Why Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship?
A number of policies exist at the national, European and international levels, which highlight the importance of social innovation and social enterprise in today's society. They include:
- The National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022 from the Department of Rural and Community Development.
- 'Working to Change' - Social Enterprise and Employment Strategy 2021-2023 from the Department of Justice.
- Impact of the European Commission's Social Business Initiative. This initiative was established in 2011 to support social enterprise and social economy development and create favourable environments for them to flourish.
- Covid-19 Action Agenda - Leaders on the Front Line: Why Social Entrepreneurs Are Needed Now More than Ever (2020) by the World Economic Forum.
Many wicked problems exist in today's society. That is why the UN developed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, in order to deal with the world's most pressing social and environmental issues.
From Passion to Action encourages academic staff and students to look at the Sustainable Development Goals differently - to go beyond understanding what they are and why they exist, and move towards thinking about how we can contribute to the goals through social innovation and entrepreneurship.
We ask educators to consider the following:
- What wicked problems are challenging society today? How do these relate to the SDGs?
- What skills and competencies do your students have that could contribute towards creating socially innovative solutions - and thus contribute towards the SDGs and positive social change?
- How can you best support your students to deliver these solutions?
- What resources and networks do you need to guide students in developing solutions?
More information about SIE and the SDGs coming soon!