Background of Impact Ecosystem Building
Background
The Twin Cities region first participated in a social enterprise ecosystem research project in 2017, led by the Halcyon program in Washington D.C. In conjunction with the report’s release in mid 2018, the Bush Foundation supported the Halcyon team to come to the Twin Cities to share the findings, and bring together social enterprise and traditional business leaders to engage in a conversation about the impact social enterprise is making in our region, and explore the possibilities of how the sector’s impact could be further expanded and supported.
At the close of that gathering, the Social Enterprise Alliance Twin Cities chapter (now Social Enterprise MSP) posed questions of the larger group about “what’s next”? How can we leverage these findings (“hey, we’re 8th out of 22 cities – what would it take to be #1?”) to help us build the sector and drive greater social impact? There was a desire to activate a broader set of partners and mobilize a movement – building the #PurposeDrivenEconomy in our region.
Halcyon Incubator
For the 3rd year, the Halcyon Incubator published a Social Enterprise Ecosystem Report (SocEntCity.org), assessing the strength of regional ecosystems around the country, and come to the Twin Cities to report on the findings in the report.
Event Partners & Collaborators
- Bush Foundation
- Halcyon Incubator
- Social Enterprise Alliance Twin Cities (now SE-MSP)
- Forge North
Community-Led Research Roundtables
SE-MSP, with the continued support of the Bush Foundation, has vigorously pursued building the #PurposeDrivenEconomy over the past year and is intent on expanding participation with a growing audience, grounded in inclusive economy principles, and measures to match (e.g. Rockefeller Inclusive Economies Indicators).
The 2019 Halcyon report release presented an opportunity to launch an expanded series that would build on the 2018 convenings that “planted seeds” for the idea of forming community-led “Leadership Circles” organized around strategic action that is complementary and aligned with other economic development initiatives in our region, as well as globally recognized frameworks (e.g. GreaterMSP, Center for Economic Inclusion, MN Partnership for Sustainable Development Goals, Impact Management Project).
Guiding Research
Halcyon Report
Rockafeller Inclusive Economy Indicators
Greater MSP Regional Indicators
Center for Economic Inclusion Framework
Envision Together Report Out
Envision Together Report Out
After the release of the 2019 Halcyon SocEntCity Report, SE-MSP launched a series of leader listening sessions to further explore the four main pillars behind that ranking–Funding, Quality of Life, Talent, and Support Systems. At these events, experienced stakeholders from the social enterprise community and new invitees discussed theme maps about each of the four pillars populated with potential strategies for improving conditions in that pillar area and together suggested amendments and additions to the theme maps.
Event Series Goals
- Establishment of a SE Leadership community that is committed to paving the way for building a movement and driving greater social impact.
- Agreement on some key areas of focus derived from the Halcyon research/findings.
- Development of a Strategy Map for the SE Ecosystem, with some key Objectives, Measures and Targets
Pillar Session Notes
