Social Entrepreneurship Final

Social Entrepreneurship

Using business strategies to solve social or environmental problems.

Social Business Model

A framework explaining how an organization creates social impact while remaining financially sustainable.

Human-Centered Design (HCD)

A problem-solving approach that starts with understanding user needs and experiences.

Desirability

Whether a solution meets user needs.

Feasibility

Whether a solution can be technically built

Viability

Whether a solution can be financially sustained.

Hear Phase

Stage of HCD focused on gathering user insights and empathy.

Create Phase

Stage of HCD where ideas and prototypes are developed.

Deliver Phase

Stage of HCD where solutions are implemented and scaled.

HCD

Hear, Create, Deliver

Design Thinking

An iterative, human-centered approach to innovation using empathy and experimentation.

Empathy Interview

A qualitative method used to understand user experiences and perspectives.

Empathy Map

A tool that organizes user insights into say, think, feel, and do categories.

Prototyping

Creating simple models of ideas to test and improve them quickly.

Theory of Change

A framework that explains how activities lead to desired social impact.

Impact Measurement

The process of evaluating the social or environmental outcomes of a solution

UN SDGs

17 global goals aimed at solving major social and environmental challenges.

Corporate Social Innovation (CSI)

A business strategy that integrates social impact into core operations.

Co-creation

Collaborating with stakeholders to design solutions.

Qualitative Research

Research focused on understanding experiences, behaviors, and motivations.

Positive Deviance

Identifying successful behaviors within a community and scaling them.

Personal Impact Statement

A statement defining your intended social impact and approach.

What are the three lenses of HCD?

Desirability, feasibility, viability

Why do social solutions often fail?

They don’t consider real user needs or context

What is the purpose of prototyping?

To test ideas quickly and learn through iteration

What does a theory of change show?

How activities lead to outcomes and long-term impact

Difference between CSR and CSI?

CSR = philanthropy, CSI = integrated strategy

Why is co-creation important?

It ensures solutions fit real community needs

What is a social business model?

It explains how an organization creates social value while sustaining itself financially

Why is a social business model important?

It is important because social enterprises cannot rely only on donations. They need a model that allows them to scale impact over time, balancing mission and revenue

what really is human-centered design?

an approach that starts with deeply understanding the people you are designing for

why is human centered design critical in social innovation?

because many solutions fail when they are designed based on assumptions rather than real user needs

what are the three goals of HCD

desirability, feasibility, and viability

Why do social innovation solutions often fail?

Solutions often fail because they do not fully consider user context, behaviors, and constraints

A clean water system in India failed because the containers were too heavy and the payment system didn’t match user needs, even though the water itself was better quality. This is an example of _______ solutions failing

social innovation

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is an iterative, human-centered approach that uses empathy, prototyping, and testing to solve complex problem

how is design thinking applied to social problems?

• Engaging directly with communities

• Testing solutions quickly

• Adapting to local contexts

What is the role of empathy in social entrepreneurship?

Empathy allows entrepreneurs to understand what people actually experience, rather than what we assume they need. It helps uncover hidden barriers, motivations, and behaviors that shape whether a solution will succeed.

Empathy is built through:

• Interviews

• Observation

• Storytelling

How is an empathy map used?

It is used to synthesize qualitative research and identify patterns, helping teams design solutions that better match user reality.

what is the importance of prototyping in social entre?

• Reduces risk

• Encourages learning through failure

• Improves solutions through iteration

A theory of change explains

how a solution leads to desired social impact by mapping:

• Inputs Activities

• Outputs

• Outcomes

• Impact

Why is measuring impact difficult in social entrepreneurship?

because social change is:

• Long-term

• Complex

• Influenced by many external factors