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The core argument of this article is that universities are part of the social enterprise sector and, therefore, that discerning and fulfilling the university mission means contributing to that sector. The paper examines the concept of social enterprise, and looks at ways in which universities already support the social enterprise sector through the core activities of research and teaching, and in more comprehensive ways. The article critically examines current practices, including an examination of the cooperative sector, and Muhammad Yunus's concept of social business, to identify some prescriptions and proscriptions that will help discern and fulfill the university mission. Importantly, social enterprise means a complete break from the for-profit attitude, but with a willingness to use the tools of the for-profit sector. This combination can enable universities to contribute to healthy local economies and thriving local communities on which the health of the university sector itself depends.
There is a sense in which universities are social enterprises; therefore, discerning and fulfilling the university mission means contributing to the success of the social enterprise sector. Universities can support the social enterprise sector through their core activities - the production and dissemination of knowledge (in other words, research and teaching) - and also in a more comprehensive way. This paper examines ways in which this already happens internationally, in order to identify some innovative practices that can be emulated. It does so critically, through an examination of the cooperative sector (which has a lower failure rate than the private and charity sectors) and Muhammad Yunus's (2010) concept of social business, in order to identify some prescriptions and proscriptions that will help to discern and fulfil the university mission.
What is Social Enterprise?
Firstly, however, we need to look at the meaning of social enterprise. Jo Barraket and her colleagues define social enterprises as:
organisations that: are led by an economic, social, cultural, or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit; trade to fulfil their mission; derive a substantial portion of their income from trade; and reinvest the majority of their profit/ surplus in the fulfilment of their mission (Barraket et al. 2010: 4).
In the current political climate, universities arguably fulfil all of these criteria.
Whereas the private sector is the sphere of competition...