Lean Startup for social impact
Purpose: This paper aims to explore an adaptation of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) program, which uses the Lean Startup methodology to help STEM scientists commercialize their research. The adaptation, known as I-Corps for Social Impact (I-Corps SI), extends the for-profit canonical model to include mixed revenue and non-profit business models, to help researchers generate social impact. Design/methodology/approach: A research team of policy and non-profit experts observed and adapted a canonical I-Corps process, then interviewed academics who are scaling and sustaining socially impactful solutions from their research, including past I-Corps participants, to validate research team learning. Findings: The paper describes limitations of the I-Corps model and modifications required to enhance social impact. Practical implications: While the field of social entrepreneurship has grown rapidly over the past few decades, social scientists have lagged behind in translating evidence-based research into solutions that can be scaled and sustained to achieve social impact. The paper presents an evidence-based case for a pedagogical tool to close this gap. Originality/value: A focus on validated learning and business model development supports a paradigm shift within the social sciences, which can help spur greater social innovation from evidence-based research.
Year of publication: |
2018
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Authors: | Semcow, Kathryn ; Morrison, Jenny Knowles |
Published in: |
Social Enterprise Journal. - Emerald, ISSN 1750-8614, ZDB-ID 2451416-0. - Vol. 14.2018, 3 (06.08.), p. 248-267
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Publisher: |
Emerald |
Saved in:
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