HUMA331 - Big Ideas: Social Enterprise and Innovation

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

UNCC100 Self and Community: Exploring the Anatomy of Modern Society OR PHCC102 Being Human OR PHIL102 Theories of Human Nature OR PHCC104 Ethics and the Good Life OR PHIL104 Introduction to Ethics

Incompatible

HUMA247 Community Engagement and the Civic Professional

Unit rationale, description and aim

Employers increasingly desire employees/graduates who can seek solutions to real world problems and who have practical experience in addressing current social issues. With governments becoming more financially strained, there is an increasing reliance on entrepreneurs and social innovators to meet areas of disadvantage. 

This specified Curriculum capstone unit combines skills learned throughout the Bachelor of Arts degree and encourages students to research and develop a social enterprise or social business concept that relates to a specific area of disadvantage in the community. The unit includes a module on working with children, young people and vulnerable adults that will focus on responding to concerns and developing strategies to support and keep ourselves and others safe. 

Students will study on-campus and are linked to a range of social businesses and social entrepreneurships through webinars, speakers and online resources. The content and assessments will stimulate students to share creative ideas, skills and initiative to design a range of potential projects run by community groups, not-for-profit, social enterprise or otherwise ethically-focused organisations. 

The aim of this unit is for students to draw on, and develop, key skills in the Arts and Humanities: social analysis, targeted research and innovation to find solutions for a more just and equitable world. 

This unit complements the University Core Curriculum that challenges us to consider need and disadvantage in the community around us. Working alongside either UNCC300 Justice and Change in a Global World or PHCC320 The Just Society, HUMA331 provides students with an opportunity to investigate how individuals may assist the co-operative efforts of business, social business, social entrepreneurship, faith groups and not-for-profit agencies to achieve a more just and equitable world and to participate in and contribute to this important work. This unit will aid in the development of distinct graduates who are committed to the pursuit of the common good and are ethically and morally work-ready. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate an understanding of the importance, policies and strategies for building safe and supportive environments for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults (GA1)

LO2 - Combine skills in research and critical analysis to locate, extract and present key information about innovative social enterprise or social business that address an area of disadvantage in society (GA4, GA8)

LO3 - Synthesise understanding of social enterprise as a vehicle for addressing social challenges by imagining, researching, planning and pitching a social business idea (GA2, GA3, GA6)

LO4 - Collaborate with a group in a constructive, respectful, equitable manner to produce a fully functional business concept and budget for a social enterprise or social business (GA2, GA5, GA6, GA7, GA8)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include:

• Recent developments in social enterprise—cases and case studies
• What is a social business?
• Humanities research methods for identifying social issues and disadvantage
• What is a good idea? Creative thinking for social outcomes
• Strategies for pitching a social enterprise concept to an audience
• Developing a concept plan for social entrepreneurship: an introduction for Arts and Humanities students to basic market research, and planning in marketing, financial planning, operations planning, and creating a project budget.
• The entrepreneurial process: pitching ideas, receiving feedback, pivoting ideas and finalising a submission. 
• Workplace strategies for giving and receiving feedback
• Social enterprise, networks and communication
• Transferring project skills to future work and work related documentation.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit will primarily focus on learning through active, group-based, and research-informed learning that is well aligned to the real-world process of developing social entrepreneurship. Learning and teaching will be provided through interactive lectures, including guest lectures from community experts where appropriate, and collaborative group work in tutorials. All activities normally take place on campus with students working collaboratively in groups although the unit may run fully online when circumstances require. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

There are two hurdle tasks for this unit. The first is a compulsory ACU Child Safe module. This is important for students to understand how to respond responsibly, ethically and legally to difficult situations that they observe or experience when working with vulnerable people. This meets learning outcome 1. 

As a capstone unit, students are normally required to demonstrate that they can work effectively both alone and in groups. The second hurdle task requires students to demonstrate the ability to work constructively and respectfully in groups and divide tasks systematically among group members in a formal group contract. Accommodations may be made for students to work alone and come together in groups to peer review each other’s work at appropriate points in the semester. This meets learning outcome 2. 

The weighted assessment in this unit is integral to the social enterprise immersion experience as students will take part in the stages required to conceive of a social business or enterprise. 

The first research assessment requires students to investigate existing social enterprises and to share their findings with the class, thereby expanding knowledge of what already exists in the sector and what types of social enterprises are particularly successful. This assesses learning outcome three. 

The innovation assessment requires students to imagine, research, and pitch an innovative social enterprise or social business that addresses an area of disadvantage in society. This assesses learning outcome four. 

The concept and business plan assessment requires students to develop a prototype concept and business plan for their social enterprise or social business. This assesses learning outcome four. 

Students must pass all assessment tasks to pass this unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians (2013). Submission to Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Issues Paper 3 – Child Safe Institutions Principles for Child Safety in Organisations. http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/b35a65c0-70e4-48bb-a215-d679892ec014/36-Australian-Childrens-Commissioners-and-Guardian 

Barrientos, Eduardo, and Reilly, Anne H. "Unpacking 'Give Back Box:': A Social Enterprise at the Intersection of Leadership, Innovation, and Sustainability." Journal of Technology Management & Innovation 11, no. 1 (2016): 48-54. 

Chahine, T. Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2016. 

Farmer, Jane., Carol. Hill, Sarah-Anne. Munoz, and Edward Elgar Publishing. Community Co-Production Social Enterprise in Remote and Rural Communities. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar, 2012. 

Ferguson, Kristin. "Merging the Fields of Mental Health and Social Enterprise: Lessons from Abroad and Cumulative Findings from Research with Homeless Youths." Community Mental Health Journal 48, no. 4 (2012): 490-502. 

Kernot, C (2009) Social Enterprise: A powerful path to social inclusion, Centre for Social Enterprise, pp6-11. 

Krasna, H. Jobs That Matter Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service. Indianapolis: JIST Publishing, 2010. 

Mason, Chris. "Social Enterprise in Australia: The Need for a Social Innovation Ecosystem." AQ - Australian Quarterly 88, no. 3 (2017): 25-29. 

Preskill, H, and Beer, T (2012) Evaluating Social Innovation, FSG 

http://www.fsg.org/publications/evaluating-social-innovation 

The Big Idea http://thebigidea.org.au/ 

Wortley, R., & Smallbone, S. (2006). Applying Situational Principles to Sexual Offenses Against Children. In R. Wortley, & S. Smallbone (Eds.). Situational prevention of child sexual abuse. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.