04/07/15 6:11 PM
This week I read further into my book. I read about collaboration with governments and relationships with the private sector.
"Governments should think like a gardener rather than a builder," Bornstein says. What he means by this is that the government should identify which social entrepreneurs and environments are ready and able to foster change, and provide the necessary support to the entrepreneurs to be able to make the change, rather than the government doing the change. I think that this is a good idea because the entrepreneurs are the ones with the ideas from improvement, and they are the ones with the experience. They don't however have the resources, which the government does have. In this way, meaningful change can be made more quickly and efficiently with the help of the government, rather than by the government.
Bornstein also believes that the government needs to relax the constraints on social entrepreneurs, such as tax benefits, innovation funds, and modifying tax treatment. This will enable the entrepreneurs to make more progress in a shorter amount of time.
I also read about relationships with the private sector. Bornstein says that a large amount of innovation in the coming years will stem from the intersection of the business and the social sectors. The reason is because businesses have started to realize that they can benefit by learning from social entrepreneurs. One of the main reasons for this is because the social organizations know how to operate in underdeveloped markets in identifying opportunities, developing products, and managing staff in unfamiliar areas. This greatly helps the business because it can help spur the creation of new markets in these unfamiliar areas.
I think this is a very good idea because it helps both parties. It helps the entrepreneurs because the businesses can give them tools, money, and other resources. In return, the businesses benefit because they can get their products into places inaccessible or too difficult or cost-prohibitive.
Last summary will be coming next week!
C4E Associate
Noah Mark
