Because social innovation is such a new field, terms are still
being defined. At times terms are used interchangeably when in
reality they have very different meanings. Academics and thought
leaders are still hammering out final definitions, but in the
interim a common language is beginning to emerge. In an on-going
series, I’d like to explain and expand on different terms within
the social innovation space. Today I will start with Social
Entrepreneurship. In their ground-breaking 2007 article, “Social
Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition,” two leaders in the
field, Roger L. Martin & Sally Osberg, define social
entrepreneurs as having three necessary components: (1)
identifying a stable but inherently unjust equilibrium that
causes the exclusion, marginalization, or suffering of a segment
of humanity that lacks the financial means or political clout to
achieve any transformative benefit on its own; (2) identifying
an opportunity in this unjust equilibrium, developing a social
value proposition, and bring