Social enterprises and social businesses (enterprises pursuing the dual mission of financial sustainability and social purpose) are becoming important actors in addressing poverty and achieving sustainable development goals. Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, STREAT and CERES in Australia, Dialogue in the Dark in Europe, Honey Care in Africa are some of the examples of social enterprises creating livelihood opportunities for marginalized groups through their business model.
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of social enterprise and social business and their role in social value creation. We will aim to explore how these emerging models are effective in the context of sustainable development goals and how are they addressing the current social economic challenges such as poverty, inequality and environmental crisis while remaining financially sustainable.
Students in the course are expected to be active participants in creating solutions to grand challenges and will learn how to use their skills and knowledge to make a positive impact on the society.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- demonstrate understanding of emerging models in “base of the pyramid” that are scalable and sustainable
- examine and discuss the theory and practice of social business and social enterprise, and identify the facilitators and barriers to social entrepreneurs
- develop a systematic and critical understanding of emerging business models, and their strengths and weaknesses in addressing social and environmental challenges
- apply practical tools for their own social enterprise and social business
- describe and reflect upon contemporary development challenges and the role of social change agents
- examine logistical and ethical issues related to conducting research and developing social ventures in bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) communities.
Other Information
Students with an active Education Access Plan (EAP) are encouraged to discuss support with the Course Convenor (if necessary).
Indicative Assessment
- Typical assessments may include, but are not restricted to: in-class exercises, written and oral assignments, quizzes, examinations, group project tasks, oral presentations, and other assessments deemed appropriate to show the attainment of the learning outcomes set for the course. Further details will be made available via the Class Summary. (100) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Students taking this course are expected to commit 130 hours to completing the work. For semester length offerings this will typically include 3 hours per week in class and at least 7 hours a week on average (excluding non-teaching weeks) on course reading, research, writing and assessment work.
Inherent Requirements
This course has yet to be assessed for inherent requirements.
Prescribed Texts
Information about the prescribed textbook (if any) will be made available via the Class Summary.
Preliminary Reading
Information about indicative readings (if any) will be made available via the Class Summary.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7568 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |