Education

__Social Entrepreneurship in Education __ = = toc

**Introduction** Education is the new frontier for social entrepreneurship. In 2000, the United Nations drafted a succinct list of eight goals for all member nations to accomplish by 2015. Achieving universal primary education ranks second on that list, in hopes of being able to "ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling" ("Millennium Development Goals"). With this goal in mind, non-profit organizations and social entrepreneurs have contemplated potential solutions for gradually closing the worldwide achievement gap. Both nationally and globally socially-minded people are tackling the education gap by applying business principles to today’s problems. The following four case studies showcase the different ways social entrepreneurship can be adapted to education.

OLPC works on a platform of three basic principles “1) Children are our most precious natural resource, 2) The solution to poverty, peace, environment is education, [and] 3) Teaching is one, but not the only way to achieve learning” (Negroponte, 2006). Negroponte strategically phrases his efforts as an educational project, but not a design of an adequate and enriching curriculum (Negroponte, 2006). OLPC works with communities when implementing their product and certainly does more than merely giving laptops to children in developing countries (Negroponte, 2006). In some cases, the distribution of laptops sparks more improvements to be made across the country. For instance, since signing a contract with OLPC, the government in Rwanda explained that the introduction of the XO laptops would create more of a demand for internet access and electricity throughout the country (Davenport). This subsequent interest in development within the national infrastructure will allow for an increase in economic and educational resources to become available for citizens.

In the sense of an entrepreneurial spirit, OLPC is a non-profit organization; therefore, the organization must sell an idea and methodology in order to gather assistance pro bono. There are no designated sales or marketing teams, rather, the organization depends on donors and inexpensive exposure, such as TED Talks, in order to make their accomplishments and goals known (Negroponte, 2006). Despite doubts from various critics, Negroponte stands his ground and proclaims, “When you tell me something's impossible, that's going to make me want to try” (East).

Implementation
Before intervening in any community, it is critical that there is a firm understanding of the native culture and customs. Prior to sending laptops to a foreign nation, the OLPC team confronts the governing body of that nation. Ministries of Education tend to have the most stringent standards; therefore, OLPC attempts to start in that field first (Negroponte, 2006). The OLPC project is not seeking to outline a curriculum of any sort, only provide the tools necessary to do so. The national governments play a powerful role in the implementation of educational standards after the materials needed to do so have been provided.

Similar to that in Rwanda, the donations made in Ethiopia have a lasting effect on society. When customizing the keyboard for Ethiopian students, the designers of the XO laptop had to develop the first keyboard ever to be produced in Amharic, the primary language in Ethiopia (Negroponte, 2007). The computers and keyboards released will become the status quo for the future technological market. This is a prime example of how the dominion of social entrepreneurship can be extended to the marketing of ideas as well. Case in point, the OLPC team must be constantly aware of the impact their presence and donations hold, for the impact is long withstanding.

From an economic standpoint, Negroponte is a firm believer in the power of scale. Rather than slowly distributing laptops throughout the world, Negroponte insists on launching in substantial increments. Consequently, costs begin to decrease from roughly $200 per unit to hopefully $50 per unit (Negroponte, 2006). The laptops are composed of inexpensive materials, but Negroponte insists that they are not of the “cheap” quality that tends to carry a negative connotation (Negroponte, 2007). The laptop is designed to be durable and withstand harsh conditions in varying climates, which decreases the cost of maintenance and upkeep.

Sustainability
Of all the components of development in foreign communities, sustainability is by far the most important. The OLPC team can design, produce, and distribute the XO laptop to thousands of children worldwide, but their efforts would hold no weight if there were no plans set to sustain the project. The prim﻿ary force ensuring sustainability for this endeavor is the XO laptop and its ease of use. Negroponte is an advocate in a child’s ability to explore settings and functions on a computer and learn how to maintain it on their own with little supervision and guidance (Negroponte, 2006).

Criticisms
While the OLPC program has sought to set a new standard in incorporating technology in developing communities worldwide, it has faced criticism from various sources in the field of social entrepreneurship. OLPC is commonly accused of overreaching and setting goals too high. However, Negroponte mentions that the only way he could keep his costs down from the initial project start time was to produce on a larger scale. Subsequently, the laptops were successful in some communities and failed in others. All in all, Negroponte resists being discouraged. If all does not work out as initially planned, he simply responds, “so what?” (Negroponte, 2006). Regardless, he continues to work with the organization and perfect his business model. Social entrepreneurship, like many factors in the realm of development and international affairs, requires trial and error in order to eventually reach a point of successful work.

The video below features Negroponte speaking at the TED Conference in December of 2007 ("Nicholas Negroponte: One Laptop per Child, two years on"). He has spoken at TED Conferences on various occasions and his progress has subsequently been followed.

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History
The Harlem Children’s Zone is an urban renewal project that grew out of Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families, starting in 1990, aimed at “breaking the cycle of generational poverty for the thousands of children and families it serves” (“History”). Rheedlen was already offering a variety of services, but they had limited resources and faced staggering amounts of poverty and social problems. Geoffrey Canada decided to implement a new program in which he addressed the root causes of social problems rather than attack one symptom at a time. His overarching goal has been to prove that essentially “poor kids from the inner city can learn just as well as affluent kids from the other side of America” (Schorn). While their approaches to this problem take a multi-leveled approach, a majority of their work is centered around education. As Canada himself explains, “They get what middle-class and upper middle-class kids get. They get safety. They get structure. They get academic enrichment. They get cultural activity. They get adults who love and them and are prepared to do anything” (Schorn). HCZ started offering services to a single block in Harlem, and by implementing a comprehensive 10-year business plan has increased their multitude of services to 24, 60, and now almost 100 blocks of Harlem. In doing so, they have served as one of the most successful examples of social entrepreneurship as the term and idea itself have come into being. Their business model has been central in the formation of the Obama Administration’s new Promise Neighborhoods program, an initiative to increase community involvement and quality of education in cities across the nation. The program is a tent pole in the broader Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy. They are a perfect example of not only being successful in helping people, but in innovating new business models that can (hopefully) be implemented elsewhere, in order to achieve the greatest amount of benefit for our society as a whole. While this entry exists in the education category, the fact that the work of the Harlem Children’s Zone does not fit neatly under that moniker is expressive of how innovative their work has been in it’s comprehensiveness.

Geoffrey Canada[[image:http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/09/22/alg_canada.jpg width="302" height="211" align="right"]]
The man that stands at the center of all the organization’s success is named Geoffrey Canada. Prior to his new initiative, the organization was known as Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families. Canada brought a series of redefinitions of the organization and their mission, prompting a change in name for the organization. The Bridgespan Group writes, “Canada had focused Rheedlen’s mission on a specific geography, set of recipients, and menu of services. He had made hard choices about many valued programs. Last but not least, Rheedlen had leveraged its new “business plan” to attract more than $10 million in multi-year support for its strategy. Ultimately, all of these changes were reflected in the decision to rename the organization Harlem Children’s Zone as of April 2002” (Bridgespan 2-3). In forming a new, more cogent program out of the existing one, Canada had to address several challenges with a business-like mindset. It’s clear that the overarching vision and business savvy of Geoffrey Canada was integral to the program’s success.

Impact
The impact of HCZ is important far beyond the scope of it’s own direct positive impact, though. While it is important not to understate the positive impact that HCZ has made locally in Harlem, this program is important in the history of social entrepreneurship because it is right now being widely adopted as a model for community building nation-wide. Seelos defines “social entrepreneurship” as “organizations that have created models for efficiently catering to basic human needs that existing markets and institutions have failed to satisfy” (Seelos 241). Their success in innovating socially minded business models that can then be implemented on a much larger scale should be integral to the ever evolving definition of social entrepreneurship. Martin and Osberg write, “Take, for example, a social service provider running a single school for an underprivileged group that creates great outcomes for that small group of students. If the organization uses those outcomes to create a social activist movement that campaigns for broad government support for the wide adoption of similar programs, then the social service provider can produce an overall equilibrium change and have the same effect as a social entrepreneur” (Martin 39). HCZ has managed to take the attention of a government and nation that are desperately seeking substantive solutions to generations-old problems. Whether their models can be applied successfully elsewhere has yet to be fully seen. Barack Obama on Harlem Children’s Zone and the Promise Neighborhoods initiative:

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History[[image:bti_sayal.jpg align="right"]]
The Bharti Foundation was founded in 2000 by Sunil Mittal and aims to make free, high quality primary and secondary education available to poor children in rural areas of India. The Bharti Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, which is among other things, India’s largest telecommunications company (Wikipedia). The organization focuses mainly on opening and maintaining primary schools in rural areas that have no public school or need an alternative to the poorly-run government schools. Government schools often lack necessities such as clean drinking water, a working infrastructure, and a reliable teaching staff. We can look at the Bharti foundation as an example of social entrepreneurship in that a very large amount of the funding for the organization comes from a for profit parent company, not private donations. We also see the organization managed with big business principles and efficiency; qualities that the founder Sunil Mittal mastered in the process of making Bharti Enterprises one of the most profitable businesses in India.

Mission[[image:brti_class.jpg align="right"]]
The Bharti Foundation’s vision is to “To help underprivileged children and young people of [India] realize their full potential”. (Bhartifoundation.org) They are working to achieve this mission by creating and supporting programs that encourage sustainable social changes through education and use of technology. The largest portion of the work the foundation does is creating and maintaining rural schools in the northern states of India. The schools aim is to “develop students from rural areas into well rounded personalities, empowered to step into the world as confident, responsible citizens” ( Lakhani ). Rural northern India is one of the most poverty stricken areas in the world. Clean water, employment and access to education is very limited. A representative for the organization stated at school opening that "While India makes impressive strides with its rapid economic growth, 300 million children in the age group of seven years and above do not have access to education. At Bharti, we believe that education is the single most important tool to bring about social and economic transformation and children in rural India must get an equal opportunity for education. With the Bharti School Program, we are committed to make a difference and bridge the education divide between the urban and rural pockets of India, taking forward the agenda of inclusive economic growth" ( Lakhani ). The rural schools focus on enrolling girl children as a way of empowering women in the community. Traditionally in these rural areas of India women have not been encouraged to attend school. The Bharti Foundation aims to empower women and the community by especially focusing on the education and retention of girls in their schools. This is a technique that has proven very effective on other poor communities in countries like Afghanistan and Kenya. Class, lunch and uniforms are free for students. The foundation initially considered charging a small fee of students to cover some of the cost of their education, but they found that even relatively small tuition costs excluded many children from attending the schools. For some children, the meal they receive while attending school may be the only thing they eat that day ( India EduNews ). India is a vastly growing country and because of this has begun to feel the effects of pollution and environment degradation. To address this problem all of the Bharti schools are built using the most environmentally sustainable building practices and aim to be a catalyst of environmental reform in the community where they are set up. Additionally, the program aims to create employment in rural areas by hiring local teachers and support staff. The foundation has a team of 1600 employees; 1100 are teachers, the rest are involved in logistics, training, curriculum design, and other support roles (Bhartifoundation.org)

Funding and Effects
The Bharti foundation receives many large donations from international corporations, such as Wal-mart, who choose to sponsor schools or classes. In reality the majority of the program is funded by profits from the many different companies that make up Bharti Enterprises. This includes many different phone, electric and insurance companies that span between Asia, Africa and Europe. In total, the foundation has opened around 300 primary and secondary schools in India that are educating around 30,000 students and by 2020 they plan to have over 100,000 students (Lakhani). The current statistics from the Bharti Foundation cannot accurately represent the long term effect of the program on communities, as they have only been in operation for around ten years. What they do know is that about one in three students continue on to get a the equivalent of a high school diploma and about one in ten of their students receives a college level education (India EduNews). This is a vast improvement from what these children would have received without the Bharti Foundation which, would most likely be no education at all.

Mission
UoPeople seeks to educate students in developing countries who would otherwise not be able to afford a degree. Reshef founded the university on his belief that education is not a right, but a privilege. Educational materials are sourced from a partnership with the Open Courseware Consortium, a network of over 200 institutions of higher education. These course materials are from a variety of leading institutions and are free and publicly available, thus keeping costs minimal. The approach to learning at UoPeople is collaborative, utilizing elements of social media to further students’ goals. The peer to peer model that UoPeople employs allows students to support each other throughout the learning process by stressing communication through virtual means. UoPeople also has a partnership with the Yale Law School Information Society Project to anticipate future problems that this educational model will face and to form a global network beyond the developing world.

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Academics
The university offers associate and bachelor's degrees in business administration and computer science and all classes are taught in English. These degrees are offered because of a belief that graduates will have the most success in finding employment in these fields because they have high demand. Founder, Shai Reshef, has stated that a degree could cost as little as $4,000 in exam and enrollment fees (New Tuition-free Online University). Classes have about 15-20 students and one instructor to oversee the students' progress. Students work collaboratively to learn the material and they may seek outside assistance from a network of volunteer professors and other academics.

Presently UoPeople is not accredited but is on track to be evaluated by an American accreditation body since it is based in Pasadena, California. Until then UoPeople cannot grant degrees to students, therefore accreditation is a top priority.

Sustainability
Tuition is free, however, the university charges small fees for enrollment and exams. Enrollment fees range from $15 to $50 USD and exam fees range from $10 to $100 per exam. The fees vary based on how poor the student’s country is, with students from poorer countries paying less. UoPeople has cut costs by not having a marketing budget and by utilizing volunteers whenever possible instead of paid employees. Despite the lack of a marketing budget, the university received 3,000 applications in its first two semesters (Tuition-Free University Gains a Following). University of the People truly adheres to the model of social entrepreneurship by charging only the minimum needed to sustain the venture into the future. This makes education accessible to those who previously could not afford a college degree, without simply giving them a handout.

International Acclaim
University of the People has received a lot of media attention in part because it launched with a United Nations backed team of distinguished academics from elite universities. Their advisory board includes many high-profile individuals who have made great strides in the fields of education and business. This prestige has only given way to more international support. In September 2010 the University of the People announced a partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative to expand access to higher education in Hati. UoPeople will establish physical 'learning centers' in the Hatian capital, Port-Au-Prince, to educate 250 students over a three year period. These learning centers will provide students with internet access and other support so they can attend UoPeople online.