaging it's so important to understand where you are coming from personally and what you are projecting. And to have the confidence to structure a partnership so that it benefits you/your org. A good partner will hopefully take the time to understand these needs and to really listen. But, sadly, that doesn't seem to always be the case.
Caroline and Maggie. I'm willing to help when I have spare time. There are lots of business-people who don't have time to follow these conversations, but are already working as social intrapreneurs in developing countries. I know of several in Nigeria.
Thanks to everyone for joining this discussion!
One final question for our panellists - who were partners on our face-to-face event at the Skoll World Forum today on partnering with corporate intrapreneurs:
What was your key take away?
I am reminded of the story of a social entrepreneur who walked into a partnership negotiation with a large company that had brought 15 people around the table, mostly lawyers. This social entrepreneur had brought his lawyer, too - his brother!
To me, this highlights the need for intermediaries who can counsel both sides on how to approach these conversations, and perhaps institutions that can support social entrepreneurs to try to reduce the asymmetry several people have mentioned - personal coaching, legal services, strategy/management consulting, etc. I'm not sure what a scalable funding model would be for the latter type of institution but it could be neat to consult with a few organizations that already do some of these things - e.g. Ashoka - to identify some key success factors and brainstorm about how to make their type of work more widespread.
Hi all, I wish to add another pain point...that we (Sarvodaya-Fusion www.fusion.lk) in Sri Lanka experience. We as a Social Enterprise work closely with many corporates and build healthy partnerships with intrapreneurs as starting point. Irony is that large companies rarely respect the passion and mission of the inrapreneur and when s/he moves out of the company it is very difficult to re-build. Are we missing some point.??? Wish to learn more from your experiences!!
Harsha Liyanage
Experience has shown it is difficult to expect big business to give time towards forging these relationships through the usual means. This platform could assist by providing some way of meeting up two like minded institutions perhaps this would break the many barriers that exist prima facie.
Great discussion. Time for the third and final question...
What are the lessons for making such partnerships work for both partners?
No one institution can solve the world's problems on its own. As Willie Foote says, we need 'pathological collaboration.' My takeaway is that social intrapreneurs provide a bridge into the corporate world for social entrepreneurs - they are part of our tribe, but sitting on the inside. They can act as translators, champions and co-conspirators. The next step? Feels like match.com for social entrepreneurs + intrapreneurs.
It's powerful to have a cross-sector discussion!
That's been my experience too: see with a common vision to a mutually appealing destination, document at significant stages, emotionally connect and year for success, encourage one another, learn and collaborate together to see if the pilot works and then to believe in the scale-up business.
Beth, right on! We think that associations (both nonprofit and business chambers) can have a role as intermediaries in multi-sector partnerships. Our incentive is increased membership and scaling our networks---growing audiences and speakers that in turn drive more membership growth. The key is to create a space sufficiently broad, flexible and effective to appeal to this wider scope of participants. Simultaneously, it must not be so broad as to operate as a generic online social network, of which we are already inundated.
The scalable funding model for this already exists in the basic structure of membership organizations, but for them to serve in this role, they need to be oriented as mutli-sector groups rather than as traditional trade associations.
I would love to share our model and see where else similar ideas are being put in action.
I was on the lookout for this topic because it is close to home. As a relentless intrapreneur, I have found that there is a need to be filled with respect to partnerships that allow individual employees to “invest” in a multilaterally beneficial program that takes the bite out of poverty. There is a “secret space” where an employee envisions himself taking the cudgels on his own to help solve societal problems. There are these ‘heroes’ with secret identities. Sometimes it may be a small group of employees who take the time during coffee breaks, to discuss doing the right thing without necessarily involving management. Other times it may be a singular employee who is so driven. The thrill of taking your best shot against the world’s ills does exist, folks. There are employees who have their families strongly united behind them in their dreams of leaving a legacy that matters behind, whether it be a hope that scholars become the nation’s leaders to contributing silently to impoverished communities that show promise of evolving into development clusters. I don’t think I am alone when I echo these sentiments. Management is aligned towards a given set of strategies that may not include any of the actions that an intrapreneur or groups of intrapreneurs may be in the positions to activate and implement. This constraint inhibits individual action. Yet, these are the “recruitment” opportunities where social entrepreneurship and intrapreneurs can come together.
Harsha - this is a great point and one that repeatedly surfaced at skoll this year. How to we ensure the sustainability of the partnership beyond individuals?
I think the enabling agent, which is a third party entity that may be an NGO or business groups/societies that includes and allow interactionwith individual members, e.g. Red Cross. Here it is possible to continue one's intrapreneurship beyond corporate employment. One such endeavor is the newly launched Philippine Red Cross Academy where core courses are offered. If I support a volunteer for this program through a scholarship, it may continue whether I transfer employment or not.