A Window into Social Enterprise, by Shannon McQuillan and Edward Stanford

World forum helps spark deliberate effort to share learnings from a burgeoning field

This may not have been a key intent of the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) held in Calgary, Alta.,  in early October, but attending the conference affirmed Urban Systems principal Edward Stanford’s conception of the term ‘social enterprise’ — which is not a Canadian one.

The term is becoming more and more prominent as the field of social enterprise grows, but it still remains mysterious to many. What actually differentiates it from other businesses?

Edward sees social enterprise as a corporation fulfilling some of the same social impacts as a nonprofit organization, but through a profit-generating business model. This tends to be the understanding coming out of Australia and the United Kingdom. According to the Social Enterprise Council of Canada social enterprises are: “(…) businesses owned by non-profit organizations, that are directly involved in the production and/or selling of goods and services for the blended purpose of generating income and achieving social, cultural, and/or environmental aims.”

In Canada, social enterprises tend to be seen as a tool for nonprofit organizations —they can run social enterprises as part of the means to achieving their mission and contributing to vibrant communities.

At this stage, social enterprise is not a codified, legal business term, so various understandings of it are widespread. Enterprising Non-profits, a leading Canadian organization in the field, lists four different definitions on its website, including American and British versions.

Straddling the line between for-profit business and social cause

Shannon McQuillan, a principal and member of the people development team at Urban Systems, appreciated being surrounded by a variety of well-established and well-respected social enterprises at SEWF.

“I expected them to enlighten us on best practices and silver bullets, when in fact many pointed to the challenges associated with straddling the line between a for-profit business and a social cause organization,” she says. “Clearly, it is easier to be one or the other, but what keeps them going is knowing that they have a greater impact on communities when profit and cause are inextricably linked.”

“Our higher calling is all about community and this notion of doing good in our communities has been a part of our DNA since the beginning. Add to this the fact that our communities are increasingly looking to business — to bring business type thinking to the social, human challenges that they face. It seems to me that Urban is uniquely qualified to have a significant impact,” she says. Shannon is looking to increase dialogue, experimentation and shared learning across Urban Systems to expand a deliberate effort around social enterprise. She also hopes to create opportunities for more people within Urban to connect with some of the insightful speakers she witnessed at SEWF. “I find it so helpful to talk about possibilities with the people that are already on the ground doing this kind of work. It definitely helps me to make sense of things and provide the confidence to try some new ways of working,” she says.

An opportunity to support young social entrepreneurs

Both Shannon and Edward encountered many remarkable stories and examples shared at SEWF. The passionate commitment and confidence among young people to do good was one of those remarkable areas.

“We’re already seeing it within Urban Systems, where young people are coming to Urban Systems with a very clear idea of the kind of company they want to be working with,” Edward says.

The talk by former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin at SEWF also stood out to both Shannon and Edward. His talk focused on the importance of the social business sector partnering with aboriginal communities and supporting young entrepreneurs in aboriginal communities. The former prime minister spoke about his perspective before becoming an MP, and how he grew to realize that better education holds a key to addressing many of the challenges faced in Canada.

“There was a young boy (the former prime minister) met in a First Nations community who had come up to him and wanted to find out who he should go to for business coaching,” Edward says. “And of course there aren’t a whole lot of business coaches out there who are focused on young entrepreneurs in First Nations communities.

“The same young man asked him, ‘Where could I go to get some start-up funding for a business?’ And there are probably not a whole lot of institutions out there that jump at the opportunity to help finance entrepreneurs on reserves or off reserves,” Edward says. “(Paul Martin) was saying that they’re the fastest growing population sector that is being ignored, and they’re a great opportunity.”

Inspired by broader national and global movements in social innovation, Urban Matters was formed in March of 2013 by its parent organization, Urban Systems Ltd, as a means to create significant, sustainable impact in communities through a blended value business model.