Evaluation of University-Based Platforms in Support of Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The study reports on the operationalization of social entrepreneurship programs that are implemented by two university-based platforms in Turkey. Both initiatives have strategically come together with multiple partners (e.g., for-profit and nonprofit businesses and local governmental agencies) in order to achieve more than what they can accomplish on their own. Resource sharing with the partners, nature of social problems, and program outputs and outcomes were used for exploring the working principles of the two programs. The data collection included secondary data, participant observations, semi-structured interviews with program partners and beneficiaries, and a site visit. The social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the given context was found to be growing yet with gaps in support systems for scale-up projects and impact investing. The findings suggest that the two programs varied in their partnership arrangements, funding, scope, and outputs consistent with their program goals. Identifying the unmet needs in the ecosystem, knowing the platforms' strengths and capabilities, and matching with partners that have complementary resources are found to be effective strategies of the platforms. The study argues that universities are not fully utilizing their vital position to contribute to the improvements of the ecosystem, and more can be achieved by integrating the programs with teaching and research and increasing their specialization in various social issues (e.g., gender equality).