Advancing Social Enterprises: The Role of State Workforce and Economic Development Policy

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Advancing Social Enterprises The Role of State
Workforce and Economic Development Policy
Bob Sheets Director, Research and
Development Business and Industry
Services University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
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State Economic and Workforce Development Policy

• Promoting global competitiveness
• Innovation and science and technology leadership
• Entrepreneurship and venture capital
• Globalization and trade
• Talent development--P-20 education and workforce
  development (e.g., STEM)
• Key issueLinking economic and workforce
  development to expand skilled workforce in face
  of projected shortages and growing concerns about
  leaving communities and workers behind

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Workforce Development for Disadvantaged
Populations

• Improving existing workforce development programs
  for disadvantaged populations
• Expanding incumbent worker training programs to
  low-income workers
• Expanding access to postsecondary education and
  sector-based workforce development programs
  (e.g., bridge programs)
• Major gap--providing transitional employment and
  training opportunities for most disadvantaged
  populations
• Lack of labor market opportunities
• Disincentives in existing federal and state
  programs
• Declining federal and state funding
• Lack of foundation support for ongoing program
  operation

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Promise of Social Enterprise Development

• Moving entrepreneurship strategies to non-profit
  workforce development agencies
• Social entrepreneurship refers to broad set of
  innovative social value creating activities in
  business, government and non-profit sectors
• Focussocial enterprises in non-profit workforce
  development agencies that generate revenues from
  products and services and use revenues to provide
  transition employment, skill development, and
  other workforce development services with limited
  government funding

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Many Leading Models

• Community Development
• Providing essential community services (e.g.
  grocery stores, low-income housing)
• Providing business support services for
  non-profits and small businesses (e.g., IT
  support)
• Staffing Agencies
• Suburban-city linkages with transportation
  support
• Industry-specific ventures for populations facing
  severe barriers (e.g., logistics/distribution
  operations)
• Business Ventures Supporting Education and
  Training Programs
• Restaurants supporting culinary/food services
  program
• Franchises supporting retail management program
• Information technology business supporting IT
  program

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Going to Scale Major Barriers and Focus Areas of
State Policy

• Social entrepreneurs number and quality
• Economic barriers to entry and private,
  for-profit competition
• Capital markets and business financing
• Social capitalaccess to business networks and
  resources
• Institutional and cultural barriers to social
  entrepreneurship

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Social Entrepreneurs

• Potential state strategies
• Expand university interdisciplinary
  entrepreneurship programs to encourage business
  and non-profit management students to pursue
  social enterprise development
• Professional development opportunities for
  current non-profit and social enterprise managers
• Provide mentorship and intern opportunities for
  current and future non-profit and social
  enterprise managers

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Economic Barriers and Competition

• Potential state strategies
• Provide matching grants to non-profit agencies to
  develop business plans
• Provide access to business mentors to help
  develop and review plans
• Social enterprise incubators to provide
  assistance and support from early stage to late
  stage enterprise development

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Capital Markets and Business Financing

• Potential state strategies
• Creating public-private capital funds including
  venture capital funds focused on social
  enterprise development
• Developing or promoting intermediary investment
  organizations for personal and corporate
  investment
• Expanding relationships with financial services
  industry including banks and private investment
  entities

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Social Capital Business Networks and Resources

• Potential state strategies
• Developing social enterprise networks similar to
  entrepreneur networks
• Promoting business alliances and partnerships
  between companies and non-profit organizations
  (e.g., leveraging changing social responsibility
  movement focusing on strategic alliances)
• Providing marketing and promotion assistance to
  government agencies, businesses, and consumer
  markets (e.g., through non-profit agencies
  promoting social causes)

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Institutional and Cultural Barriers

• Potential state strategies
• Promoting public and private forums on social
  entrepreneurship and role of social enterprise
  development in non-profit agencies
• Raising public awareness of social enterprise
  development and their potential contributions

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State Roles and Policies

• Expanding State Entrepreneurship Policies to
  Social Enterprise Development
• Provide matching funding to non-profit
  entrepreneurs to develop business plans
• Expand pool of social entrepreneurs
• Promote connections to business and investor
  networks including state venture funding
• Expand market opportunities
• Expanding Public-Private Awareness and Consensus
  on Role of Social Enterprises
• Promote stronger financial and social capital
  networks
• Promote awareness in public and private sectors

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Advancing State Policies to Support Social
Enterprises

• Engaging state economic and workforce development
  leaders on need for and role of social
  enterprises in non-profit sector
• Engaging business leaders active in both finance
  and investment and philanthropic and non-profit
  sectors
• Promoting university programs in social
  entrepreneurship
• Promoting role of state as strategic investor and
  catalyst similar to role in promoting
  entrepreneurship in state economic development
• Expanding awareness and support of major
  stakeholders and general public

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Contact Information

• Bob Sheets
• Director, Research and Development
• Business and Industry Services
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 1100 East Warrenville Rd.
• Naperville, IL 60563
• 630-505-0500, Ext. 229
• rsheets_at_uiuc.edu

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