The Fourth Sector, in partnership with the Social Enterprise Alliance and Corporation 20/20, recently convened a group of practitioners and thought leaders on the topic of new legal forms for social enterprises that mix mission and profit. The group discussed some of the legislative changes that could be made to allow for a “fourth sector” of organizations that could leverage both for-profit investments and philanthropic donations to speed up social problem solving.
 

The America Forward coalition is honored to partner with Root Cause and Public Innovators to present new ideas for ways social entrepreneurs and government can work together to solve our nation’s most pressing domestic challenges.  Together, we share the belief that matching social entrepreneurs’ innovative solutions with the policy and political reach of government has the potential to make a profound and lasting positive impact on communities across the nation.  
 

As we enter the general election season, social entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to help shape and influence the next president’s approach to the non-profit sector. The next president will take office with ambitious goals to tackle our nation’s most serious social challenges, from health care reform to improving the quality of our nation’s schools. At the same time, he will be operating in a climate with limited tolerance for new government spending or government-only solutions. Given this, social entrepreneurs can offer the new president and his administration new, tested solutions to these challenges.    
 

In 2006, Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu established the nation's first statewide Office of Social Entrepreneurship (see an overview of the OSE's mission, model, strategies, and vision).  This coming fall, the office will pilot a social innovation fund which will provide support to innovative, effective and sustainable solutions to social problems in Louisiana.
 

In Sunday’s Boston Globe, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Jill Medvedow wrote an op-ed entitled "Harnessing our innovative ideas" which spotlights our Advancing Social Entrepreneurship report.  She congratulates Governor Deval Patrick on his recent appointment of a creative economy director and calls for a long-term investment strategy and the development of a $1 billion social impact fund (see Public Innovators’ related recommendations for a public-private social innovation fund and a National Social Innovation Foundation).  In line with our own findings in Advancing Social Entrepreneurship, Medvedow argues that Massachusetts has “the opportunity to lead with ideas, innovation, and investment, and replicate the strategies that so successfully fostered American entrepreneurialism.”

 
It is a great pleasure to be blogging for Public Innovators and alongside folks who are working so hard to bridge the gap between social entrepreneurs and public sector leadership. 
 

For this first post, I'll briefly describe what we are up to here in Virginia through the Phoenix Project and, in particular, how we are engaging public officials in our work.  The Phoenix Project (www.phoenixproject.org) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in January 2006.  We have four full-time and nine part-time employees at present working in several offices throughout Virginia.  Our mission is to find new ways to alleviate poverty for the 750,000 (and growing) Virginians who live and work in these conditions, so our interest in social entrepreneurship is not as an end unto itself, but as a necessary means.  

Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor recently took part in a roundtable, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and Root Cause Public Innovators, to discuss the newly released report, "Advancing Social Entrepreneurship: Recommendations for Policy Makers and Government Agencies".  Included in the panel were a government official, a social entrepreneur, two think tank policy experts representing the political left and right, and an expert on social entrepreneurship.
 

You will find here voices from government, social entrepreneurs, the private sector and other experts on ways for government officials to become public innovators.
Our contributors will highlight their experiences collaborating across sectors; share ideas on how government can best cultivate an environment that is intentionally supportive of social-entrepreneurial solutions; and ponder the potential risks of government engagement, as well as strategies for avoiding such pitfalls. Several conversations will focus on particular recommendations and social issues.
 
Check in for frequent updates on a variety of topics as we develop a dialogue on accelerating solutions to today’s toughest problems. Contributions will come from:
 

• Public Innovators
• Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship
• America Forward
• Katherine Freund, Founder of ITNAmerica
• Michele Jolin, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
• Susan Weddington, President & CEO of the Texas OneStar Foundation
• Greg Werkheiser, Executive Director of the Phoenix Project